MUMBAI: A few years ago, Sony Pictures Networks India decided that it was necessary to split its vast repertoire of movies. This led to the birth of Sony MAX 2 which shows movies from the 1950s to the year 2000 that are meaningful or nostalgia-evoking.

Now, in an attempt to engage with digital viewers and Bollywood fans, the channel has built up a Timeless Digital Awards property with the theme of 'Legends Ke Yadgaar Kirdhar'.

Sony SAB and MAX Cluster marketing head Vaishali Sharma says, “Four years ago we decided to do a very unique kind of awards in the digital space while everyone was doing on-ground events and that too for latest movies. So, we wanted to start something for movies over the decades. We did around two seasons. This year, we thought of celebrating the viewers’ favourite characters."

There are four categories: male actor, female actor, comedian and villain. Every 10-12 days, one category is opened up for people to vote. There are around roughly ten legends or character in every category. Sharma says that last year it had around 4 lakh votes, and this year in 10 to 15 days, it has witnessed over 2 lakh votes. “We thought that we will surpass the number what we hit last year. The trend as of now looks exciting," she says.

The awards take into account previous awards as well as the popularity of characters. “The entire focus is on the digital platform. We are using all social media platforms; we have created online promos and programmatic marketing. We are doing this for our online viewers and it’s an engagement activity," she adds.

Coming to the channel’s own marketing strategy, Sharma says that it is defined by the business objective as well as the dynamics of the industry which continuously sees many changes in terms of its measurement structure, NTO, etc. “We have to be very nimble, proactive and innovative with our strategies.”

Revealing her plans for 2020, Sharma informs, “I think this year would be a very exciting year for us both in terms of MAX 2 and MAX which have been leaders in their own genres of Hindi cinema. There are many challenges in the industry with the NTO and we never know what can happen in the future. So, we need to be prepared to be able to work around all the changes that are happening and ensure that we continue to be leaders in this category."

Despite being just four-years-old, Sharma says that it has done extremely well. “It’s very close to the number four-five in the industry of 32 channels. None of our brands is for rural. That space is something that most television channels have not really started investing in. I think for advertisers and the industry to actually expand and grow opportunities in rural will take time, so the growth in that area will be slow and steady. As of now, we have Sony Wah which caters to small-town India also. We will continue to nurture that so that one day it can expand into smaller markets,” she signs off.