"Viewership of kids genre usually grows by 15 per cent during summer": Nina Jaipuria

Nickelodeon, the kids network from Viacom18, plans new shows and campaigns to drive viewership, engage with viewers and attract non-viewers for Nick, Nick Jr. and Sonic, this summer.

The summer is here and Nickelodeon, the kids network from Viacom18, is all set to make hay as its core TG enjoys vacation time. Nick, Sonic and Nick Jr. are gearing up to entertain kids with their offerings.

Nick, the flagship channel, is rolling out a robust programming line-up and interactive campaigns on-air, on-ground and online. The new seasons of leading shows and new shows will aim to further strengthen its portfolio and other interactive initiatives will aim to engage kids across age groups, this summer.

For its flagship show ‘Motu Patlu’, the channel is launching a campaign called ‘Motu Patlu Hero Hunt’. Through this initiative, viewers of the channel have the opportunity to get ‘animated’ and be seen on the show.

The campaign is being promoted across channels, print, ambient, digital and a whole host of experiential touch points, to engage with kids wherever they are.

Nickelodeon’s ‘Motu Patlu Hero Hunt’ will see games and fun activities for kids in malls in Mumbai and Delhi. Kids will get an opportunity to interact with the animated Motu and Patlu on a live screen at malls. They will adorn an animated avatar and have conversations with the toons using augmented reality.

The campaign will also be seen across 26 outlets of Pantaloons and numerous McDonald’s outlets. Nick will also partner with Pantaloons for the Junior Fashion Week. Motu Patlu will walk the ramp with kids as the ‘Hero Hunt’ will be promoted at the events. A microsite on nickindia.com will host a wide range (15 to 16) of engaging initiatives like games, videos, contests, memes of the day and more.

Adding to the summer excitement will be the launch of Motu-Patlu’s sixth television movie, ‘Motu Patlu Kungfu King Returns’ which will be released in June. The channel will also launch new episodes of the show this season. This will be preceded by the launch of the latest SpongeBob adventure: ‘The SpongeBob Movie – Sponge Out of Water’ all set to release across India on May 8.

Nina Elavia Jaipuria, EVP and business head - Kids Cluster, Viacom18, says, “Nickelodeon has always represented kids and their aspirations. We have continuously catered to their dynamic preferences by giving them what they want on a platform of their choice. This summer, we have once again set out to realise their dreams through engaging campaigns like animating a kid in a ‘Motu Patlu’ episode and Sonic’s ‘Selfie’ campaign, thus creating new benchmarks of innovation and redefining engagement in the kids genre. Through these campaigns, we are sure that kids will continue to make our endearing Nicktoons a major part of their daily lives.”

Jaipuria shares that the viewership of kids genre grows by 15 per cent during summer, and advertisers don't lose a chance to be a part of these channels during this time. Advertiers such as Vadilal, Mother Dairy, Rasna, Roohafza, Tang, Horlicks, Glucon-D and specific water parks in South India, have come on board as key sponsors on Nick.

Nickelodeon (franchise), according to Jaipuria, grew its ad revenue share by 33 per cent last year.

Sonic, the action and adventure channel, has launched a campaign to drive engagement with the digital savvy generation, called ‘Selfie Kheecho Prizes Jeeto’. Starting mid-May, the campaign will have kids clicking selfies with a freeze frame of their favourite toons from ‘Pakdam Pakdai’ to win exciting gadgets every day, across platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook.com/sonicgang and sonicgang.com.

Sonic’s campaign will also reach out to kids through a media mix which will include promotions on TV, print and radio. It will also go offline with a van activation that will reach out to over 15 smaller towns across Maharashtra, UP and MP. Kids will be able to take selfies in the vans and win prizes with ‘Pakdam Pakdai’.

Sonic will be targetting malls where kids will also be able to engage with Sonic’s Doggy Don from ‘Pakdam Pakdai’, by taking selfies with the characters, helping them with instant gratifications like tabs, watches and other Sonic merchandise. Sonic will also connect with kids across multiple retail touch points such as Funcity across 12 cities and numerous Mcdonald’s outlets all over India.

Further, building on the ‘Pakdam Pakdai’ franchise, the channel will be launching new episodes of the action-packed, chase-comedy show this summer. Sonic has also launched two new shows – ‘Hubert Takako’ and ‘Mini Ninjas’.

Teen Nick, meanwhile, has plans of airing ‘Marvin Marvin’ and ‘Nicky Ricky Dicky Dawn’.

Nick is the leading kids entertainment channel as per BARC data. “We are in a good place. While I believe that the data needs to be a little more robust and needs to stabilise, I think we'll have to let it evolve to find any trend," Jaipuria says.