With channel refresh, Zee Bangla sharpens focus on middle-class Bengali women

Ahead of the Durga Puja festival, Zee Bangla will be undergoing a channel refresh. With the intent of propelling change, Zee Bangla’s new brand promise – “Notun Chhondey Likhbo Jibon” (Orchestrating life in a new rhythm) – seeks to ignite a spark amongst the middle-class Bengali women to draw from their inner strength, tide over internal and external battles and take charge of their future to achieve the extraordinary. 

This new brand identity will be revealed during the telecast of musical reality show, ‘Sa Re Ga Ma’, to be aired on Zee Bangla on Sunday, October 7, 2018, starting 9.30 pm. In its latest edition, ‘Sa Re Ga Ma’ is presented by Sunrise Pure and co-powered by Fortune Refined Soyabean Oil, Aquaguard and Wild Stone. 

Bringing alive the essence of its core proposition, Zee Bangla will unveil the channel’s brand-new avatar through an all new channel look, sound and visual identity. The visual identity captures the inner glow or radiance that emanates from within a symbol of positivity and confidence that the brand echoes. The channel sound scape has been expressed through a Brand Anthem orchestrated by Shantanu Moitra and sung by Shreya Ghoshal. Capturing the current day aspirations and changes in the middle class Bengali households are two brand films, directed by Dibyendu Bose from Opus Communication and music by Shantanu Moitra. The brand strategy has been co-developed by Publicis with its Kolkata counterpart – L&K Saatchi and Saatchi. 

Amit Shah, Cluster Head - Regional Markets, ZEEL, commented, “Over the last 2 decades, Zee Bangla has endeavoured to be a catalyst for change for the quintessential Bengali. As we look forward to the next leg of our journey, it is important for us to continuously reflect the aspirations of the evolving viewer and inspire them to be their extraordinary self. With the new brand proposition, ‘Notun Chhondey Likhbo Jibon’, we are aiming to reach out to a wider audience base and the middle-class Bengali woman, who is an epitome of resilience, courage and social change.” 

Prathyusha Agarwal, CMO, ZEEL, added here, “Our brands and content across regions have always highlighted values that are deeply ingrained in the middle-class audiences and we believe in bringing alive the voice and spirit of this ever evolving Great Indian Middle Class. Our new brand campaign for Zee Bangla is targeted to resonate with the middle-class Bengali household that reveres a woman as the Lakshmi of the family. With our unique Brand POV led content and communication approach, this idea will reflect across all our shows and campaigns celebrating the Lokkhis, who take charge of their lives and move their families ahead. Through the campaign, ‘Notun Chhondey Likhbo Jibon’, we are celebrating these extraordinary journeys and hope it will propel change in a positive way.” 

Shantanu Moitra, who has composed the music for the brand anthem, shared, “Zee Bangla has been a household name for over two decades and it has been a pleasure to be associated with the brand. The new brand anthem, ‘Notun Chhondey Likhbo Jibon’, promises to ignite a spark amongst the middle-class Bengali audience and will inspire them to move ahead with zeal and determination. I have tried to capture the same essence in my music too. Shreya Ghoshal has lent her vocals to the song and as usual has sung beautifully to the inspiring lyrics and euphonious music. I hope the viewers will like the new composition.” 

“We live in an ever changing and evolving society and over the past 25 years, we have captured this facet through the entertainment we provide to the viewers. With ‘Notun Chhondey Likhbo Jibon’, we are creating a refreshed positioning for Zee Bangla and look to inspire the middle-class Bengali women to overcome their inner fears, identify the potential within and orchestrate a better life for themselves and their families,” said Samrat Ghosh, Business Head - Zee Bangla and Zee Bangla Cinema, ZEEL. 

As the programming line-up continues to develop further in upcoming months, ‘Notun Chhondey Likhbo Jibon’ will take precedence in all aspects of content design, encouraging viewers to celebrate their indomitable spirit and make their lives truly extraordinary. 

Launched in 1999, Zee Bangla is the No. 1 GEC in Bengal, with a 44 per cent market share (WB U+R universe) and growing. The channel is also available on ZEEL’s digital and mobile entertainment platform, ZEE 5. 

In conversation with Adgully, Samrat Ghosh, Business Head - Zee Bangla and Zee Bangla Cinema, ZEEL, and Amit Shah, Cluster Head - Regional Markets, ZEEL, further speak about the channel’s journey, content offering, Bangla GEC space and more. Excerpts: 

Could you take us through the journey of Zee Bangla?
Samrat Ghosh: The last 19 have been really exciting for Zee Bangla. Since its inception, Zee Bangla has been able to cater to the entertainment needs of the Bengali diaspora and as we speak today, we have a share of 44 per cent in the Bengali market and we are one of the most popular and loved channels in the world. The entire success of Zee Bangla has been backed up by the strong content offering. Also, we make shows which can be relevant and can resonate with the audience. And as a brand, we are deeply rooted in Bengali values and cultures – both in terms of fiction and non-fiction. We cut across all groups and all the socio-economic class. 

How many hours of fiction and non-fiction content do you have on the channel?
Samrat Ghosh: On a weekly basis, we have 48.5 hours of content running on the channel, of this, non-fiction constitutes 13 hours. It also includes one hour of cartoon offering that we have on Sundays from 10 am to 11 am. 

What is Zee Bangla’s USP?
Samrat Ghosh: In terms of brand positioning and content offering, we keep our viewers in mind and work accordingly in order to build a connect with them. The kind of content offering that we have on our channel targets the entire family. We have diverse content in terms of fiction and non-fiction, or for that matter even cartoons, which targets a specific audience to fulfil their entertainment needs. 

What kind of ad hike you are expecting post the launch of this brand campaign?
Amit Shah: We are not looking at ad hike through this campaign. We are only targeting at our viewers. I think if we create content for the viewers and keep them in mind as a priority, then everything else will ideally fall in place. The core has to be the viewers. We have a good traction of local as well as national advertisers on the channel, and it is collectively growing. 

Samrat Ghosh: We have always focused on our consumers and the revenue upsurge is just an outcome of that. Besides, we have a very healthy mix of national as well as local advertisers on board. 

What is the size of the Bengal market today?
Samrat Ghosh: It is around a Rs 1,000-crore market. The Adex of the (Bengal) market is also growing at 15 per cent CAGR. 

According to you, how has the Bengali market evolved over the years?
Samrat Ghosh: Fifteen years ago, all the Bengali channels put together used to create approximately 50 hours of content. Today, Zee Bangla alone is producing that kind of content. In Bengal, the viewership is growing at 5 per cent CAGR. 

How would you compare the Bangla market with the other regional markets that you look after?
Amit Shah: I look after 10 channels (Zee Marathi, Zee Marathi HD, Zee Talkies, Zee Talkies HD, Zee Yuva, Zee Sarthak, Zee Bangla, Zee Bangla HD, Zee Bangla Cinema and Big Ganga). And, all the channels are doing well in their respective fields. They are strong in their respective markets. Bengal as a market is very important because it has seen an upsurge and that’s why more of national and local advertisers are getting attracted towards it. It is a fairly important market for us as well as for all the players. Rest, I would say that all the states are important and they are doing well. 

In the other GEC markets, the OTT spread is really doing well. What is the scenario like in the Bengal market?
Samrat Ghosh: We see it as an opportunity because over the past few years, we have seen that Bangla Television and Cinema have co-existed and have done well for us. TV caters to the entire family and a majority of the households are single TV households, while on the other hand, we have digital which caters to individuals. I think both the platforms can co-exist and they also help in driving growth and consumption of content. 

While nationally FTA channels have done very well in Rural+Urban markets, how does the FTA market look like in Bengal?
Samrat Ghosh: It is not that good. Unlike other markets, where FTA channels contribute to the growth, in Bengal we don’t see that kind of value coming from FTA channels.