'After you, Mr. President,' says Big CBS Prime

A clever, timely campaign by the upcoming TV channel, Big CBS Prime, revolves around the American President's visit to India.

While President Barack Obama is in India, Big CBS Prime, the yet-to-be-launched English entertainment channel, will not steal his thunder. That is the theme of the witty campaign launched by the channel two days before the arrival of the American President.

Big CBS Prime is being launched under Big CBS Networks, which is a joint venture between Reliance Broadcast Networks and one of America's largest television networks - CBS Studios International - and is scheduled to be launched in mid-November. Coincidentally, Barack Obama arrived in the country just before this launch.

Playing on his visit, an outdoor and radio campaign has been launched, where the hoardings read, 'After you, Mr. President'. The hoardings display the American flag, with Big CBS Prime branding. The outdoor has been launched in Mumbai and Delhi, while the radio campaign is being played out in 10-12 of Big FM's key markets.

The radio jingle talks about how Big CBS Prime promises not to steal the thunder from the President's visit and will not distract him as he has a lot planned in his agenda during his stay here. It will, therefore, be launched after his visit.

Discussing the campaign, Anand Chakravarthy, senior vice-president, marketing, Reliance Broadcast Networks, tells afaqs!, "That the President of the US is coming to India just before Big CBS Prime launches is a great coincidence and so we decided to use the opportunity. It's almost like a stunt campaign that we're doing."

With a promise of providing the "latest, freshest and hottest entertainment concurrent with the US," the creative idea is a smart way of reinforcing the product proposition. "All the media hype surrounding the President's visit only helps us cut through more effectively and get into our consumers' mind," adds Chakravarthy.

While the exact date of the launch of Big CBS Prime has not been announced, it will be rolled out in mid-November. It will be a paid channel, distributed on digital and analog platforms.

The network also plans to launch two more channels - Big CBS Spark and Big CBS Love - in India in December and February, respectively.