Zee Keralam, the regional GEC offering from ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), is carving out a niche in the Malayalam General Entertainment Category. The channel is gearing up for significant launches in the following Financial Year. Zee Keralam will be introducing the first season of SaReGaMaPa Keralam Li’l Champs and will also be hosting for the very first time – ZEE Keralam Kudumbam Awards 2021.
In conversation with Medianews4u, Santosh J Nair, Business Head, ZEE Keralam, speaks about the channel’s content strategies, marketing campaigns, target audiences and more.
Edited Excerpts:
Zee Keralam is gearing up for effective content changes. Can you elaborate on the content strategies for this year?
Zee Keralam’s content is known for its unique storylines that feature strong female leads. This year will have many fresh, exciting content in line with our journey as a channel for the last two years. We try to mirror the Malayali way of life. We are coming up with multiple exciting launches. At the beginning of the next FY, we have three significant launches lined up. We will be introducing the first season of SaReGaMaPa Keralam Li’l Champs, and we will also be hosting for the first time – ZEE Keralam Kudumbam Awards 2021. We also have many exciting films for our viewers, and some of the movies will be broadcast on Television directly. This is the first time a TV channel has bought films for airing, even before they hit theatres. 2021 is going to be a fascinating year for us.
Two years of Zee Keralam, what are the challenges you are still trying to tackle from the initial days?
The most recent challenge has been getting back to a new normal after the pandemic. One of the challenges we have faced since the inception of the channel is the availability of other mediums for our marketing campaigns since most of the critical mediums are owned by competition. Recently, we have started cracking mutually beneficial deals with many of them, and we are looking to cross that hurdle very soon.
You have brought in many innovative marketing campaigns in the last two years. Can you throw some light on the marketing plans of the channel for this year?
All upcoming campaigns will have a 360-degree approach with innovations in various mediums. Our focus is not just showcasing our properties but also to convey precisely why we strongly feel the Malayali audience will relate to it. People in Kerala will not simply watch a show or a serial if we just tell them to do so. Viewers are our biggest asset, and we believe in respecting their time and intelligence. We meticulously work on all campaigns and use the best mediums to reach our viewers.
Zee Keralam often introduces Maha Episodes for your fiction properties. Tell us how those episodes are helping in garnering viewership?
We are the pioneer of Maha episodes, and the market has accepted it very well. Maha episodes help provide the viewers with a seamless extended viewing experience. It also helps the viewers sample our multiple content offerings. We have also started exploring crossover episodes where characters from one serial appear in the other. To us, ZEE Keralam is a family, and even though our serials are different, ours is one extraordinary family.
Can you elaborate on your Target Audience and the strategies you are following to reach them?
Our primary target audience is the new Malayali woman. The Malayali woman has been strong, dependable and has also evolved over the years. She places an active role in shaping her destiny while lifting her family along in the process. All our stories feature such characters.
What are your marketing plans for SaReGaMaPa Little Champs?
SaReGaMaPa Keralam Li’l Champs is one of the much-awaited shows. The first season of SaReGaMaPa Keralam created a huge buzz in the market, and our audience is eagerly anticipating what we have in store for the first season of Li’l Champs. We will be doing a 360-degree campaign for the show, and as always, there will always be something innovative when it comes to our campaigns. The audience can expect something different this time.
