Adgully Exclusive | Danish Khan, VP, Mktg, SET: Ultimately it is the content that will engage the people

Intelligence and wisdom are meanings that his name, Danish, carries. His contribution has seen Sony Entertainment Television (SET) grow admirably despite the intense competition that exists in the market. There's constant tussle between channels to bring out soaps and reality shows, all but to gain massive TRP scores. Sony, however, never went into the zone of Saas-Bahu serials that were the craze of all housewives for as long as they ran on television.

Sony established itself with its programmes on two predominant emotions ' hope and happiness. Reality shows are the latest fashion items in the world of television and SET enjoys immense success owing to its reality show, Indian Idol. What sets SET apart is its unique history that has somewhat continued in today's time as well.

Shows like Aahat and CID were the first of their kind in the country and it all started with SET. CID continues to be a much-watched show and Aahat recently made a complete comeback as well. The big daddy of all dance reality shows ' Boogie Woogie is back too. Yippee! It's interesting to note that newer shows are also showing the way ahead for Indian television scenario.

Having inked a deal with Yash Raj camp, SET sort of spearheaded the move towards high-quality production and showed what could be done. SET established the video quality that other television shows and channels will have in times to come.

So, that was about SET and now about the man at the helm of things ' Danish Khan, Vice President, Marketing, Sony Entertainment Television.

Speaking about the competition and how Sony still manages to stand strong, Danish said, "Every year we go back to the drawing board to figure out how the world is changing and more specifically, how India is changing. We try to gauge audiences' preference, and we chart out our course based on society. We engage in technically pioneering steps and some of them have been blockbusters while some of them have not worked very well. But if you are in a market for a long time obviously you will have a mixed bag of success and failure. If you look at the last 15 years we have more successes than failures and hence we are a very relevant brand."

In times of high concentration towards regional marketing and promotion, Sony has not intentionally ventured into this trend. "We consciously have always focused only on story rather than other things. Story tells us about the location and from that, the set up comes. So, we have not given enough focus on micro targeting because our channel is a pan India channel and we look at shows, stories and concepts which appeal people across language," Danish explains.

Remember, an example of one of those "K' serials was forced to come to an end owing to public outcry? On the other hand, interestingly, CID and Boogie Woogie have been two of the longest running shows in Indian television ever and never really got any flak from any segment of the population.

Sharing his thoughts about the shows and marketing, Danish said, "The basic ingredient of the show is in place but it's a challenging task that every time you go to the consumer, you have to make it relevant and fresh in terms of treatment and try and do something different. Last year we had the CID Gallantry Awards that was a step to add another feather to the cap and to add to the credibility of the show. Similarly with Boogie Woogie, we are trying to do something new and fresh every time. Boogie Woogie, unlike any other dance show, doesn't focus on competition and it is just a small part of it. It is more about fun and encouraging talent. You will not see a lot of people crying or an intense competition on the show. Those features and attributes of the show have kept it very unique and relevant."

Indian Idol is one of the most-watched reality shows in the country today and ranks right up there with the best. The show is an invaluable property for Sony and Danish agrees that there is a need to constantly add freshness to the show. "The pre-production, which is the auditioning, itself takes 3 to 3.5 months. It's a big logistic show; it is also big because audiences like it. This year a lot of new things have been done. We have a live band and from every week one mentor from gala two will come to the show and give the contestants some guiding light. We are also doing five concerts in Jaipur, Indore, Chandigarh, Kolkata, and Mumbai. We are going to invite some 40,000 odd youngsters to experience the whole Indian Idol fever," he said.

Sony is working on introducing more shows and the company is proud of the fact that they are the only channel that covers all genres, spanning from comedy to drama or reality show and to keep the audiences intact, the channel will do its best possible marketing job. "Marketing will create a pull in itself. Ultimately it is the content that will engage the people. From marketing point of view our job is to create enough excitement and pull for the brand," Danish adds.

Sony has grown massively over the fast few months. A jump to 175 from 80 GRP rating is proof of the growth. With a good blend of borrowed and original shows, the channel looks poised to continue the climb. Adgully wishes them all the success.