ZEE5 Global is present in about 190 plus countries and has Archana Anand at the helm of its international business. Archana Anand has launched ZEE5 in India and then internationally, and now plans to take the global business to newer heights with expansion plans in 2020.
When asked what her top priorities were for the Brand for 2020, Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global shared her top Focus areas.
ZEE5 to be a household name across global markets
When I took ZEE5 global, the mandate was really to ensure that all of the fabulous content that we are creating for the Indian audience; we now take to South Asians around the world. The universe of that audience is about 40 million but scattered across the globe.
So my first and primary area of Focus is to make ZEE5 a household name for people across the globe. When they think of South Asian content it should become an absolute no-brainer for them to think of ZEE5. We are present across 17 languages out of which 5 are international and 12 are Indian languages. If they’re thinking of fabulous Tamil shows or movies to watch, or they’re thinking of fantastic Bengali shows or Bengali movies, I want them to think of ZEE5.
This is my first and top area of focus because it’s very much in the space of what I’m doing across the globe. We’ve launched across APAC and then in MENA and had great success in these markets. Now we are in the process of quickly ensuring that we scale up the Europe and America markets.
Taking ZEE5 Mainstream
The second point of Focus for me is that I want to go mainstream. I want to move beyond the South Asian audience and create fabulous content and storytelling for global audiences. And from that perspective, there are certain markets that I have in mind that I intend to launch in – not from a niche audience perspective but launch full force in those markets.
That is a plan that is yet to be crystallized. I will be able to share the specific markets only later, perhaps by March. However, you will find me going beyond the South Asian audiences and trying to own mainstream audiences.
Strong Vibrant Culture
The third area of Focus is that I want ZEE5, across the globe, to be a brand that is aspirational and one that young people want to join.
I want to create a culture that resonates with people; the very vibrant millennial; I want people to aspire to be a part of this journey at ZEE5. I am trying to create a culture which is very rooted in the context of our values. That is something that is really important for me.
A ‘Woke’ Brand
I want my brand to be much like the people that we choose to hire. I want it to be a very woke brand. It’s the younger generation that has actually given so much credence to that word ‘woke’. Much like them, we as a brand will be very bold and out there in terms of communicating our intent.
As a consumer-driven brand there are many touch points across which we will be constantly engaging with our viewers. Whether it is the type of content we show, or our communication with the youth around the world, you will find us standing up for the values that we believe in. We want to be a very woke brand – a brand that is extremely sensitive about the times we live in, extremely sensitive about the issues that are at hand.
