SAB soon to say -"Ab Bache Bache Ko Bhi Pata Hain, Ki Asli Mazaa SAB Ke Saath Hai."

The channel has lately been trying to engage and interact with its audience. In a bid to achieve this better, the channel has launched a special brand campaign.

Adgully spoke to Anooj Kapoor, Executive Vice-President and Business Head, SAB, to get an insight on the campaign and the channel's plans going forward.

Talking about the channel's unique programming strategy, Kapoor said that the channel decided upon delivering light hearted content after studying the Indian market extensively. SAB used research extensively and found that there was a gap in the market. The research which tried to gauge the content needs of the audience, found out that the audience had reached a fatigue level because of an over dose of soap operas across all General Entertainment Channels (GECs).

He further adds that, the study revealed that the audiences wanted some light-hearted content that a family could sit and watch together. So the channel thought of being the fore runners in the comedy genre and since then it has vowed each time to deliver the brand promise better.

In just two years the channel's viewership went up by 300%, and hence Kapoor says that the channel will not deviate from the present strategy of delivering the best in the comedy genre. However, the channel will try to engage with the audiences more and more. The channel initially set out to do this by launching the SAB Mela, which gave the common people to have a good time, enjoy the festivity and also interact with the channel's stars.

Taking this forward, the channel has recently launched "Happy Housewives Club' an exclusive club for housewives. The new initiative is a rare platform for the housewives across the nation to showcase their talent through the channel. The campaign has garnered tremendous response from around 45-47 thousand housewives across 15 odd cities. SAB TV aims to have 2000 such clubs by end of 2010 across 28 cities of India.

Kapoor adds that this initiative will help a housewife to showcase her talent and that too on a nationwide platform. He further adds that in the months to come the channel will be launching the next phase of the campaign and which will be titled-"Ab Bache Bache Ko Bhi Pata Hain, Ki Asli Mazaa SAB Ke Saath Hai."

The campaign will try to concentrate on attracting the younger category of audiences. Kapoor thus believes that the campaign will not only cater to a specific category, but it will further reinforce the channel's value of providing entertainment for the entire family.

Talking about marketing initiatives across digital media, he says, "Digital media will be utilized to drive the audiences towards the channel. The channel is hence looking forward to explore this medium to the fullest."

The channel has also been the only Indian GEC to launch the never heard before silent comedy format. The channel boasts of two such silent comedy shows- Malegoan Ka Chintoo and Gutur Gu. Talking about the unique format, Kapoor says that SAB has always believed in offering innovative content even if the genre remains the same, the channel believes to go with the team's conviction rather than thinking about the risks. "The channel has always been known for its courageous moves, the content is unique and the silent comedy format is the first of its kind on Indian Television. We believe in delivering the best. The channel is commercially successful, refreshingly different and the audiences have reciprocated positively," he adds

SAB might seem to be leading its own league at this point of time but it surely is uniquely placed in the GEC category and is providing fresh content. The channel has got its brand campaign in place and though its programming strategy might remain the same, the channel does look more zealous and optimistic, just like its brand promise. | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]