STAR Plus paints the town red with 'Har Mard Ka Dard'

An innovative 360° marketing campaign for the launch of Sumit Sambhal Lega 

Har Mard Ka Dard
/हर मर्द का दर्द/

The impossible tact of balancing expectations of the wife and the mother

The age-old saying has always claimed that men don’t feel pain but STAR Plus took it on itself to bust this myth and tell the world about Har Mard Ka Dard – the plight of every married man. Recently launched, Sumit Sambhal Lega the official adaptation of Everybody Loves Raymond is a show that revolves around the life of its male protagonist - Sumit and the comical situations he often finds himself in while trying to maintain a fine balance in all the relationships in his life.

With anticipation surrounding the show even before its launch, the channel was set to devise an innovative and strategic 360° marketing campaign based on an insight that the audience could instantly relate to – Har Mard Ka Dard which was the campaign focus. A universally relatable concept Har Mard Ka Dard is easily accepted across spheres.

Every piece of communication was aligned to this thought, starting with the on-air campaign that talked about the concept of the show and laid the entire foundation of the campaign thought. The initial promo was followed by a series of dedicated promos tailor-made for news and sports. Furthermore, STAR Plus’s existing male protagonists of top shows like Yeh Hai Mohabbatein and Ye Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai were roped in for integrated content that also talked about Har Mard Ka Dard to establish a connect with the masses.

On the Radio front, existing impact properties were integrated with the concept of Har Mard Ka Dard to drive home the message and the cast was also featured on the top radio channels across 7 cities with special capsules that talked about the common issues of the married man along with song tags that were related to their characters and the show. And for the first time, on the launch day, a complete radio station take-over was witnessed with male RJs taking center stage for one entire day. In addition, a unique on-ground consumer activation was conducted in the capital city where the listeners of RED FM were invited for a tête-à-tête with the protagonist Sumit who interacted with all the other ‘Sumit’s of the world - sharing the common woes of the Indian married men.

On the Digital platform, for the first time a GEC created co-branded content with ‘Being Indian’ that gave the viewers a peek into the married man’s world. In addition, a platform called ‘Dard Anonymous’ was designed for men to come and confess real life anecdotes of different situations they have faced with their families after marriage. The show’s characters also came alive in an interactive YouTube mast head that was created in a way that let the viewers choose between the mother and wife on behalf of the protagonist Sumit - both leading him to get an earful from the other! Instagram was flooded with a unique comic strip that was designed with the characters of Sumit Sambhal Lega in funny situations with witty one-liners and speech bubbles.

An extensive outdoor marketing strategy was rolled out with dynamic hoardings strategically plastered across Mumbai to generate word of mouth. These moving creatives showcased the male protagonist Sumit as a puppet being controlled by his puppet masters – his mother and wife. Another dynamic hoarding depicted Sumit trying to balance his wife and mother on a projectile see-saw.

The channel left no stone unturned and reached out to consumers at every possible touchpoint including cinema. PVR Cinemas was roped in for integration with Sumit Sambhal Lega that included lenticular image standees of Sumit being boxed by his wife and then his mother in turn. There was also extensive F&B branding of the show on the menus, popcorn tubs and even the nomenclature of Combo meals that were recreated with Sumit Sambhal Lega. The protagonist Sumit featured in a ‘Mobile Silent’ segment before the movie and besides that, a separate video paying homage to married men was shot that requested the audience to observe silence for married men and their dard.

STAR Plus has always been a trendsetter in adopting new and innovative marketing strategies. With such an extensive marketing effort across all platforms, Har Mard Ka Dard and Sumit Sambhal Lega surely became the talk of the town!