Spirit W | True Colors of Genius: Simran Hoon

Simran Hoon’s career in advertising began in 1994 when she joined Times Of India in the ad sales department. She switched from print to television in 1995 when she joined Sony Entertainment Television. This was followed by a stint with Vindia  the dot.com bandwagon where she  handled  their sales for the North.  The year 2005 saw her move back to Mumbai where she  joined Zee TV  as their National Sales Head. She then joined Viacom 18 in January 2008 as Executive Vice President and Head of Advertising Sales with an experience of fourteen years behind her. Simran says that she has never shied away from a punt in her career and the one she took in 2007 when she joined Viacom 18 has been one of the most successful stints in her career. She is presently Executive Vice President and Head of  Ad Sales ,Colors. 
 
Simran Hoon, Executive Vice President and Head of Sales Department, Colors, has been a part of  the television industry for quite a long time now. Her career took off in 1995. She has worked with Zee, Sony and Star India before she joined Colors and took charge of its sales department. Recalling her experience of those days she says; everything was new at that time, you learnt everything on your own and new selling terminologies were thus born.
 
“So it did start off with these initial challenges. But , I think that is what actually made us realize that the industry, which was in its sunrise period then is full of potential and today it continues to actually draw such good talent and actually is a very well-recognized industry,” said Simran.
 
On being asked about the challenges of being a woman in this field she exclaims that there are none. She believes it is all a matter of your capabilities, what you bring to the table and there has never been any advantage or disadvantage as far as being a woman in this industry is concerned.” The challenges are equal for men and women. It is an extremely challenging industry. Finally you have to get the job done whether you are a man or a woman. You have got to roll up your sleeves and lead from the front so it really does not matter whether it’s the man or the woman in this industry,” says Simran.
 
Having joined the industry in its real sunrise stage, she is happy to be a part of stuff that is today considered to be very generic. But when she started off in the mid 1990’s, there was no one to guide her. She does not fail to add that she has learnt a lot from all her bosses. Her father has also been a constant source of inspiration for her. Her father who hails from an army background has instilled in her the “Do or Die spirit”.
 
Apart from that, being prepared for what lies ahead and being a team player, are some of the other things that she has imbibed from her father.
 
Speaking about the future trends in the media space and in ad sales, she says that it is vital for selling professionals to think globally and act locally. Having said that, selling professionals today require a wealth of knowledge, to be competitive and they require a better insight into the customer’s world in the future. “Sales professionals must study their competitors in the industry and help the client determine his future trends in the media space and particularly in the TV space. Finally, customers in the future are going to be engaging with media partners who they can trust and have confidence in. There is a need to go beyond the 30 seconds commercial and think about newer trends,” she says.
 
She illustrates giving an example of how the brand proposition of Thums Up was actually extended into Khatron Ke Khiladi, whereby every little aspect on the show spoke about the brand-proposition of Thums Up. It was one of the most path-breaking shows on Indian television.
 
They also roped in ground content where all Thums-up bottles had the Khatron Ke Khiladi logo. There was a big battalion of Thums-up delivery trucks across the country which spoke about Khatron Ke Khiladi and its association with Colors. The entire thing was like a different level of programming all together where brand and content was extremely well thought of. It was a program where the brand engaged very seamlessly, explains Simran.  She says that content is finally king.
 
Talking about the difficulties in selling a product that is handed over to them, Simran said, “The sales team does have a good insight into the kind of content that is given to them. When any big decision as far as reality shows or big movies are concerned is to be taken, the sales department is consulted beforehand on whether the content is saleable or not. This is because we also have a pretty good sense of what content will work or what will sell. There are times when we do have to go out and sell whatever is given to us but there are also times when decisions are taken mutually on what is saleable and particularly also the season when things come in. For e.g: Typically Big Boss will be scheduled or preferred in the longer festive season. So, the sales department decides the seasonality of the shows ranging from movies to big reality content. Having said that, the content team is extremely good at their job. We do have to work in co-ordination. Of course different channels work in different ways. But at Colors, this is the way we work.”
 
Simran believes that it is extremely important for the sales department to be convinced about the product that they are selling. She adds that what matters is the confidence and the perception that you carry of your product. Finally, an advertiser is buying for the future. Looking at past trends, the future is still uncertain. So you need to convey to the advertiser the confidence and trust that you bring in the product.
 
Speaking about selling innovatively, she mentions that Colors was the 11th player when it launched and its market approach was extremely different from the others; whether it was a unique AV that Colors started off with or whether it involved bringing in new content every few months or getting the buzz going in the market and within the advertiser circle.
 
“The sales industry is a repeat purchase business wherein you deal with a customer base for many years. You actually have to carry the confidence that the programming team gives you out into your market to actually deliver for the future. In case something goes awry, you sit down at the drawing board again and work out something to take care of the client’s needs,” says Simran.
 
Commenting on the recent trend of various channels launching shows campaigning social issues, Simran Hoon states that, campaigning for social causes has been happening for over a long time now. Celebrities give instant recognition credibility in the mind space of the consumer. People can relate to them.
 
She further goes on to add that,  Colors was one of the trendsetters as far as social dramas were concerned and today other channels are getting into that space because they find value in it.
 
Colors started a different trend altogether when it launched Balika Vadhu by giving out positive messages in a space that was entertaining to the consumer.  There was a message in the show and after the show.” We are entertainment with a message”, she exclaims.
 
On an end note, her piece of advice for new people enthusiastic to enter in the industry is that you got to have patience. You got to spend a lot of time in building customer relationships. It could actually happen at the first meeting or it could happen at the tenth meeting but that is something you need to constantly work at. Relationships are instrumental in driving this industry. Have a strategic vision for the client and how you can serve the clients in the best possible manner with the tools at your disposal. These are the basics which need to be kept in mind. And the most important part is that you need to be adaptable given the dynamic nature of the industry. | By Aditi Popat [aditi(at)adgully.com]
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