ABP News' viewers stand ahead of the curve

The Hindi news channels have come a long way and it can be said that when it comes to giving news variety and analysis programmes, they are not behind their English cousins. Gone are the days when Hindi news was only about news. Today, a good news channel includes opinions, debates, discussion forums, expert advice etc. on a serious note and also about astrological predictions, godman’s pravachan (wise words), religious content, bollywood scandals and criminal incidents. So it is quite fair to say that it is News+ as a genre.

News channel are trying their best for an average person to form an opinion about an issue, have a point of view and feel intellectually aroused.

After the successful transition of ABP News from Star News last year, the channel had to constantly reinforce values and associations which may not be strongly etched in the viewer’s mind.  One value that rings true for a news source is ‘empowerment’. It is a higher order benefit compared to just speed or truth which are spaces occupied by competing news channels. ABP News’ current tagline ‘Aapko Rakhe Aage’ is in the area of empowerment and enjoys very positive recall and associations. The objective of the campaign is to give a dimension to this existing brand idea of ‘Aapko Rakhe Aage’.

Actually, though ABP News had very successfully launched its rebranding marketing campaign last year, this is the first time that ABP has come up with a promotional campaign like this hence elaborating the fact, Neeraj Sanan, CMO, Marketing & Distribution, ABP News says, “News genre is increasingly becoming commoditized with little/ no brand differentiation.” He was talking to Adgully.

Elaborating on the ABP’s News current tagline, ‘Aapko Rakhe Aagey’, Sanan says, “It is a higher order benefit compared to just speed or truth which are spaces occupied by competing news channels. ABP News’ tagline is in the area of empowerment and enjoys very positive recall and associations. The objective of the campaign is to give a dimension to this existing brand idea of ‘Aapko Rakhe Aagey’, thereby creating differentiation for the channel from others.”

Speaking about the idea, Sanan said, “We are a brand built around the core benefit of our tagline. With my core TG being the youth of the Hindi speaking market we were looking for a story that would bring alive this benefit. The current campaign, done by Lowe is a beautiful manifestation of “Aapko Rakhey Aagey” which brings alive the recognition through the thought “ABP News dekhney walon ki sab suntey hain”.”

The brief was quite simple that is to make the viewers of Hindi News to believe that watching ABP News keeps them ahead and the communication task was to establish that a regular ABP News viewer has a head start over others because the news on the channel always has an extra dimension over any other news channel.

There is no doubt about the fact that in terms of brand personality, ABP News is suave and sophisticated, yet gutsy & common-sensical.  ABP News stands apart in the cluttered Hindi news space by being premium and stylish in its look and feel while being engaging and accurate in content.

We Indians complain about being poor listeners. Maybe this stems from the fact that Indians aren’t good speakers. However, when we do encounter an intelligent and well informed person with good oratory skills, we tend to listen to and value the opinion of that person. Basis this insight, the agency brought forward the brand personality of the channel through the protagonist in the TVC (an ABP News viewer) whose conversation with a friend in a noisy & crowded coffee house makes heads turn and makes people take notice and listen to him. The campaign idea of ‘ABP News dekhne walon ki sab sunte hai’ wonderfully establishes the edge which the ABP News viewer gets in a dynamic and competitive world.

Sanan said, “this is a 360 degree marketing campaign, involving TV, print, radio, outdoor and digital. The idea was to reinforce the key message. More innovations are planned on both radio and outdoors.

ABP News presents news that is accurate but in an engaging manner (not frivolous) and has the most interesting mix of news which is varied in nature besides being relevant to all kinds of people. From being the preferred source of news in the political genre to infotainment programs appealing to housewives, ABP News’ programming has both width and depth. When asked, has the brand ABP News taken a dent post the takeover or has there been a rise in the channel’s popularity, Sanan replied, “ABP News has seen a significant rise post rebranding. As per the TAM reports, ABP News Market Share grew by 2% post rebranding.”

ABP News stands apart in the cluttered Hindi news space by being premium and stylish in its look and feel while being engaging and accurate in content. A regular ABP News viewer has a head start over others because the news on the channel always has an extra dimension over any other news channel which keeps its viewer ahead.