Summer brings good news for Nickelodeon: Viacom18 Media's Jaipuria

It is that time of the season when all brands pull-up their socks to promote and position their brands towards the increasingly influential audiences - kids. The break from school for kids does not in any way mean a break for kids broadcasters, as the category witnesses a significant rise in viewership during this period. Apart from viewership, the season also seems to get good business for the broadcasters.

Leaving no stone un-turned Nickelodeon has planned a fun pack summer for the kids this year. The Nickelodeon franchise, comprising of Nick, Sonic and Nick Jr., is geared to tackle the summer boredom of kids across all age groups, with a strong line-up of programming replete with comedy, action and edutainment and interactive campaigns on-air, on-ground and online. From new shows to new seasons of the ever-green hit shows, brand new movies and a whole host of interactivity, the franchise has something for everyone from tots to teens.

Adgully caught up with Nina Elavia Jaipuria, EVP & Business Head, Kids Cluster, Viacom18 Media Pvt. to more on the same.

“This summer kids will have a lot to engage themselves at a time, place and screen convenient to them. The loved famous duo, Motu and Patlu, will engage kids with new episodes and a television special on-air, play cricket online, meet and greet fans on-ground and even form a party of their own and lot more on Sonic and Nick Jr.", she opened.

Jaipuria surmises that the kids advertising market that is pegged around 330 crore, will grow by around 15% this year. When asked what kind of growth the channel has seen during the ‘Summer Season’, she said, “The ad revenue of our channel grew by 25 to 30% last year during this time and Nick recorded a 34% growth in terms of viewership. The reason we believe is our strong line-up and programming. Our shows like Pakdam Pakdai and Motu Patlu have worked quite well for us.” Also as Jaipuria told us, that fascinatingly addition of LC1 market has also contributed to the same. 

Interestingly, Nick expanded its footprints and joined hands with Tata Sky very recently but has still made its presence felt quite strongly among the users and this fact has been seen quite evidently among the advertisers too. Some of the big brands especially in categories like food, drinks brands, confectionaries, FMCG, fast food and ice-cream brands get active on the channel during summer.

Nick will see the new season of ‘Pakdam Pakdai’, the home-grown chase comedy, ‘Motu Patlu’ and in addition to the new seasons, a new show named ‘Rabbids’ will also be launched. Motu-Patlu as we all know has been one of the most famous properties for the Nick franchise. Under the new trend ‘made for TV movies’, there is more in the pipe line she mentioned. Nick is all set to launch the third movie from ‘Motu Patlu’ titled ‘Motu Patlu Deep Sea Adventure’, which is 70 to 80 minute movie and is set to air on 18th May 2015 at 10 am. “We have two successful movies already and this will be the third one. We will continue to keep adding to the movie library. This will give the kids a better chance to connect to our characters", she added.

To make the kids get into the groove of on-going 'Election environment’, Nick is all set with ‘Nickelodeon Comedy Elections’ which is a one-of-its-kind campaign in which kids get a chance to vote for their favorite show- with MotuPatlu and PakdamPakdai competing head-on. This month long initiative will be supported by a robust 360 degree marketing campaign that will target kids though cross channel promotions, on-ground mall activities across Delhi and Mumbai and a digital campaign. In order to target popular touchpoints frequented by kids, numerous mall activations and meet & greet with MotuPatlu are planned in leading malls of Mumbai and Delhi. The channel is also partnering with leading retail outlets like Hamleys.

There is more from the house of Nick with the ‘Nickelodeon Cricket Academy’. An exclusive online platform on www.nickindia.com, the property is replete with cricket matches of Motu Patlu, toon trivia and fun facts, the latest cricket buzz will keep kids updated on the India’s sport religion.

Coming to Sonic and Nick Jr, Sonic, is also all set to give kids a power packed holiday with new shows like Power Rangers Mega Force, Koni Chan and Naruto Rock Lee SD. The channel will also air a television special titled TheTurboosters which is an action movie for fanatics of adventure and science fiction. The Turboosters, that recently won two FICCI BAF Awards, is yet another addition to showcasing local content via the Nickelodeon franchise.

Starting 19th May, the ‘Sonic Action Mania’ will invite fans to watch their favorite shows – Power Rangers – Mega Force, Idaten Jump and Supa Strikas, everyday from 1 PM to 3 PM and win exciting prizes. The initiative will be given wings through an all-encompassing marketing plan that will be brought to life through a cross channel TV promotion, van activations across multiple cities, strategic on-ground alliances and a comprehensive online campaign. Since summer holidays and gaming consoles go hand in hand, Sonic has also planned an exciting gaming championship in partnership with Funcity.Sonic will continue to keep the online audience busy with the ‘Kung Fu Panda – Watch-n-Win’ contest this season. Fans have to log on to the website and watch the Kung Fu Panda videos and answer simple questions to win exciting goodies.

Nick Jr. will engage toddlers and parents as the channel launches all new episodes of Dora the Explorer and news shows that include ‘Peter Rabbit’, ‘Max & Ruby’ and ‘Tickety Toc’. A leader in the pre-school segment, Nick Jr. will continue to help tots learn and develop new skills in a way that is entertaining as well as warm and caring.

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