Entry Of “Colors” Channel in an already Crowded Industry

Jaikumar Mamtani – M933

Priyanka More – M936

Rahul Hare – M921

Amol Mahale – M932

Komal Thawali – M954

Ajay Khandare – M928

Introduction to Television Industry in India[1]

TV industry in India is vast enough to accommodate 1000’s of programmes on various channels in different languages

Television Entertainment – India, one of the cheapest in the world

Started with “Doordarshan” in 1980 Ramayana & Mahabharata were the first Major

(episode number wise) television serials produced

Soon enough the broadcasting got saturated DD–2 (Metro) was started to cope with the

saturation

Cable Television[1,2]

130 million TV sets 71 million TV sets with Cable Connection Growth at 8-1o % (2008-09) Major players like “STAR Network”

(Foreign) dominated the boom of Indian TV industry in 1990

ZEE TV was the first India based Private channel to be broadcasted

Later on CNN, Discovery, NatGeo made entry into the India Tele Industry

Big players[2]

Before Colors Indian Tele Industry was dominated by ZEE TV, Sony TV, Star Plus in Family Channels Segment

Colors made an entry into family channel segment “Balika Vadhu”

In Youth Entertainment it was dominated by Channel V, MTV

Colors Entered with “Fear Factor India – Khatron K Khiladi”

Reality TV was dominated by SONY, ZEEColors Entered The market with “Big Boss”

History of Colors[3,4]

Launched on 21 July, 2008 as a 50:50 JV between Viacom and Network 18

Viacom a USD 11.5 billion company consisting of MTV Networks and Paramount Pictures, is the world’s leading entertainment content company.

Network 18 is one of India's leading full play media conglomerates with interests in television, internet, filmed entertainment, mobile content and allied businesses.

Launched Decision of Viacom and Network 18 to enter into General Entertainment Channel market

Redefined the daily soaps, replacing domestic politics by little known diverse themes giving social message

Branding strategy[5]

Name: “COLORS” an arbitrary name at first glance but

self descriptive.

Plural form: distinguishes it as a general entertainment

channel, catering to multiple audiences.

Logo: There are three Colors in the Logo – Yellow(Purity,

Spirituality), Pink(Fun, Youthfulness, Innovation), Violet

(Mystery, Sentimentality)

Branding strategy[5]

The logo of the channel is interesting

and stands apart on its own.

Tagline: “Jasbaat Ke Rang – The colors of

Emotion”- that promises to target entire

spectrum of viewers.

The small caps indicates openness and

welcoming attitude.

The motive of leaf is acknowledgement of roots

and natural origin.

Entry strategy[5]

Colors launched Three programs for an impactful

entry – Balika Vadhu (an Adolescent Bride, Child

Marriage), Fear Factor, Jai Shri Krishna (Spiritual)

It launched itself firstly for as a free on air channel

Its key focus is on 3D’S:

a) Distribution

b) Differentiation

c) Disruption

Distribution[7] It distributed itself via MSM Discovery Pvt. Ltd. that

distributes Network 18 channel

Cable operators were also used as effective means

of distribution (placing Below Star Plus in

Frequency)

It is seen in cable homes and the new DTH platforms

Differentiation[7]

This strategy starts with the name of the

channel and continues with the serials

From Fiction shows to Format shows to Reality

shows to Blockbuster Movies – the basket

contains all varieties of shows “Jasbaat Ke

Rang”

The focus is on “Cohesive Viewing” via its vast

range of serials

Disruption[7] This strategy deals with scheduling of the serials

When the channel was launched , fear factor and big boss

were its two prime shows

To create a buzz and a window for their fiction programs

both these shows were scheduled back-to –back

Later on serials like Jai Shri Krishna, Mohe Rang de (Love

Story, Freedom Struggle) were also scheduled in

correspondence of other serials on other channels

Also repeat frequency was increased to attract audience

in the initial phase

Marketing strategy[7]

Targeting audiences in 90% Indian cities

Placed 1300 hoardings and launched roadshows

across the country

3000 taxis, 2000 auto rickshaws ,local trains and

school buses were painted with colors brand

Dabba service was also used to disburse the

message

15 million SMS were sent to all telecom operators

Marketing strategy[7] 65000 ad spots were booked on TV ad space BIG BAZAAR helpers and counter guys were

wearing colors T-shirts In McDonalds, color brand was present on the

menu Fear factor merchandise were available at

Pantaloons and McDonalds Colors tied up with ISKCON for promoting their

show “Jai Shri Krishna” For “Mohe Rang De” it organised street plays

which were witness to maximum freedom struggle

4P’s of Colors – Viacom 18[8]

Price Initially the channel was

launched Free on Air, and later on fees was charged

PlaceIndian Television Industry –

General Entertainment Channel Segment

PromotionPromotion was mainly through

local trains, buses, through retail stores and many more

Product Colors Viacom 18

Market segment and targets[7]

Geographic segmentation: Small towns and metro. The peak time was 7-9 and 10 onwards respectively. So it had to time its serials in the prime time of 7 to 11.30pm at night and repeats also in proper time period

Demographic segmentation:a) Age group of 15-24 for sampling the channel

in the initial stages and later on expanding it 15-55

b) The females of the house holds were the prime

target for the family drama serials

Target Market

Positioning[8]

The positioning was done after effective promotion in the forms mentioned above

Colors positioned itself as a prime Entertainment channel in the segment of GECs

The positioning was done by effectively targeting audiences in different age groups

Quality and Concept of serials was effectively monitored and portrayed so that people remember the concept and thereby the name of the serial (e.g. “Anandi wala serial” – Balika vadhu

Quality of serials[8]

Serials like Balika Vadhu (Addressing Child Marriage)

Serials like Na Aana Is Des Laaado (Addressing Female Foeticide)

The above mentioned serials are quite emotional and attract a lot of audience (giving competition to serials like Saas bhi Kabhi Bahu thi – Star Plus Hit)

The innovation in the concept and theme of these serials attracted a lot of audience thus increasing the TRP of the shows

Television Rating Point (TRP)[6]

Enjoyed the Highest Rating for Consecutive

weeks after weeks because of innovation in

serials

Big Boss Season 3 had a starting TRP of 6.O

higher than Koun banega Crorepati

Serial Balika Vadhu had a TRP of 5.9

These TRPs are higher than most other shows

like Rakhi ka Swayamwar, Aap ki Kacheri

(Star Plus)

Scope for expanding viewership[8]

The viewership as was targeted by colors initially with respect to age groups was effective

The next expansion they can do is with respect to the religious groups

They can show serials of different variety with respect to youngsters like is done in the same family channel (MTV)

The older people can also be kept in view and the number of religious serials can be increased

Observations[8]

In a Crowded market a product can still be launched provided the product differentiates itself from

the competitive products in a visible way. Also the product if consumer friendly (it was kept

below star plus in the frequency of broadcasting) can be accepted by the consumers even if other

cheaper alternatives are available (Sahara one has less

rent but still not preferred)

Conclusion[8]

The Innovative Strategy (Catering to all age groups) adopted by colors (Already Crowded Market was captured by colors in a short span of time) helped colors to

overcome the hurdles presented by competitive channels (STAR PLUS,

SONY, ZEE). And Innovative Strategy adopted by any producer can result in

overwhelming response by the consumers resulting in a SUCCESS STORY – COLORS VIACOM 18……

References1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_in_India2. http://images.google.co.in/images?

hl=en&resnum=0&q=tv%20channel%20india%20logo%20images&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

3. http://contentsutra.com/article/419-colors-turns-one-a-year-of-unprecedented-churn-in-indian-television/#comments

4. http://www.colorstv.in/page/about-us5. http://marketing-and-brands.blogspot.com/2009/01/

colors-tv-viacom-18.html6. http://www.gossipbollywood.com/index.php/?p=8181#7. http://www.afaqs.com/perl/media/story.html?

sid=210518. Self analysed

Thank You…!!!