Sony SAB unleashes promo-blitzkrieg for 'Khidki' ahead of its launch today

Sony SAB has embarked on an aggressive 360-degree marketing campaign to bring alive its promise of real funny stories from across India for its new mini television series – ‘Khidki’. ‘Khidki’ premieres today, June 28, and will air every Monday to Friday at 9.30 pm.

The light-hearted family entertainment channel from Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has undertaken an innovative approach to promote the show. What defines the new mini-series is that ‘real’ life funny stories sourced from audiences from all parts of India will be dramatised, developed and adapted for the small screen. With the intention of crowd sourcing such genuine and cherished stories from viewers, the channel has embarked on a phase-wise campaign to create awareness about the show and invite entries.

‘Khidki’s ongoing publicity campaign has so far generated a total of 12,345 stories. The first phase of this campaign was devised to actively scout for comic content from consumers. From partnering with the micro-blogging site Twitter to runnig a contest titled ‘#Tweetyourfunnystory’, to a live Q&A session with the producers of the show, JD Majethia and Umesh Shukla, on Twitter’s video-streaming app Periscope, the channel has pulled out all stops in ensuring that it stokes excitement amongst consumers in sharing some of their funniest stories.

Sticking to its promise of presenting viewers ‘interesting, real life stories from every corner of India’, SAB has conducted an activation programme in long-distance trains like Rajdhani, Shatabadi and Garib Rath. In addition, SAB has also run multiple promos on its home channel, encouraging consumers to upload their funny stories on the microsite.

From ushering the need for people to share some of their heartfelt stories in the first phase of the campaign, SAB has now decided to add momentum to its campaign movement by undertaking initiatives to drive tune-ins for the show in the second phase. The channel has embarked on a 9-series illustration-based print advertising campaign, each depicting the kind of story that will be featured in ‘Khidki’. The 9-insert campaign is being released across 23 national and regional publications. Further, illustration-based outdoor hoardings will be put up across 10 towns. A radio jingle sung by actor Raghubeer Yadav will be played across Hindi speaking market (HSM) stations and in local trains.

For a show who’s USP is ‘real’ stories, the channel has decided to ride high on the ‘relatability’ aspect by getting its SAB Family Club members to unveil the show in different cities across India.

‘Khidki’s cast will feature in a set of recurring actors like Sarita Joshi, Rajeev Mehta and Lubna Salim, to name a few, who will portray different characters in different stories, along with narration by host JD Majethia, who is also the producer of the show. Each story will be weaved in episodes designed to last for minimum of three to eight episodes, depending on the length of each story.