Romedy Now's "twist" for F.R.I.E.N.D.S

The channel has rolled out a contest, the winner of which will be flown to Los Angeles to have coffee at Central Perk.

The "looney" Joey Tribiani, the "fashionista" Rachel Green, the "geeky" Ross Geller, the "obsessive" Monica Geller, the "psychic" Pheobe Buffay and the "Sarci" Chandler Bing, are back on Indian television to enthrall audiences.

Romedy Now, the channel airing all 10 seasons of the show, back to back, has launched a television promo that has taken video clips from the show and has integrated adjectives that best describe these six characters. Running on Times Television Network channels, the promo is one of the marketing efforts by the channel to popularise its recently launched property.

The "most interesting" part of the campaign that spans across three mediums, TV, digital and Print is the opportunity Romedy Now is giving ardent fans of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. The winner gets to have coffee at the "very famous" F.R.I.E.N.D.S restaurant, Central Perk in LA, with three of his/her friends.

Central Perk is an integral part of the show as the six main characters of the show while away most of their time there. Buffay sings at the restaurant to entertain guests and Green works there for a brief period of time to earn her living.

In order to be a part of the contest, a person is has to send a missed call to 08067006611 or vote for their favourite F.R.I.E.N.D.S character on #ThankGodItsFriends (Twitter). Once a missed call is given, an automated push message will be sent with the names of six characters and six different numbers which a person has to dial if he wants to vote them.

"The character with the most number of votes will be declared as the winner. The winning fan will be chosen after a skill-based quiz competition. We undertook this approach since, for this kind of show, more than the marketing push, it is the right kind of marketing twist that is required," says Shantanu Gangane, marketing head, English Entertainment Channels, TTN.

While the channel has spoken to Warner Brothers for a meet-and-greet session with one of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S characters, nothing has been finalised yet. "This is the best which we could put forth for Indian viewers," Gangane mentions.

In terms of trade activities, Romedy Now has reached out to the leading media agencies in Mumbai and Delhi to engage with them. It has re-created the Orange couch, wherein the iconic pose (all six characters are sitting holding a frame in hand) was taken. The agency people were seen clicking themselves and posting the images on various social networking sites, creating buzz around the property.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S is also being publicised through print insertions in Times' newspapers in eight metros. The supplements include Delhi Times, Bombay Times and Kolkata Times. The print ads feature a character and a one-liner. Liked by many, the ads are being shared by people on social media as they are also tagging their friends and the channel on the post.

The channel has launched a hash tag #ThankGodItsFriends (TGIF) through which the promotions of the show are being done on Twitter. It also started #ToughestFriendsQuiz, which is getting active participation from the Twitterati.

"We have also got some original F.R.I.E.N.D.S merchandise from Warner Brothers and are giving them out to winners we are choosing from digital on a daily basis. There are quizzes that are being conducted on Twitter and, interestingly, it is the people who are making these activities on digital go viral. The contest is on for a month," Gangane adds. The impact so far on F.R.I.E.N.D.S activity on Twitter is 2.5 million, the channel said.

Those born in the '80s must have grown up watching the show starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer. The channel expects younger viewers to come aboard too. "The target group for the show will expand. There will be newer audiences for the show too and this will be the 15-24 year olds," says Mansi Shrivastav, content head, English Entertainment Channels, TTN.

Shrivastav believes that there is a great synergy between Romedy Now and F.R.I.E.N.D.S since the series fits in the "love and laughter" criteria of channel's content selection. " F.R.I.E.N.D.S, as a show, has high repeat value and universal appeal. It has worked well on any channel it has aired on," she adds. F.R.I.E.N.D.S airs Monday to Thursday at 8 pm on Romedy Now.