Decoding the 'Seekhna Bandh Toh Jeetna Bandh' mantra of KBC 7

KBC which has been entertaining and educating viewers since it was first aired in 2000 has year on year strengthened itself and the innovations in format has been keeping abreast with the times to adapt to the audiences viewing habits. Making his first appearance on Indian television, Amitabh Bachchan hosted the first season of KBC. His baritone voice and empowering personality never failed to impress audiences. Moreover it is the sensitive streak in him towards the common man which has captured the minds and hearts of audiences. Though the show focuses on learning and winning it is the element of his personal touch towards the contestants welfare which has gripped the classes as well as the masses.  KBC in the early days offered contestants the chance to win up to one crore rupees, but doubled this in 2001 to two crore rupees, further adjusted from the fourth season to include a jackpot of 5 crore rupees. The show was well received from the very first season.

Coming to the latest seasons, the fifth season started on 15 August 2011 on the Independence Day of India with the same format and ended on 17th November 2011. The show became a massive hit with audiences and broke many TRP Records. CNN IBN awarded Indian Of The Year- Entertainment to Team KBC and Amitabh Bachan. The show also grabbed all the major awards for its category and was a massive hit. The tagline used for the season was ‘Koi Bhi Sawaal Chota Nahi Hota’.

The Sixth season (KBC 6) too was hosted by Amitabh Bachchan and it commenced on 7th September 2012, and aired only during weekends in the 8:30pm slot on Sony TV. The show opened with a tremendous response with the first episode fetching an unbelievable 6.7 TRP and broke all the previous records on the channel. The tagline used for the season was ‘Sirf Gyaan Hi Aapko Aapka Haq Dilata Hai’.

Last year, a new segment was added to KBC, wherein the background of the contestants (the backstory) who made it to the hot seat was shown. This was an effort to open a window to the aspirations of India and what India stands for and build a connect between the contestant and the viewers,  no matter which strata of the society they belonged to and who aspire to be on the hot seat. Taking a step forward from last year’s theme, the power of knowledge (Sirf Gyaan Hi Aapko Aapka Haq Dilata Hai)  season 7 of KBC plans to motivate its viewers to continue learning and progress in life with the tagline ‘Seekhna bandh to Jeetna bandh’ (the day you stop learning in life, is the day you stop winning). Over the years, KBC has transformed people’s television viewing habits in the country.

Season 7 of the blockbuster quiz show, Kaun Banega Crorepati with the tagline ‘Seekhna Bandh toh Jeetna Bandh’ is now all set to make a comeback . Sony has come up with a series of humorous TVCs for the promotion of the show for this season. The four-part campaign has been conceptualised by Leo Burnett and the films have been directed by Amit Sharma of Chrome Pictures.

The campaign sheds light on the fact that diligent day to day learning is the need of the hour in today’s day and age where advancing technology and competing minds are the order of the day.  The fact that arrogance and complacency can only bring about one’s downfall is portrayed through the  four distinct stories of individuals from varied professions who are ridiculed as they choose to overlook the need to keep learning. The format of the show encourages learning and the campaign fits in perfectly for which much brainstorming was done by the agency.

The promotional TVC’s prove their point that there is no age for learning. Amitabh Bachchan drives home the final message that in today’s dynamic scenario it is important to never stop learning as it would also prevent people from winning. Sony also plans to introduce some changes in the format of the quiz show this season. The show which goes on air in September, will be replacing Indian Idol after its current season.

Gaurav Seth, Senior Vice-President and Marketing Head, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) interacted with Adgully and shared on how this season of KBC audiences will 

witness a different approach by the channel, the promotions for the show, the TG they intend targeting and much more.

“KBC is not just a TV show or a game show or it’s not just about Mr Bachchan. It is about all of that and more. At an individual level it is about testing one’s knowledge against their peers. It is also about the entertainment value the show has, and about the audience interaction,” shares Seth.

Elaborating on how the thought process and approach for this season is different from the past seasons and if there is any particular TG they intend targeting, Seth said, “The TG for KBC is the entire country and I don’t think we would  be ever able to streamline  whom we want to talk to as far as KBC is concerned as it is a universal all India phenomena. Mr. Bachchan as the host brings that sort of universality, the universal appeal to the show, apart from that the format has been accepted and been around for such a long time that people of all ages, gender and social economic classifications find there’s something in the show which attracts them towards it, so the TG remains the same.”

He added further, “What we try to do every year is bring in different type of appeal as to why you should watch KBC. This year the think ‘Seekhna Bandh toh Jeetna Bandh’ which is a very strong insight from life applies equally to KBC. When you stop learning in life, your progress comes to a standstill. So, in every stage of your life you have to be intelligent in keeping all your learning notes in your body open because you never know what will hold you in good stead.”

The campaign shows the tragedy of four different professionals who stop learning at a certain stage in life and how that contributes to their downfall. Mr. Bachchan assures them that with every opportunity in life it is never too late to learn and moreover arrogance, complacency and over confidence should be shunned.

With regard to research done to come up with this season’s tagline ‘Seekhna Bandh toh Jeetna Bandh’ Seth informed that research is normally conducted post KBC, where they try and analyse what were the triggers and barriers for viewership. An effort is also being made to understand the audience psyche and at the end of the day being a very big property it is difficult to change. “There will be certain things which we will apply post research.  Be it product, communication, overall look and feel in the show and rest we will continue with whatever is working,” he said.

This communication thought ‘Seekhna Bandh toh Jeetna Bandh’ will be applied across media and customized mediums. Where television is concerned they have shot 4 television promos two of which are already on air. Radio, print, outdoor, digital, mobile, are the other mediums which would  help them  to reach out to their viewer base. “We will try and see how we can customize this message to be most relevant in that particular medium,” avers Seth.

He also spoke about the upcoming promotional campaigns. Online and onground activities too are being planned which will be relayed prior to and during the launch of the show. In their digital campaign they are ensuring that there is much interaction and feedback from viewers. Live play along through Twitter will be another digital initiative for the launch of the show.

Where below the line (BTL) activation is concerned, the channel has lined up quite a few promotions. The 360 degree promotion for the show will include each and every possible media platform, with the message being customised for every medium. Outdoor, print, radio and digital will all capitalize on human inquisitiveness with the latter two involving audience interaction. Sony plans to take the KBC tour to 12 cities across the country where they will hold ‘Hot Seat Aapke Shaher’ (Hot seat in your city). From among the contestants, a shortlist would be made and they will be able to play KBC in their own city – albeit with a different host. Bachchan will still be involved as the person asking the question from the television screen. The OOH activity will be handled by Madison Outdoor Media Services.

“We started with the television campaign from 16th July 2013 which will go on till the launch of the show. In a phased manner we’ll start introducing secondary elements of promotion, other mediums which will become heavy at that point of time.  In a few days the radio campaign will break with social media getting updated, than the outdoor campaign will hit. Print will happen closer to launch and   internet and social media will create an impactful communication and there will also be various apps created to interact with the viewers. Hence like every year this strategy of reaching out in a broad-based manner, we are trying to customize the message through various mediums,” informed Seth.

In terms of numbers, people who are keen to be a part of KBC this season adds upto almost a whopping one crore and the wannabes have registered themselves aiming at  the hot seat and the production house is in the process of finalizing the contestants. The channel is working at devising ways to both attract and engage audiences.

“We have this large registration campaign which happens in the month of May when there is call for entry.  Every year there is mass amount of people who come in and want to be part of this life changing game show. The hopes and dreams they have for appearing in KBC, includes the intense desire to meet Mr. Bachchan and the other is to win a large amount of money. We do large campaigns in May and June and then we collate the entry, with which we shortlist our contestants. We have a substantial number of contestants,” said Seth.

With regard to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)   cap on the duration of ads in channels at 12 minutes per clock hour  starting October 2013, channels can air only 10 minutes of ads and two minutes of promos for their own shows every hour. The hike in ad rates has taken the industry by storm but according to industry and media experts Sony is betting big with a 15%-20% hike on their ad revenues from the market inspite of 10+2 ad cap regulation and a decrease in number of episodes this season. It goes without saying that the channel being a premium property has always  attracted the advertisers attention and  this year too the scene is no different. KBC being Sony’s biggest property the channel continues to get response from advertisers for the show and hence expecting to grow 20 percent this season.

A Big Synergy production , KBC Season 7 already has eight sponsors on board and the channel aims to rope in totally  9-10 sponsors for the show this season. While Cadbury and Idea have come back as title and powered by sponsors, the associate sponsors include Axis Bank, Ceat, Akash Tutorials, Just Dial, Maruti and Lava Mobiles.

Seth is of the opinion that while KBC is a known brand the need to communicate still persists. The industry is a competitive and fragmented space and hence with their new campaign the channel aims to attract newer audiences, retain the old ones and build excitement about the property, a feat which the channel is always successful in accomplishing.

So the time has arrived to put on our thinking caps, brush aside lethargy and go full steam ahead to participate in the upcoming 7th season of Kaun Banega Crorepati!