MUMBAI: General Entertainment channel COLORS launched its mega reality show- Bigg Boss Season 4 on 3rd October 2010. The show is being aired everyday at 9pm. To garner more eyeballs, Primesite has carried out a series of OOH campaign wherein aggressive brand push and innovations have been implemented, leaving an indelible impact on its Target Group.

The campaign which commenced on 26th September 2010 had an overriding objective to launch the show with a bang & announce Salman Khan as the new host for this season. To amplify this message, the campaign focused on creating impact by plastering each city with larger format billboards & huge numbers of different media vehicles to build frequency. To do so, Primesite has deployed the campaign on key arterial routes and junctions as well and has used multiple creative?s to communicate key messages.

To break through the clutter, Primesite came up with two innovations - One being the moving ‘Bigg Boss‘ Roving Eye on a billboard which was put up 4 days prior to the actual campaign roll out. This has been executed at 2 prime locations in Mumbai - Mahim causeway & Juhu. These successfully helped in building intrigue amongst its end consumers. Further to create further buzz, a Bigg Boss Sample Flat was created on a billboard which gave a feel of the Bigg Boss house being built on it. To make it look more realistic, a balcony was created which housed a man on the billboard. Basic requirements like water, table, chair, fan, newspaper were all provided to the person who lived in the sample flat for 5 days.

The objective of executing such innovation was to show a man living in the Bigg Boss house & that the world can keep an eye on every move of his. To magnify this effort & to create that additional buzz around it, COLORS initiated a three- day radio contest on various FM channels. It talked about spot the House billboard and the winner gets an opportunity to visit the sets of the actual Bigg Boss House.

Different media vehicles such as Billboards, BQS, Designer Bus queue shelters, Gantries, Utilities, Metro panels, Pole Kiosks etc have been used to drive promotions. These have been deployed at main arterial roads and busy traffic intersections in key GEC markets to attract maximum eyeballs.

Commenting on this initiative, Aneil Deepak, Sr. VP ? Planning & Innovation, said, ?This is the start of the busiest season in Out-of-Home. With noise levels at their loudest, the campaign needed to strike a chord with the commuters. So we centered the OOH strategy around getting various elements of the Bigg Boss 4 property closer to the commuter. Hence, the Roving Eye and the Bigg Boss Sample Flat campaign.?

Speaking on the innovative marketing initiatives, Rajesh Iyer, Director - Marketing, COLORS said, ?Bigg Boss is amongst the biggest and the most exciting shows on Indian television today; and with Salman Khan as the host, the 360-degree marketing initiatives are also developed to create high impact. The communication strategy is designed to fuel the curiosity and create buzz till the show goes on air and also sustain post launch interest.?
 

MUMBAI: Sony?s new launch Kaun Banega Crorepati is set to open to record numbers on Monday, October 11th, suggests media research & consulting firm Ormax Media.

The prediction is based on a series of syndicated work done by Ormax Media, including awareness tracking tool Showbuzz. The findings reveal that KBC has the highest ever score on Showbuzz, with 44% unaided recall in the week before its launch. This is higher than Bigg Boss 4 at 40% and Pratigya at 29%, the two most successful launches at the pre-launch week stage, since the start of Showbuzz in May 2009.

Speaking about the findings, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO, Ormax Media, said: ?If the awareness scores are any indication, KBC opening episode may cross 5.5-6 TVR, even 7 if the campaign works even harder on the weekend. In Bigg Boss? case, the recall picked up from 40% in the pre-launch week to 69% in the launch week, an unprecedented score. We can expect a similar trend for KBC.?

Showbuzz is awareness tracking research conducted in six markets ? Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Indore & Jalandhar. More than 600 people in the 15-44 yrs. SEC ABC segments are interviewed every week.
 

MUMBAI: STAR News begins the celebration of successful completion of 6th year for its No.1 programme Saas Bahu aur Saazish. The celebration began with a grand party held at ITC Grand Maratha Mumbai. The invitees to the party were the superstar of the television. These favorite television stars were present to show their affection to the programme which makes them closer to their audience. The celebration is named as "Jashn e Hafta" and it would continue through the week of 11th -16th October.

Back in 2004, STAR News conceptualized a news program named Saas Bahu Aur Saazish (SBS) to serve the growing interest of audience in Hindi serials. The idea was to showcase the stories behind the screen, recap the popular serials, and predicts the likely turn of events in the following episodes. The programme soon topped the charts and continued the leadership for past 6 years. The success of the programme was even replicated by other channel through similar format programs, but the original stills remains the best. The programme Saas Bahu aur Saazish bears the crown of being the audience favorite for past 6 years. At 2:30 pm, it has been the no.1 program in entertainment reporting with 29% average market share for past 6 years among the Hindi News channels.

When first conceived six years ago by Star News, few in the industry believed that it will be the biggest innovation narrowing the gulf between news and entertainment. It‘s a programme on the news of entertainment " according to Mr Ashok Venkatramani, CEO of Star News.

The programme was smooth to receive the support of sponsors. Jashn E Hafta 2010 is sponsored by ALEX PANEL. Associate partner to the event is MITSUBISHI Heavy Industries Ltd. and the magazine sponsor remains Ghirhshobha. The celebration last year was sponsored by Black cobra plywood. And associates to the event were Wagh Bakri Tea, Whirpool and Kores.

The star cast of all the popular soap operas enjoyed the humorous Saas Bahu Aur Saazish Awards and applauded the Winners. Some of these Awards were-

Mera Pati Arabpati, Ruthte Raho, Kabtak Chup Rahungi, Rok Sako Toh Rok Lo, Mere Paas Glycerine Hai, Mujhse Shaadi Karogee, Tum Mujhe Lipstick Do, Main Tumhe Gaali Dungi, Khaali Award, Main Thanedaarni Tere Aangan Ki, Meri Awaaz Ko Mil Gayi Ghanti, Iss Cement Mein Jaan Hai, A-mar award, Phate Mein Taang Award, Nakhrewaali Award, Paas-Paas Award and Jeena Yahan, Marna Yahan

The programme undoubtly remains the smartest buy as it enjoys endless loyalty of viewers to make it Top running programme for 6 continuous years. So when we keep following the real and reel life of Television star, you keep ahead by choosing Star News.
 

MUMBAI: During the British rule in India, several Indians were lured by the British to travel to distant Mauritius where they would have a better life. Upon reaching this island, the Indians were enslaved, tortured and made to labor in what is now known as the "Coolie Ghat". After the British left India, the Indians in Mauritius decided to continue to live there along with other nationals from different countries. Amongst the Indian family was the Sinha family, consisting of Shekhar, his wife Sandhya and son, Jai. Jai attends culinary classes where he meets with beautiful Swede, Sophie Besson, and after a few misunderstandings both fall in love with each other. Sophie introduces Jai to her parents, Norman and Claire. Norman who used to one of the slave-masters in the olden days, considers Indians quite inferior, does not approve of Jai, and would like Sophie to marry Gordon. On the other hand, Sandhya gets a shock when she finds out that her son wants to marry a Roman Catholic, and does not approve of Sophie at all. Sophie is adamant and refuses to change her mind about Jai, both plan to run away together. On the stipulated night, Jai does not show up, and a heart-broken Sophie returns home and agrees to marry Gordon. An angered Norman uses his contacts to ensure that Shekhar loses his job and will not find any employment in Mauritius. When Sophie and Jai meet again, Jai is in the company of a lovely young doctor named Gayatri Pandey, a Hindu Brahman, his fianc?e, and Sophie is invited to their marriage. The question remains why did Jai fail to keep his appointment with Sophie, and why did he consent to marry Gayatri?

Dil Jo Bhi Kahey... is a Bollywood film released in 2005. It is directed by Romesh Sharma who is best known for having produced Hum (1991). Amitabh Bachchan, Revathi, Karan Sharma, Bhoomika Chawla, Annabelle Wallace, Malcolm Stoddard and Claire Oberman star in the film.
 

MUMBAI: The Last Lear is an Indian, English language film directed by Rituparno Ghosh. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Divya Dutta, Shefali Shah and Jisshu Sengupta. It was produced by Planman Motion Pictures.

When first we meet veteran thespian Harish Mishra (Bachchan), he is gravely ill. The punishments of a film shoot have left the old man in a coma. His co-star, Shabnam (Preity Zinta), is wracked with worry, but their director, Siddharth (Arjun Rampal), keeps strangely distant and refuses to visit his ailing star. In flashbacks, their story emerges.

MUMBAI: BIG Live, the experiential marketing arm of Reliance Broadcast Network Limited which recently announced the ?BIG IMA Awards 2010? in partnership with the Indian Music Academy, India?s most authentic platform for the promotion and popularization of all forms of Indian music , now takes forward its awards by opening the floor for entries. ?BIG IMA Awards 2010? is Jury based award with multiple categories to honour various genres of Indian music. Entries for the Awards will be accepted from October 5, 2010 and till November 05, 2010. In its efforts to bring the entire Indian music industry together, ?BIG IMA Awards 2010? is supported by the stalwarts of the Indian music industry and the Patrons of the IMA, viz. Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Dr. Balamurli Krishna, Dr. Lalgudi Jayaraman, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Javed Akhtar, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pyarelal, Louis Banks, Jagjit Singh and others, The IMA is founded by Pandit Jasraj.

BIG IMA Awards is India?s single most definitive platform which seeks to recognize excellence in composition, lyrics and technical expertise & celebrate popular music /songs, singers and emerging talent, across every genre of India?s rich and diverse Landscape of music. The Awards will be given across 5 categories, with each category having a specialized jury.

These categories cover genres of music like Hndustani, Carnatic, Folk, Ghazal, Qawali, Jazz, and Fusion as well as Film Music.

Apart from the jury based Awards, the popular category of awards will see listener?s across the 45 station network of RBNL?s radio arm, 92.7 BIG FM voting for their favourite lyricist, composers and singers. A unique offering will see not just the singer, but the face that lends visual appeal to the song, namely the actor, will be felicitated in the awards category for Best Visualized Solo Film ? Male and Female

Renowned IMA patrons will consult amongst themselves and felicitate one artist each in the classical and popular category for the ?Hall of Fame Award? as well as felicitate the International Indian Musician of the year.

Backed with its extensive reach and spread across 52 offices in India,

reaching out to over 52,000 villages and over 200 million Indians, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd. will ensure a holistic approach to the property with the promotion of the awards at a grander scale across its various verticals ranging 92.7 BIG FM for the on air promotions on radio, BIG Street for the Out of Home amplification, BIG Digital for online and digital communication as well as BIG Live for on-ground activities including concerts across the cities of Kolkata, Delhi, Bhopal and Chandigarh

To ensure maximum reach and multiple touch points, to make ?BIG IMA AWARDS 2010? one of the biggest music celebrations in Indian history, RBNL is integrating the property across the Reliance ADA Group companies which range BIG Cinemas ? as Multiplex Partner, Zapak.com ? as Online Partner and R-World ? as Retail Telecom Partner.

Ms. Durga Jasraj, Co-founder, IMA commented on the announcement of the nominations, ?It gives me great sense of joy to announce the opening of the Entries for the ?BIG IMA Awards 2010? that will see musicians, singers, lyricists, composers, and others from all genres of the music industry participating in the biggest recognition of annual excellence in the music industry. This Award will be adjudicated by a world renowned and specialised Jury for each category?

Speaking on this initiative, Mr. Arjun Singgh Baran, Business Head, Intellectual Properties, BIG LIVE, commented ?Given our music lineage through our radio network 92.7 BIG FM, the music awards as an intellectual property were a natural extension for BIG Live. The property is poised to become the largest culmination of music celebration as it recognizes talent across genres of Indian music. The BIG IMA Awards 2010, backed by the multi-media entity of Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd., promises to offer an excellent entertainment offering for audiences while becoming a superior property for brands to associate with.?