Exclusive | The journey of Bigg Boss with Raj Nayak...
If you are an ardent Bigg Boss lover, then this is the time of the year you would be looking forward to. Bigg Boss season 8’s promos are out putting everyone in the inquisitive mode. With host Salman Khan shown flying out on an airplane as the captain, viewers’ curiosity has heightened as to what will be this year’s theme, who will be the contestants who will warm our hearts over the 100 days journey etc. From what we learn, Colors is all set to make this season bigger and better...
The show has, quite literally, seen ups and downs over the years, but has managed to attract newer adiences and retain the older audineces and advertisers alike, making the show one of the highly premium property's in the Hindi GEC space. Industry experts also credit it to the broadcaster for putting in dollpos of efforts to scale up the property year-on-year. If sources are to be believed, this time, Bigg Boss is said to break-even as the show stands tall with a price tag of whopping Rs 150 Cr! Also, speculations are that as the lead sponsor, Snapdeal has spent alomst double the amount that Vodafone paid in the same seat last season. Well, considering it assured performance at the ratings charts and the magic it weaves in the viewer’s minds, there is no surprise that the channel is raising the property’s cost year-on-year. Also, Bigg Boss has surely evolved not only in terms of costs but concepts, scripts, marketing and production every year. Bigg Boss Season 4 on an average saw 3.9 TVTs, Bigg Boss Season 5 on an average saw 2.5, Bigg Boss Season 6 (with the theme Parivarik season, Alag che) that registered 3.9 TVT and the biggest one of all the seasons as of now, Bigg Boss Season 7 where the theme was Hell vs Heaven; witnessed 5.2 TVTs.
Adgully: A look at the promos and one is left guessing the thought behind this promo. What was the thought that went into designing the promos in this manner?
Raj Nayak: We wanted to highlight the essence of the show through the promos. The aim was to entice the viewers yet leave them curious. Even last year we had established the concept of heaven and hell through the promos. The basic thought was to excite the viewers.
Adgully: The promos look unusual and promise something different and larger than life. What is the production cost Bigg Boss season 8 is pegged to be at?
Raj Nayak: No, we would not be spending anything more than we have been spending all this while. The endeavor for sure is to cut down our losses everywhere so that at some point it breaks-even and makes profit for the channel. Our conscious efforts have been to control the overall costs.
Adgully: Do you think Bigg Boss season 8 would break-even this year?
Raj Nayak: The endeavor is in that direction. Fingers crossed!
Adgully: Though it’s early to ask but what are the two delightful things that a viewer should look forward to with season 8?
Raj Nayak: (Laughs) I can’t tell you that; but all I can say is that this season is going to be more entertaining than the earlier seasons.
Adgully: In terms of sponsors, you have Snapdeal and Oppomobile in the main rooster. So what is the sponsor strength you are looking at this season?
Raj Nayak: We are looking at 8 sponsors this year out of which six - seven deals have already been closed. In terms of spot buys, we normally keep 35 to 40% for spot buys and 60 to 65% for our sponsors. As of now we have almost sold out 50% of our inventories. Other sponsors include Maruti Suzuki, Garnier Men, TVS Motors, Cardekho.com Bisleri Urzza and JK Tyres. Maruti Suzuki is the driven by sponsor, a new category introduced this season.
Adgully: Coming to spot buys what kind of premiums are you looking at this year?
Raj Nayak: Premiums are always high for any non-fiction property but our average spot buy this year is aimed at 3.5 to 4 lakhs for 10 seconds.
Adgully: Bigg Boss as a property works well on digital platform as well. How are you planning to monetize it?
Raj Nayak: Yes, we will be looking at monetizing the show. We don't monetize it for consumers as it's available free on our channel and on our official website. The videos however won't be available on YouTube this year. We'll do pre rolls, post rolls and the conventional banners etc and streamline it and make it available to those who are looking to view content in paid format. I think Bigg Boss will be the highest revenue earner even in the digital space. We are planning to amplify the initiatives in the digital space this season, and might also sell Bigg Boss merchandises through Snapdeal. We are exploring every possible avenues to make the show bigger and to build more consumer engagements.
Adgully: This time it’s Snapdeal as the presenting sponsor (e-commerce player). What was the criteria to pick an e-commerce player to be the presenting sponsor that is the presenting sponsor, why and what made you do that?
Raj Nayak: It is like a normal procedure, like always we identify the clients, shortlist them and then pitch. We pitched it to Snapdeal; both the agency and the client were quite receptive looking at the scale of the show. There is a lot if synergy between the show and the brand.
Adgully: While last season sponsor brands were a part of tasks and competitions through the show, how are you looking at this season in terms of brand integration?
Raj Nayak: Viewers will get to see a lot of integrations this year too. But the integration of Snapdeal is something that has never been done before with any of our clients. Apart from the in-show integrations, the viewers will get ample opportunities to win vouchers, gifts etc. and aid engagement. We are also considering selling ‘Big Boss’ merchandise on Snapdeal.
Adgully: Drawing comparisons, what kind of premium is Bigg Boss Season 8 pegged at than last year? Also, how have the title sponsors spends changed from the previous season?
Raj Nayak: While I won’t be able to share the costs, but all that I can say is that Snapdeal will surely be happy and would look forward to extending their contract for the next year too. We believe in a long-term relationship hence we give good deliverables to all our sponsors, even Vodafone had a five year deal with us which ended last year. We have not signed any kind of yearly or quarterly deal with Snapdeal yet, as we first wanted them to experience the show.
Adgully: What is the criteria for choosing contestants every year? Is 'theme' of the season a central criteria?
Raj Nayak: No, the contestants are not been chosen according to the theme. We choose contestants from different walks of life and we map them as per certain characteristics that are required for the show. Audiences don't want to see boring people in the house. We get people who are interesting and who audiences would love to see daily.
Bigg Boss, journey so far:
Raj Nayak: Bigg Boss has evolved much better than any other non-fiction property. Initially the show had two types of audiences: One that loved to watch Bigg Boss and one who said No to Bigg Boss. I believe that that gap has been conquered and today though a person may not be watching a Hindi GEC, but would surely tune into Bigg Boss, which is a big achievement for the creative team. Also the show has changed its perception over the years and with newer and different concepts, Bigg Boss has widened its arms to a larger TG (Target Audience).
Building Connect:
Raj Nayak: The show caters to a larger group of TG today. Its' being viewed from a grandmother to her daughter and her grandchildren thus making Bigg Boss a wholesome family entertainment show.
Regional Bigg Boss, audience shift...?
Raj Nayak: Not really! Firstly, the regional space is another ball game all together and secondly both the shows are being launched at different times, hence there is no overlapping or shifting that we have witnessed so far.
Marketing Strategies:
Raj Nayak: We believe in spending less and making more noise. With mediums and media both getting fragmented, it is a huge challenge for us, but Bigg Boss is one show that works well with ‘Word of Mouth’. Besides that, the biggest evolution that we have witnessed over the years is the role of digital media as a tool to market Bigg Boss.
Sponsors' responses over the years:
Raj Nayak: It is much easier to rope in a sponsor now than earlier , as with every passing season the show is growing on popularity and is delivering well. And there is no other show in the country wherein the presenting sponsor gets the bang for his buck as much as he gets on Bigg Boss.
Challenges faced:
Raj Nayak: I think 3 seasons back we faced some issues, but then two seasons back we shifted to the parivarik mode and made Bigg Boss a family entertainer. Since then, the content aired was relevant for family viewing and we never had a single complaint. Another reason why this show works is for the Host Salman Khan, whose appeal transcends from 7 year old to 75 year old. People have also termed this show as an educational program on human psychology. People can see different sides of a human being through this show.
Expectations with season 8:
Raj Nayak: Every time we launch a show, we expect it to be better than the previous seasons. Season 7 had very good opening average so we expect this season to do much better. The buzz for this season is the highest ever seen both on social media as well as the traditional media. Our intent is not to compete with others, but compete within and we hope season by season it should get better and better. We've heard that there is no other show in this country which trends as many times as Bigg Boss the moment it is on-air. This time with Snapdeal on board there will be a continuous engagement windows and audiences will find loads of opportunities to win vouchers and gifts on the digital space.
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