MUMBAI: On September 19, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd launched the new season of its trailblazing music talent show ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ on Zee TV and Zee5, with 20 sponsorship and brand deals across packaged foods and spices, jewellery, building materials, personal care products, paints, apparel, banking, health insurance, mutual funds and consumer technology. Regional brands like Sargam Detergent and Ramraj Cotton sat next to national advertisers like Cadbury Dairy Milk, Kalyan Jewellers and Berger Paints.
The ongoing season of the popular reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ on Colors and JioHotstar has found traction among advertisers despite being around for 20 years. For the Hindi show hosted by Salman Khan, the season locked 20 brands including sponsors like Vaseline, Ai + Nova phones, Bajaj Electricals, Flipkart, Danube Properties etc. Overall, the six language shows of Big Boss on the JioStar Network and JioHotstar, have over 95 sponsors. “Snabbit is a good example: its promise of getting cleaning services to your doorstep in 10 minutes was brought into the Bigg Boss house, making the product itself part of the entertainment. CoinSwitch similarly uses India Ke Top 1% to turn sponsorship into participation, with an in-app quiz giving users a pathway towards the show,” said the JioStar spokesperson.
On ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ on Sony Entertainment Television, Google Gemini has joined the returning co-presenting sponsors Maruti Suzuki and Aditya Birla Group. The advertising roster comprises a mix of long-standing partners and first-time advertisers. “Streaming has added a powerful lean-in layer to the experience. Brands are also gravitating towards reality show IPs to build stand out moments. “In the age of digital advertising, brands are navigating the sea of sameness. Digital platforms may be attributable and measurable but advertisers don’t know where the content is coming from, what is the environment in which the ad is being shown and who is watching it. There is very little understanding on this. He cited the example of ‘KBC’ and its association with the Aditya Birla Group. At JioStar, too, brand integration is an increasingly important part of the commercial architecture around reality. For ‘Bigg Boss’, brands like HUL, P&G, Haier, Maruti Suzuki and Asian Paints keep returning. ORN.com has joined hands with JioStar across its non-fiction entertainment slate, betting on the pull of big television shows to turn living-room attention into holiday bookings.
Ashwin Padmanabhan, chief operating officer, WPP Media, South Asia, said that brands are not just continuing but doubling down on their association with reality shows. Television creates the scale and shared viewing moment, while streaming allows audiences to go deeper, stay connected longer and actively participate through live feeds, voting, polls, live chats, clips and social conversations,” said a JioStar spokesperson. Audiences are not just watching but engaging, participating and talking about these properties, creating opportunities for brands to become part of the experience, the person said. Also, most digital ads also look similar,” Padmanabhan said. “When a key leader of the group appears in a ‘KBC’ episode with Amitabh Bachchan and talks about corporate initiatives, the conversation travels onto social media creating awareness, building engagement and creating consideration for the brand,” Padmanabhan said. The company said the advertiser opportunity across its reality portfolio has become much broader, allowing integration possibilities. “New-age brands like Snabbit, ORN.com and SuperSox are also finding differentiated opportunities across our non-fiction slate,” said the JioStar spokesperson.
