Why advertisers are still backing older non-fiction properties

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

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.

Why advertisers are still backing older non-fiction properties

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.

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. 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.

Continued audience loyalty is one, said Padmanabhan. Sandeep Mehrotra, chief operating officer, Advertisement Revenue at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, said, longevity is an advantage when a property continues to remain culturally relevant. ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ has built viewer affinity over three decades, strengthened by the legacy of singers whose careers were launched through the platform, he said. “For advertisers, this translates into a combination of scale, emotional connect, strong engagement and the credibility of an established entertainment franchise,” he added.

Aruni Panda, SVP, Digital at Carat India, said, “Advertisers are buying the combination of scale, attention, cultural relevance, repeat exposure and integration opportunities. These shows still garner mass reach, consistent attention and remain emotionally and culturally relevant from a co-viewing standpoint for a country like India where the single TV household phenomena still dominates.”

Besides, these IPs have modernised by shifting from cable and satellite TV to the digital screens. “As content consumption fragmented across multiple devices and surfaces, these IPs did not go waste. Some viewers continued to watch on cable and satellite TV, others caught ‘Bigg Boss’ and ‘KBC’ reels on social media,” WPP’s Padmanabhan said.

“Streaming has added a powerful lean-in layer to the experience. 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.

Aruni Panda agreed: “Audiences now choose what they wish to watch. The participation has evolved from voting lines and SMSs to app-based voting, quizzes, polls and games. The core format may not have changed, but with the change in viewing habits, the shows are more modern with multiple content layers.”

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. Also, most digital ads also look similar,” Padmanabhan said.

“As a brand I am looking to differentiate, create moments that people talk about and to build consideration. So, I associate with IPs that resonate with people,” Padmanabhan said.

He cited the example of ‘KBC’ and its association with the Aditya Birla Group. “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.

Lastly, brands are also flocking both old and new reality shows as they offer innovative brand integration opportunities. Carat’s Aruni Panda said brand associations have evolved to actual integration where there is physical and contextual relevance of the product/ category with the content environment. “Brand associations are now about segment creation, utility integration, digital extension, commerce integration, and IP ownership. Brand integrations typically cost more than simple spot or impression buys,” he said.

At JioStar, too, brand integration is an increasingly important part of the commercial architecture around reality. “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. The company said the advertiser opportunity across its reality portfolio has become much broader, allowing integration possibilities.

For ‘Bigg Boss’, brands like HUL, P&G, Haier, Maruti Suzuki and Asian Paints keep returning. “New-age brands like Snabbit, ORN.com and SuperSox are also finding differentiated opportunities across our non-fiction slate,” said the JioStar spokesperson. 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.