SAB bets big on 'I Love My India'

SAB TV will launch its new patriotism-oriented show, I Love My India, on February 20. The planned marketing spends are in the region of Rs 3 crore.

SAB TV is betting big on its upcoming property I Love My India, which has a patriotic appeal with a tinge of comedy. The family comedy entertainment channel from the MSM network plans to spend 5-7 per cent of its total marketing budget on this show.

Though the channel refused to comment on the marketing spends, industry experts estimate the total spends of the channel to be about 42 crore. According to market standards, a normal show on GEC spends close to 1-1.5 crore in marketing. With such a large figure, SAB TV appears to be betting high on this property.

I Love My India will replace Chintu Chinki aur Ek Badisi Love story on the 8 pm slot. The existing show will be shifted to a later time slot, and may even be withdrawn due to its falling TRPs. As per TAM data (C&S 4+, HSM) for the first four weeks of 2012/02, the show was clocking a TVR of 0.99 against the top rated SAB show, Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah (3.64 TVR).

SAB had launched two shows -- Chidiyaghar and R K Laxman ki Duniya -- recently, which are doing quite well with TVRs close to 2.27 and 1.45, respectively (TAM, C&S 4+, HSM) for the first four weeks of 2012/02. The channel has shown good overall performance in the previous year, and increased its relative share from 7.4 per cent in 2010, to 10.2 per cent in 2011.

Anooj Kapoor, executive vice-president and business head, SAB TV, says, "There are many things which make us Indian, and this show aims to highlight the unique values, tradition and culture that make us Indian, in a light-hearted manner. We are sure that the show, with its content and patriotic flavour, will be enjoyed by entire families across the Hindi speaking markets. We have not set any specific target audience for the show as it is aimed at all Indians. We are marketing the show extensively on digital and outdoor platforms. Print and TV are also part of the campaign."

The promotion of the show commenced in February. On Republic Day, the channel introduced a teaser for the show on the social networking site Facebook. The app, Tags on flag, allowed people to tag their friends on the tri-colour while it unveiled into a collage with pictures from the Indian heartland. The app has not yet been connected to the show, but the connect will be announced soon.

In another digital promotion, SAB asks Facebook users 'What is your patriotic quotient?' Uploaded videos show vox-pops on the road, where people were asked what they loved about India. An upcoming interactive campaign will ask the audience to help the protagonist Arun Bali, in instilling Indian-ness in his children.

The India-Australia cricket series was also used to promote the show, as were outdoor and print campaigns.

Tony Singh, director, I Love My India, says, "I believe if you look closely, all of us have some relatives or friends living abroad, who have to adjust to situations in India when they are here. These circumstances entertain us and we cherish these memories forever. The show is an attempt to remind us of our cultural values in an amusing way. We have shot in Punjab, Delhi, and London."

Sources close to the development reveal that the channel looks forward to take Amul on board as the title sponsor for the show. However, the channel was not willing to confirm details about this development. SAB also looks forward to the launch of three more shows after the culmination of the IPL season.