Zee has to think like a pioneer and be a pioneer: Punit Misra

Zee TV yesterday (October 15, 2017) unveiled its new ideology, encapsulated in a powerful line – Aaj Likhenge Kal. The channel also unveiled its new brand identity and logo where each element signifies the aspiration of the great Indian middle class. The circular logo denotes the universal appeal of Zee TV’s all-inclusive content. The orange colour represents the inner glow or radiance that emanates from within – a symbol of positivity and confidence that the brand echoes. 

The brand packaging will be brought alive through elements of nature such as fire, earth, water, air – the diya, which represents light and hope, the blooming of an orange flower that stands for the beauty of life and evolution, gold that denotes eternal richness and mosaic which enunciates the power of synergy that stems from several fragmented pieces coming together to form a beautiful whole. 

The channel, which has completed 25 years in the market, also unveiled its vision for the future. The new brand philosophy seeks to ignite a spark amongst the great Indian middle class to take charge of their destinies and curate an extraordinary future. 

Adgully spoke to Punit Misra, CEO - Domestic Broadcast Business, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), to have a deeper insight into the refreshed brand philosophy, Zee’s 25-year journey, content strategy, growth of OTT platforms, media consumption in India and much more. Excerpts: 

What would you consider to be the landmark developments at Zee TV in its 25-year journey?
It’s a series of incidents which are reflected of a deep belief system of a founder, which is that we have to think like a pioneer and be a pioneer. Going and launching channels in Marathi and Bangla at a time when no one possibly thought about it because there were all news channels was really challenging. The launch happened with the launch of Dish TV. 

Entrepreneurial foresight and quick entry builds the industry. This is the first thing. The second thing is getting connected with the middle class. It differentiates us and helps us understand the consumer and their aspirations. That is a big thing. I have a team where we are also the consumers and it is a big thing, which comes out in everything that we do. That is also the reason which is why our regional channels are also doing well. We are rooted in those regions. 

While you change the colour and tagline of the channel, how do you intend to connect with the younger set of TG?
I think there are 2-3 things here. Firstly, we have Zee TV and also &TV, and between the portfolios the brands will try to attract different consumers. Secondly, for the youths we have 9XM, which is a music channel that connects with the youth and also the digital platform that they are working on has a say and play with the youths. Wherever there are consumer and wherever there are sizable segments, we are present there with every form of entertainment. We are also doing live events, which helps us connects with the youth in a big way. Music is a big play for us. We have brought a very large share of music that has been created in this country and that’s again for the youth. 

Talking about music, why the thought of launching a music album with Arijit Singh?
This is again how smoothly music travels. People usually hum a song that they like, but how many people hum a brand’s tagline? Having artists like Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal lend their voices to Zee TV’s new brand song is intended to lead the audience to somewhere internalise the thought. They may hum the song, think of the words, think of the lyrics, which will help cement the thought that we want to drive. The tagline is not just a line for us. Hopefully it’s a philosophy which will translate to content. So, that’s where the song is important. 

How has the Indian media consumption scenario evolved in these 25 years?
There is more consumption today and more homes for which the reach has increased, which means that the channels are reaching homes and getting measured in homes which are even in the deep interiors of this country. That’s the one big change. If you go back 20 years, both consumption and measurement were largely based on the larger towns. So that’s a huge shift. We think that Bollywood is so huge, but in reality Bollywood’s penetration is just 5 per cent, which means that only 5 per cent of the population watch one movie once a year. But TV’s penetration is 65 per cent. This means that there is a huge change in the way the consumption used to be 20 years ago. This is the first change. The second change is that the consumer has got more choices today. There are so many channels. So, we have to make sure that we are continuously coming up with content that would fulfil our audience’s demand. Another thing is that earlier we could show things that may get away with mediocrity, since the choice was less, but today the choice is humungous. The quality of the content has been continuously improving, and so had the scale of production. Production houses today are far better than that of the yesteryears and technologies have also improved a lot. 

How do you envisage media consumption to change in the next 25 years?
Media consumption will happen any place, any time and across multiple screens, driven by people’s choice and the quality of content. People want to watch great content regardless of the medium on which they are watching. 

Nowadays, production houses are also getting into owning the IP rights. What is your take on that?
We are spending efforts and time along with the production houses and we believe IP is where it should be – which is, with us. Each businessman has got their own perspective to their business models. We are vehicular and that’s something which is core for us and that’s how we would like it to be. 

What will be Zee’s key focus in the areas months and years ahead?
The biggest focus for us is to ensure that we create content which is aligned with the breadth, it is just not a tagline, and it is something which is reflected in the content. Secondly, to ensure that our content connects with our consumers and get their feedback on it. 

Coming to the inevitable digital question – how do you see the rapid growth and adoption of digital media, especially OTT platforms, impacting the broadcast space in India?
The US is the most evolved market in this. The US market consumes two times the time that consumers here spend per day. It is also the most evolved market on digital as well. The advertisers are finding it necessary to co-exist on both. All research studies are showing that the brands will need to have a strong presence on TV; I believe that brands should be present on both platforms – TV and digital. 

Will television remain as important a medium – for content consumption and as an advertising platform – 25 years from now?
I certainly see both staying and both growing. There are certain other parts of media which have taken a beating, and that has happened in every part of the globe, but TV has actually continued to grow and that’s what we will see in the coming years. 

What role do you see the Tier 2 & 3 and rural markets playing in shaping the media consumption pattern in India in the future?
They are already shaping media consumption, which is reflective in this country. We have a measurement system in place which tells us whether the content that we have created is being watched or not; it is not a point of view but a measured output. If there are people who want to watch it and are appreciating it, and the content is not creating any rift in the society, that kind of content will continue to be made. Take for example, our serial ‘Brahmarakshas’, there were some who said that the serial was not worth watching, yet it was among the top 3 shows of the country till the time it was on air. 

What are the targets that you have set for Zee in terms of growth, market share, share of the viewership pie over the next 25 years?
25 years is a very long time. We intend to be No. 1 like we are today and like we were 25 years ago. 

Going forward, what are the factors that will dictate Zee’s content strategy?
The only thing that matters is if the consumers like the content. The point of view has no meaning if it doesn’t connect. We believe that we have crafted something which will connect and also how to create stories and characters which would connect, we are paranoid about just that. 

BARC has just tied up with DEN Networks. Could you tell us more about this partnership? Do you think other DTH player should also partner BARC as a body so that this broadcast industry can move forward?
I don’t want to specifically comment on that. But partnership is the name of the game for any industry. Honestly, those days of ‘Ekla Cholo Re’ (walk alone) don’t work anymore, and it is true for all industries. The fact is that this industry till now has also grown on the back of hundreds of production houses, because those are all outsourced content, those are partnerships. I personally subscribe very much to partnerships. Go where the strength lies and create great content.

Media
@adgully

News in the domain of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Business of Entertainment

More in Media