Exclusive | Tapping evolving consumer preferences, History TV18's Aiyer

History TV 18, a channel which has had the tradition of launching incredible shows like VICE, Ghost Planes and the Mystery of Flight 370', World Wars etc. launched another new show in line with its philosophy of giving clutter-breaking shows, Vital Stats of India with one of the most fun and loved anchor duo; Rocky and Mayur. The show that went live last Friday, 21st November at 9PM is one of History TV18’s local productions based on the numbers behind our amazing country.

To get a deeper understanding of the show and its marketing plans, Adgully caught up with Sangeetha Aiyer, Vice President and Head Marketing, A+E Networks|TV18.

Speaking about the show, Aiyer said, “Vital Stats of India is a brand new show with a unique concept that will be airing on HISTORY TV18.  The six part series reconnoiters and breaks down the numbers behind our amazing country in an informative, fascinating and easy-to-follow method. In each episode, the hosts, Rocky and Mayur, travel across the country revealing fascinating facts and figures, in their unconventional quirky and original manner.”

The initial idea and inspiration was drawn from a similar show called United States of America. Keeping the basic concept intact, the team decided to bring it to Indian audiences by showcasing compelling statistics about our country and sharing stories around numbers relevant to India. So it is completely different from what History has done earlier.

The show sees dynamic duo Rocky and Mayur embarking on an unusual journey, bringing out astounding realities and aspects that make us uniquely Indian: Cricket, Bollywood, Food, Politics, Money and pure demographics. “These six definitive aspects of India are topics that we all love to discuss and will find it easy to identify with, so the show will cut across demographics in our country,” she said.

When asked about the USP of the show as another channel is also dealing on the similar grounds as of this show, Aiyer said, “The basic USP of HISTORY TV18 is to highlight never-before seen aspects through novel concepts. Shows on HISTORY will always be fresh and offer something new to the viewer. As a result, our content is very different from that of our competition and vice versa.”

Adding further she said, “For instance, our idea was to make statistics fun and easy to understand for a common man; the content is something that any Indian will be able to identify with. The treatment too is entertaining as it is refreshing. From visiting a condom factory in Aurangabad to gain insight into a different set of "facts and figures" and gambling at a casino in Goa in an attempt to get rich quick, to shaking a leg to Bollywood tunes with Shiamak Davar's troupe, Rocky and Mayur set out on an unforgettable journey to understand the numbers that make India tick.”

Marketing Push:
A 360 degree marketing push across platforms, leveraging network synergies with cross promotions across Network18 and Viacom channels and a very innovative social media and digital push. The show is in line with HistoryTV18's promise of creating clutter breaking content and pushing the envelope on programming. This premise of innovation cuts across every facet of the channel. In an effort to reach out to its highly active and vocal audience online, the channel is launching a slew of initiatives linked to the show to drive buzz and engagement. We have some interesting initiatives on the digital, there will be exclusive content only for the App wherein there will be 2-4 min videos for their committed viewers who have downloaded the app."

The 10 odd clips will include some of the best parts of the show; produced with international quality standards of television, these clips will go beyond behind-the-scenes clips that are generally available online, which is something most other channels traditionally do. "Redefining the engagement level, we are also giving a chance to the viewers to win branded memorabilia by engaging with the channel during the show in a fun second-screen quiz," she said.

The faces of the show: 
“Besides this, we will have Rocky and Mayur live-tweeting before the show premiere to drive buzz and curiosity. We are also partnering with Storypick.com for weekly stories on interesting and unique OMG facts about the various aspects of India,” Aiyer added.
As the anchors, Rocky and Mayur who are synonymous with travel shows, have a separate fan following with their highly acclaimed shows like Highway On My Plate, Food Mad etc hence will surely be an added advantage for the show. “They are a popular duo and their chemistry and their irreverent, fun take on things worked well on screen for a show like Vital Stats of India. I am certain that their presence will only add to the excitement of the show,” Aiyer said.

Indian Content V/S International Content:
Since the factual entertainment genre is quite fragmented and at the same time robust, the channels generally bank upon more international content viz-a-viz local home-grown productions. When asked Aiyer, how much is local content in the channel versus acquired international content, she said, “We have taken a conscious stand to not acquire local content for the sake of "Indianizing" our content since we have strict quality guidelines, which cannot be compromised. As a result, a large portion of our FPC consists of international content based on universal values, which when dubbed in 5 Indian languages becomes identifiable to Indian audiences and works very well for us. This combined with the idea of providing novel content has ensured that our stickiness is very high, providing the highest time spent per viewer since launch.”

Trends:
Content consumption and with it consumer habits are changing every day. “One thing we can be sure of is that the existing ecosystem will not remain the same in the next few years- and change may come much sooner than expected. We are at a tipping point of technology and I'm very sure the TV industry will undergo metamorphoses of sorts in a manner similar to the print, music and other similar content driven media,” she said while signing off. By Aanchal Kohli | Twitter: @aanchalkohli