#TwitterChat: Unlocking the potential of Tier 3 & 4 markets for OTT players

“Localisation is the key in Bharat…We believe organic reach can sustain an OTT player for a longer period of time,” said Mahendra Sharma, Founder and CEO of Matrubharti, while talking about the successful marketing strategy for tapping into the audience in India’s hinterland.

The conversation took place on Friday, August 2, 2019, as part of Adgully’s #TwitterChat with industry leaders in the digital content space.

Matrubharti is a regional content start-up that began its journey by curating content published by myriad content creators, e-books and snackable social media content in Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi languages.

Most recently they launched a premium feature on their app, called ‘MatrubhartiVishesh’, which offers exclusive content such as regional theatrical plays, short films, OpenMics, and literature festivals.

Their foray into the highly competitive Indian OTT space raises many questions on the unaddressed entertainment needs of Tier 3 and 4 markets. After watching the success of content creators such as The Viral Fever and FilterCopy, they came to realise the untapped potential in this space.

Matrubharti works on a low investment model for original video content. They don’t sign big stars or big budget production houses. Instead, they utilise the tremendous trove of local talent who perform quality story-based screenplays. They partner with theatre groups, drama schools and others who are ready to digitise their performances.

Read More: Regional Content Start-Up Matrubharti Enters Video Streaming Space

Mahendra Sharma’s discussion with Adgully reveals the opportunities that exist in the regional OTT space as well as the audience potential of these markets.

Excerpts:

In what way is Bharat different from India in terms of the audience’s preference for entertainment?
Our many cultural and language differences make us different. People love their native language and their culture is their way of life, so they want to celebrate it on the Internet. That makes it a completely different market for all languages and geographies of India.

What are your learnings from mainstream OTT players and what can they, in turn, learn from Matrubharti?
Localisation is the key in Bharat. Understanding the region, their roots along with historical background is essential and where we put in a lot of effort. We hope other OTT players do that.

We are learning about marketing strategies from other players and implementing it at a low cost. We believe organic reach can sustain an OTT player for a longer period of time.

To win over the consumer, you need to create communities and get people to engage at a P2P basis, something which Matrubharti has successfully done.

When we think of Tier 3 and 4 towns, such audiences are far more engaged with short form video sharing apps such as TikTok. Will content such as regional literature, poetry or story narration in digitised format prove to be a success?
There is an enormous appetite for quality content that utilises the talent of the local people. We see thousands of people attending folk dances and music events in these towns. Such performers are showered with money; we expect it to be the same online.

The audience demands a 360-degree experience from theatre. Video on demand will help theatre groups monetise their plays that would otherwise have a limited audience. It is a great idea that differentiates us from other OTT players.

Will streaming theatrical plays bring about the second coming of regional theatre?
Theater is an art form that gave birth to modern Indian filmmaking. It is preserved by Bharat (the regional audience), but unfortunately it has its challenges.

With the help of digitisation, Matrubharti is reviving it from the roots through the video format. This will not only give access to a whole new genre of original content in regional languages, but also open doors for local performers.

How have you leveraged the virality factor on social media platforms to drive organic reach for your content?
Sharing on Facebook helps us bring the user to our website or app. WhatsApp helps us build the brand recognition by forwarding the content. We share content pieces that are a minute or two in length to generate user interest in the app.

Offline events seem to be a significant aspect of your marketing strategy. What has been the response to these events?
Offline events serve multiple purposes for us. Firstly, they help us secure quality content rights. Next, it helps with brand recognition to our target audience in this geography. Lastly, the cost of marketing such events is low.

Since the audience is niche and has a literary bent of mind, they appreciate such events. However, the mass audience in Tier 2 and 3 centers can be engaged with user generated content.

Do you plan on monetising your content through subscription?
We are not planning for subscription for now. We are working with local businesses and offering them various ways to promote their brands. One of them is brand integration within the video content itself and by selling advertising real estate on the app and web.

What are the monetisation opportunities on Matrubharti Vishesh?
We have mostly consumer brands, retail chains and tourism businesses. Consumer brands seek loyal consumers for the long term and we have users in the 18-36 age group who are the most active on our platform. Thus, we are the right fit for the brands.

We believe that Indians would not mind spending money on good video content as long as it is entertaining or edifying, at a price point where they see value. Advertisers would leverage the next generation OTT platforms to reach out to young consumers as consumption of content via cable/ DTH is on the wane. From a monetisation standpoint, we are setting up a region wise sales channel that will bring local brands and cash rich businesses to advertise on our platform for backing our video content.

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