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Tag: Tata Sky

  • The brand, creative and production teams  have done commendable work with the ads, writes Sanjeev Kotnala

    Tata continues to Play with Sky

     

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Sanjeev KotnalaUnless you are a Tata Sky subscriber or a digital algorithm picks you as a potential lead, you will likely miss out on these short, simple name change films. Additionally, these films talk of the new Tata Binge offer, including the addition of Netflix. The way the scriptwriter and the production team have managed the cast and the location itself with Covid restrictions is worth applauding.

     

    The films feature the flamboyant Saif Ali Khan and beautiful Kareena Kapoor Khan. Saif continues to surprise us with his never acknowledged versatility. Kareena, like him, plays different avatars but with the same expression, smile and trademark pout. But, both deliver memorable short scripts.  There are language films with different set of celebrities.

     

    Is there a story there?

    When a brand puts so much effort into Name Change, it suggests more than what meets the eye. The earlier name has the potential and most likely will come alive in a different Avatar sometime soon. Why would you otherwise spend so much time, effort, and media money to delink it from entertainment, TV, and Cable.

     

    Is Tata Sky later going to the sky and being an airline. It is the right name for airline by the Tatas. Now, that is a guess and a long shot. However, even if Tata Sky never becomes the Airline it should be, I would still be at peace.

     

    Did they leave the clue somewhere? What do you think?

    Back To Tata Play.

     

    SALESMAN- CUSTOMER PLAY

    The first set is a customer-salesman interaction. The charming Saif Ali khan delivers for the brand, and Kareena does the rest. The story moves forward, and for a moment, I was taken back to Tata Chota Recharge memories and how successive episodes of TVC took the story further. The recharge advantage is shared in another short clip, and the  Tata Binge app offer also gets delivered. Alas, the story shifts totally. Nevertheless, it is smartly done.

     

     

    TEACHER PLAY

    The next set of interplay is between two teachers. The History teacher enacted by Saif Ali Khan comments that Tata Sky ka Tata Play Hona eek historical moment hai. Was that more than necessary or a trap for people to think of Tata taking over Air India. The ad is nice.

     

    The chemistry between the two actors is fabulous. Then it slowly weaves in the Free Service saving in a charming style. And the Netflix offer comes back.

     

     

     

     

    DRIVER- MAID INTERPLAY.

    The third set of scripts has the duo playing as Driver and the Maid. The interaction is still meticulously executed, and both actors deliver on the script. However, the series of messages primarily relate to name change, other than bringing alive the solo mobile viewing and the collective family viewing advantage on Tata Binge.

     

     

     

    DIGITAL INTERPLAY.

    The three different characters suggest selective advertisement placement based on consumer profile data. However, the characters and locations are not so polarized to make the best use of data that the brand and media could have. Maybe I am wrong, and the brand knows something more. However, on the Tata Play channels- all the advertisements continue in a loop.

     

    However, the brand team, creative and production, have done commendable work in keeping it simple, engaging and delivering the message. Love the ads.

    …………………

     

    Tata Play films are also made in regional languages with appropriate celebrities from the zone.. Here is one such film.

     

    ………………………

    JUST FOR CLICKS.

    Here is one of my favourite communication from Tata Sky – 10 Rupay ka Chota Recharge. Enjoy.

     

  • Executes 24-hour roadblock to drive awareness

    Disney Star helps Tata Sky rebrand to Tata Play

    By Our Staff

     

    Disney Star network executed a 24-hour roadblock for Tata Sky to drive awareness for their recent rebranding campaign as Tata Play.

     

    Said Kevin Vaz, Head – Network Entertainment Channels, Disney Star: “Disney Star is thrilled to associate with Tata Sky at a critical juncture in their 18-year journey, as they rebrand themselves as Tata Play. This 24-hour network roadblock across all the entertainment channels of Disney Star demonstrates the strength of our network and the pivotal role it can play to support brands in their business transformation efforts. Our entertainment network’s rich experience and unparalleled reach of 700 million monthly unique viewers makes us the platform of choice for advertisers to derive the maximum investment value.”

     

    Added Harit Nagpal, MD & CEO, Tata Play: “The 24- hour roadblock on the Disney Star network has helped create massive awareness across India, of Tata Play and its offerings right on Day 1 of the launch. Disney Star teams across various channels worked closely with the Tata Play team and amplified the message through their well-known characters, and created many other value-adds which added further ammunition to the execution. It was an absolute delight to work with Disney Star network who brought all their resources together to provide a seamless execution for this brand transformation campaign.”

     

  • Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan have been engaged to promote Tata Play

    Tata Sky is now Tata Play

    By Our Staff

     

    Tata Sky –DTH and Pay TV platform has announced its new name and identity, Tata Play, as its business interests grow beyond DTH services.

     

    The new identity has been created by Venturethree, London and the campaign has been designed by Ogilvy India. Kareena Kapoor Khan and Saif Ali Khan have been engaged to promote Tata Play in national markets and actors R Madhavan and Priyamani will be the face of the campaign for the South markets.

     

    Said Harit Nagpal, MD & CEO – Tata Play Ltd: “Tata Sky leveraged its market leadership in its core business to create an ecosystem of content delivery by foraying into OTT and Broadband. We believe it is time for a brand identity that resonates beyond our DTH business. I thank Tata Sons and The Walt Disney Company for backing this business, which over the years has expanded to 23 million households and made our content distribution platform a formidable player in the market.”

     

    Explaining the ethos of the new brand identity, Anurag Kumar – Chief Communications Officer, Tata Play Ltd., said, “The Tata Play brand mark and play mark takes inspiration from the “Tata” mark – borrowing and reinforcing the trust, quality and recognition of India’s most valuable brand. The word “Play” adds youthfulness, ease & simplicity to an already trusted brand. The brand colours pink and purple along with dark blue and white are vibrant, youthful and add distinctiveness to the overall identity. With Tata Play, we promise you Fun, Personalisation, Flexibility, Freedom, Quality, Innovation and Connection. With Tata Play, you Play Better. And entertainment becomes aur bhi Jingalala”

     

  • Orchestrates an ORM-first Christmas campaign

    Tata Sky Binge collaborates with Twitter

    By Our Staff

     

    Tata Sky Binge interacted with Twitterati with the aim of #SpreadingJoy through their Christmas ORM campaign. Within a span of a month, the brand responded to 500+ tweets by people from across the country, expressing gratitude and spreading joy & positivity.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Angad Singh Manchanda, Co-founder & CEO, Chimp&z Inc said, “We conceptualized this campaign to bring joy to the world through meaningful, appreciative, and gratitude-filled Tweet responses. The campaign was heavy on ORM and our team pulled it off brilliantly. It was designed with only one aim – to spread the Christmas cheer!”

     

  • Conceptualised by Ogilvy India, the 360-degree campaign highlights Tata Sky's packs and content

    Tata Sky takes TN entertainment to ‘Vera Level’

    By Our Staff

     

    Leading content distribution platform Tata Sky has unveiled a campaign to woo customers in Tamil Nadu. It’s titled ‘Vera Level’ and has been conceptualised by Ogilvy.

     

    Commenting on the launch of the campaign, Anurag Kumar, Chief Communications Officer, Tata Sky said: “Regional audience has a very strong connect with their TV sets and what they watch in it. Keeping this in mind, Tata Sky has always been at the forefront to make the TV viewing experience worthwhile and engaging. Our new campaign for Tamil Nadu beautifully highlights the distinct benefits of a Tata Sky connection and connects with the audiences through their most loved regional catchphrases – ‘Vera Level’ which means taking anything to a superior entertaining level, just like a Tata Sky connection does with its varied offerings and personalised bouquets.”

     

  • Conceptualised by Ogilvy India and executed by Dentsu Communications

    Tata Sky unveils murals of Gujarati actors

    By Our Staff

    Tata Sky has launched a mural campaign in Gujarat to bring alive the local flavour by associating with popular Gujarati cinema actors. The campaign is conceptualized by Ogilvy and executed by Dentsu Communications, along with Bollywood Art Project (BAP). The wall murals will cover 375 walls across 133 towns.

    Said Anurag Kumar, Chief Communications Officer, Tata Sky: “People’s lives are made better when they connect to quality entertainment. This thought inspired our recent national campaign- “Iss khidki ko khol dala toh life Jingalala”. We have now taken this thought closer to our customers in Gujarat by celebrating popular faces from Gujarati entertainment through the unique format of wall murals. These murals reinforce Tata Sky’s commitment to be an inherent part of people’s everyday lives, making quality entertainment affordable and accessible to all.”

     

     

  • These are interesting times for the old older in the television broadcast front

    Tata Sky refreshes brand purpose

    By Our Staff

     

    These are interesting times for the old older in the television broadcast front. OTT platforms are gaining popularity esp in urban India and telcos and broadband players like Jio and Airtel are gaining currency to access linear television. Life’s a-changin’. In the midst of all this, Tata Sky has unveiled its new Brand Purpose with the following statement: Tata Sky exists to make tomorrow better than today for family and home.

     

    “A set of core beliefs have always guided brand Tata Sky” said Harit Nagpal, MD & CEO, Tata Sky in a statement. “Expressing our brand purpose solidifies our intent to continue to add value to people’s lives,” he  added. His PR agency said he wasn’t available for a one-on-one.

    Anurag Kumar
    Anurag Kumar

    Added Anurag Kumar, Chief Communications Officer, Tata Sky in a statment: “The statement ‘Tata Sky exists to make tomorrow better than today for family and home’ exemplifies the brand’s belief in the emotional power of entertainment which we trust can move, motivate, inspire and help people to enjoy a better life. We believe that this reinforces the brand’s focus in simplifying content access, discovery and consumption in newer and more delightful ways that lead to betterment in customer’s lives”,

    Sukesh Nayak
    Sukesh Nayak

    Said Sukesh Nayak, Chief Creative Officer – Ogilvy India, West, Tata Sky’s long-standing creative: “This campaign is an ode to the magical ‘Khidki’ in our lives that has been entertaining us for all these years. Be it on the walls, tables or in our hands, these Khidkis powered by Tata Sky, truly makes our lives Jingalala.”

    The new campaign is across a few languages like Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Odia. The video above is in Odia.

  • Created by Ogilvy India, the ad films draw inspiration from local culture

    Tata Sky goes hyperlocal with marketing

    By our Staff

    Tata Sky launched region-specific campaigns in Kerala, Punjab and West Bengal to connect with potential customers in in these regions. Crafted on the central theme of a superior product offering, the campaign focuses on offerings such as 1 TV+2 mobile screens, customised packs for specific states, fantastic HD picture quality of the set-top box and 24×7 customer-care service.

    Said Anurag Kumar, Chief Communications Officer, Tata Sky: “We launched these integrated campaigns in 3 states, in each case drawing inspiration from local culture. Content consumption and consumer tastes are quite different in various states of India, and hence advertising needs to go local wherever relevant. The campaigns in Malayalam, Punjabi and Bengali languages were rolled out in the three states, reaching over 23.1 Million households and 73.1 Million people. The ad films showcase the distinctive features such as watching Live TV on mobile phones and specially curated packs. Thereby, keeping up to Tata Sky’s commitment of providing the complete family entertainment solution.”

     

     

  • Actor Vinay Pathak is the face of a promotional campaign

    Tata Sky launches Astro Duniya

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tata Sky has added a new platform service – Tata Sky Astro Duniya – to its vast bouquet of interactive services. Joining hands with Dominiche Productions, Tata Sky Astro Duniya offers curated content created by astrologers offering advice in astrology, numerology, vastu, etc.

     

    Commenting on the launch, Pallavi Puri, Chief Commercial and Content Officer said: “At Tata Sky we have a diverse portfolio of platform services and believe in constantly strengthening them. With Tata Sky Astro Duniya we aim to provide our subscribers with information on various aspects of life and home using astrology, numerology, vastu from credible astrology experts, including personalized consultations. We thank Dominiche Productions for helping us develop this property and are confident that our promotional campaign featuring actor Vinay Pathak will create great buzz for the service.”

     

    Added Utpal Vaishnav, Director – Dominiche Productions: “When my co-founding partner Adarsh Gupta and me started our journey with Dominiche, we had set out a very clear objective for our company, to dominate scalable genres of the future. Astrology, given its generic appeal in India came up as a great opportunity to go after as a pioneering initiative. We are honoured to join hands with Tata Sky to bring to the audiences a credible Astrology offering that would make for a compelling watch.”

     

  • It featured internet star Yashraj Mukhate

    Tata Sky’s World TV Day campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Celebrating World Television Day, Tata Sky launched the campaign #YahaSabDekha conceptualised by Chimp&z Inc. The campaign featured an original mashup track from the internet and social media star Yashraj Mukhate.

     

    Commenting on the campaign Anurag Kumar, Chief Communications Officer, Tata Sky said: “Television is the primary platform of content consumption in India and has been a source of joy and entertainment for the nation. This World Television Day, we celebrate the anniversary of TV- our constant companion through decades and pay tribute to the evergreen days of entertainment which every generation can relate to. For the campaign #YahaSabDekha, we have partnered with Yashraj Mukhate to deliver our thoughts in the most trendy and distinctive style that syncs well with our social media savvy audience.”

     

    Added Angad Singh Manchanda, CEO & Co-founder of Chimp&z Inc: “The idea of collaborating with Yashraj Mukhate was in the pipeline for some time and World TV Day came as the right opportunity. #YahaSabDekha serves as a reminder to all of us that even amidst the plethora of options available for entertainment, the golden days of television remain unfazed and fresh in our memories. The song rendition is a testament to our childhood.”

     

  • On Wednesday (Oct 28), Kantar released the CX+ India – Telecom, Media & Technology (TMT) Report 2020

    Jio,Airtel,Netflix,Apple,Tata Sky top Kantar CX+ 2020 TMT

    By A Correspondent

     

    Jio, Airtel, Netflix, Apple, Tata Sky have topped the Kantar CX+ 2020 for TMT. The Kantar CX+ report evaluates the CX performance of companies in the Telecom, Media and Technology sectors, using the Kantar’s CX+ index. CX+ is a sector-specific index to look at brands in the context of their category. It uses customer centricity as its core to evaluate CX performance of a company.

     

    As per a communique, the basic premise of CX+ is that brand and customer experience have become synonymous, in this increasingly connected environment.

     

    The roadmap to delivering a holistic experience is based on five key CX success factors:

    1. Clarity of brand promise

    2. Empowered employees

    3. Empowered customers

    4. Creating lasting memories

    5. Reinforcement of brand choice

     

    Additionally, the study also identifies each brand’s Experience Gap – which quantifies the difference between the Brand Promise and the actual customer experience delivered.

     

    The CX+ index for each brand is derived based on a combination of the CX Performance and the Experience Gap.

     

    The TMT study covered Telecom Network Providers, Media Streaming Platforms and Handheld Devices. In this study conducted in early 2020, clear winners emerged in each of the sectors.

     

    Commenting on the launch of the CX+ TMT report findings, Sushmita Balasubramaniam, Domain Lead for CX and Commerce – South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar said: “The landscape across the TMT sectors has changed drastically over the last one year. Consumers’ adoption of and dependence on digital, whether for basic everyday living, working, studying or entertainment has presented enormous challenges to companies in these sectors. And, the changes in usage of products and services will also mean that customer priorities on the kind of experience they are seeking will be different from the pre-Covid era.”

     

    Added Soumya Mohanty, Chief Client Officer, South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar: “In the current scenario, with tech convergence and emerging global media giants, the world will see vigorous competition in the TMT sector. This is an arena where tech credentials will become increasingly hygiene, CX will be critical. As network services providers, handheld device brands and streaming media providers, all will leverage customer data to build personalised journeys, CX and owning the relationship with the end user will become increasingly important.”

     

    Kantar CX+ 2020: Leaders in the TMT sector in India

     

    The Kantar CX+ TMT 2020 study analysed 6,000+ customers drawn from users across the sectors in India and was conducted in early 2020.

     

     

  • Is it better to run a serialised film than a series of them, asks Sanjeev Kotnala

    How Many Ad Films are too Many in a Campaign?

     

    By Sanjeev Kotnala

     

    Brands make multiple television or digital video commercials (TVC/DVC in short,  referred hereafter as ad films) to engage their audience and deliver the message. They are mostly various expressions of the same idea. So, how many ad films should a brand make? Or, how does the team decide how many should be made? Or, why create a series of ad films? That is not counting the edits and adaptations into regional languages.

     

     

    Why Multiple Ad Films?

     

    There are possibly so many highly logical reasons that may push the client and the creative to look for multiple ad films:

     

    • The client believes in iterative expressions.

    • There is a budget to make multiple ad films.

    • The creative is of the point of view that the concepts need clarity.

    • The media agency needs it to keep the audience engaged when the ad frequency is high.

    • The campaign runs aggressively across a property like IPL, and hence audience gets bored faster.

    • To take advantage of economies of scale in production.

    • To justify the high fee of a celebrity.

    • The communication aims to change behaviour and hence more ad films.

    • The concept is so disruptive that we better have more ad films to explain.

    • The idea is so strong that it demands multiple ad films.

    • The idea is weak, and with multiple ad films, we minimise risk.

     

    I am stopping listing reasons knowing that there could be many more for such a strategic decision. But the questions kept bugging me, and soon I found myself with my dear friend, consultant Vermajee, the Management Guru. Last Friday, over Antiquity Blue topped with chilled No 1 club soda, served in steel glasses, I got enlightened on the subject. Being Navratri, drinking was banned at home. So, we parked his SUV under a banyan tree on the Western Express Highway within sight of a ‘No Parking Zone’ sign and chewed on the subject along with Faldhari Chiwda. Vermajee shared his gyaan and opened my eyes. He usually does have that impact on me.

     

    Ad Films Earlier – Vermajee’s Time

     

    Some few decades back, when Vermajee was part of the agency circus, the brands were happy with one TVC at a time. Maybe one TVC per season. Some TVCs lasted many seasons over TV, Cinema and Rural Vans.

     

    It was not the creative teams lacked ideas. The act of making a TVC was time-consuming and very painful. You had to really work hard. Work in detail. Post work was astronomically costly. Budgets were sacrosanct and less clutter in the media. The clients as usual finicky and khadoos, wanting a Merc at the cost of a Maruti.

     

    The client today is no different. Even then, they did not understand that creative and advertising was an investment, not an expense. They fail to see, it is better to invest in good creative even at the cost of the media budget and expose it a less number of times. Cutting production budget, making an average TVC and exposing it more number of times is a bad idea.

     

    Yes, some clients made TVC throughout the year. If you made a judgmental error in one, there was not much to worry as the next TVC was on its way.

     

    However, we were absolutely sure of our craft but a bit unsure of consumer understanding. The research was used as the master key for campaign support and approvals. The scripts and even at times the edits were pre and post researched. It was too costly to change anything at a later stage, not that changes did not happen.

     

    Vermajee Gyaan

     

    Vermajee explained the difference between episodic series (procedural) and serialised ad films. He reiterated the need to judge an ad film more on strategy and impact, likeability, memory and engagement than anything else. He empathised on the law of marginal returns. Vermajee said: “the client and creative along with media must risk raising the question about the number of Ad films and must stop when they stop adding value to the campaign”.

     

    The Case of Multiple Ad Films

     

    Here, the same story is repeated with a slight twist or a change of character. Each of the films is complete, and you don’t lose much, not watching all of them collectively or in a particular series.

     

    The recent Cred communication is an example. Film celebrities like Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and Bappi Lahiri audition for Cred. They perform in their signature styles but are rejected. They are so overexposed that one completely forgets the Cred ad of last year, which is more explanation-based.

     

    People question the creativity in the Cred campaign. There is a huge awareness buildup for Cred, and the single-minded message is clearly established. I don’t have data for app downloads and usage. Recently, we saw  Alka Yagnik- Udit Narayan auditioning, which makes me think that the brand missed an opportunity in using influencers and UGC.

    In another version of this, you have the same proposition and intent but the playground and the story changes. The episodes remain independent and complete in themselves. It works brilliantly with a simple message and some emotional engagement.

    Dream11 seems to have been successful in campaigns in this style of multiple ad films. Dream11 last year #YehGameHaiMahan with multiple fils – Bush or pipeline, Dhobighat, old friends etc. pr the campaign #kheloDimaagsey. This year the Dream11 campaign #YehApnaGameHai features Dhoni, Shikar, Rohit and others.

    One of the best examples of it is Thanda Matlab Coke. Here Aamir Khan played different roles from the Punjabi farmer, Pahadi guide, to Bengali babu and some more. Well, one can not forget the ZooZoos.

     

    The Serialised Ad Film

    Here the multiple ad films that are following a pre-defined narrative. There is a link between them. Sometimes subtle and sometimes overt. They are best watched in series or totality.

    The story moves forward with each ad film, keeping the audience engaged in the campaign. There is a surprise packet of what next. The character layers get unravelled with time.

    Some years back we saw Amazon  Chokpur cheetahs; India Ke Sapno Ki Apni Dukkan. A small town bunch of cricket players and their coach. The ad films are still remembered with films like Dhyani’s Birthday, Introduction, Kab Khelenge 2020 and official song among others.

    Nowadays we are seeing something of serialised ad films by PhonePe ads featuring Aamir Khan and Aliya Bhat. The Chaiwala,  Kiskepass, safety and more. This time, the functionality is overpowering, it is making its point, and the interplay of characters is excellent. However, will it really become a true serialised ad film set is yet to be seen?

     

    The best I have seen in the Indian context is Tata Sky Chota Recharge. The campaign kept the audience glued. In fact, they were rooting for the teenagers to meet and love to blossom. The brand message delivered simply. In such cases, when the audience gets hooked, they want more of it.

     The attempts of true serialised campaigns have been far and few. Such creative requires commitment and a willingness to carry the collective risk. But like gambling, the response and gains are equally large. 

     

    Reminder: How Many Ad Films?

    :: Always look at multiple Ad Film from Brand and the strategy point of view.

    :: Always evaluate the content and multiple ad films in the context of the newness of the message, brand, service, media budgets and complexity or simplicity of communication.

     

    Invest in creative development even at the cost of media budgets. An excellent creative product exposed less will always pay back far more than a bad/mediocre/average creative exposed more number of times.

    Evaluate from consumer interest engagement point of view than the jury and judges at the awards point of view.

    No need to make more films just because you have a good script. As you may end up hitting marginalised returns and underexpose other films.

    Go ahead and do multiple ad films if they really add to the brand message understanding or clarity, emotions and association.

    Maybe Dream11 did not need all the films and Cred could benefit from serialised rather than a series of films. Perhaps, the client-agency-media teams on these brands know better the reason for multiple ad films, and when did they hit the curve of marginalised decreasing returns or maybe they can do with some more films.