A New Channel For Children Of New India

Nina Elavia Jaipuria

Senior Vice President and GM, Nick India

With the innovative content and packaging Nick India is all set to take the Kids channels league to a new level.

Holding the Market Share of 24% in 4-14 years, HSM market Nickelodeon has over 120 minutes time spent making it as one of the stickiest channel.

The channel has been a consistent number one in the kids space pushing veteran like Cartoon Network to no 2, Hungama to no 3, Pogo to no 4, Disney to no 5 and XD to no 6.

Looking at the changing trends in the market the channel recently redesigned its logo and content line up. Rajat Arora of BestMediaInfo.com speaks exclusively to Nina Elavia Jaipuria, Sr. VP and GM, Nick India to learn more about this development and Nick's future plan.

Q) How did the process of logo change implanted globally?

It started globally in September last year and that was the time when the international market started rolling it out which started from US. Then globally it was timed with the activities in every individual market. It was a gradual roll out across all the markets because timing has to suit every single individual market. The idea was to synergize and unify ourselves into a one brand across network globally and that is what we have done globally and India is the last market to do so.

Q) How this makeover is supported by content line-up?

This is our first step in the direction of makeover where we wanted to get ready and lay a road map for the next phase of growth and clearly the road map is to make sure that we dominate the leadership in this category. The idea now is to increase the lead. Therefore the logo change is one step in that direction. Everything we do, we keep kids in centre of our focus. And therefore we have come up with the sleek logo which is more relatable and more relevant to the children today.

In the same sense we are prepared with vibrant content as well which we keep innovating every time. Truly to my mind the trump card for Nick has been its characters on the Nicktoons. The characters and the children have developed the bond which is everlasting. So these characters whether it is Dora, Ninja, Oggy or Little Krishna, all have captured the hearts and minds of children and become their friends and role models. This is what brings the kids to the channel. Therefore to my mind, as we evolve and move forward, we need to innovate and contemporize ourselves to meet the changing content needs of GenY or GenX children.

If you look at the show called Artzooka which is an Art & Craft show, makes a huge difference with the fact that we cater to the audience which is now very much technology savvy. Therefore parts of the show also have photoshop, animation, photography which goes beyond pencil, paper, ruler and fevicol. That's the beauty of this show because it's all about catering to the new generation where the needs and engagement levels have changed.

The second show which we are launching in July is in the line of football fever. Looking at the high mood due to football world cup, we are coming up with an animated football show.

We have strengthened our digital platform also. We are taking the interactivity on the digital space at a completely new level. Nickindia.com has already have over 1 million page views per month where kids not just come in and play the 70 games we have but they are also able to communicate with us through the message board where they can leave their thoughts and discuss the ideas and views. It's almost like a safe social networking site. And because of the numbers we have, the advertisers want to connect their brands to the children through our digital platform. So this is another medium which we have started monetizing already.

Q) What do you have to say about violence in content?

We are extremely responsible broadcaster and I can very proudly say that we take a lot of precaution and care about what we put on the channel. That's why we are the safest channel to have the trust of the gatekeeper. We are talking to the children in an age when they get influenced very easily and there is enough of violence in the environment already, so we don't need to expose them any more. Therefore you will not see any show on the channel where there is unnecessary fighting, guns blazing and blood sheds. We are very positive and child like channel where we encourage friendship and love amongst children.

Q) How do you discourage the violence and foul languages being shown to kids?

Well, we don't do such offenses against childhood. Even on a personal front, being a mother I'd hate my child watching such shows. While re-producing the shows in house, we take personal care for every script and its translations to other languages to make sure that it is acceptable to not only children but their parents also.

Q) What are the marketing strategies to create a buzz around?

The way we did this to begin with was very innovative and unlike the corporate we didn't just go around and change the logo on one fine day. We actually ran a campaign on the channel itself for 2 weeks which was called mission orange. It was a unique way of involving kids to help us change the logo and we got a lot of entries from children.

That apart, we will take this on ground. The aggression and the growth also come from the fact that how we take Nick beyond television. For us, touch, feel and play with the children are very important. We have a campaign in July and August is 'Back to school' across the country to give children a new logo with fresh content line up. We have the plans to promote our activities through print, digital and outdoor medium as well.

Q) What are your plans to produce the content in India?

The last show we acquired from India was 'Little Krishna' from BIG Animation. We are in the process of acquiring many more which we will launch this year. You will see an increased Indian content on the channel soon.

Q) Where do you see Nick in recent years?

We have recently launched in Tamil and Telugu last month and as we go forward, we are consolidating ourselves as complete all India player to add more value to our advertisers and brand. We offer solutions to our advertisers rather than just selling advertising space. We create a win-win partnership with the brands by giving them a unique connection with the children. For an example, we did a Horlicks Nick Carnival in summers in four cities through which Horlicks got the unbelievable engagements with kids. This way, our focus will go also on the customized solutions for advertisers.

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com