Just a missed call away

Tata Sky's missed call campaign is primarily targeted at consumers in tier-III towns and rural areas

To target consumers who are still on analogue cable and convert them, Tata Sky has launched a missed call campaign. The implementation of the digital addressable system (DAS) in Phase III will primarily focus on tier-III towns and rural areas. "We are approaching the third phase of digitisation, which will cover 40 million households residing in 7,700 towns and cities. Therefore, the target audience for the campaign is a battery towns and villages with more than 10,000 population. From a socio economic perspective, the campaign is focused on SEC C & D," says Malay Dikshit, chief communications officer, Tata Sky.

Conceptualised by O&M, the campaign features actors Kangna Ranaut and Dhanush talking about Tata Sky and its value-for-money offerings. The campaign consists of a series of three ad films with each actor. Each film communicates a particular Tata Sky benefit such as allowing subscribers to select from a wide range of channels and not paying for unwanted channels. Additionally, it highlights the payment flexibility options such as daily recharge and other monthly subscription packs. "We don't sign up stars, we sign up actors who can play a character. To target the value conscious customer, we thought Kangna Ranaut and Dhanush would be the perfect fit," says Sukesh Nayak, executive creative director, Ogilvy India.

"The value we offer will be a critical factor to drive conversion. The idea was to highlight how Tata Sky is redefining the sector. We came up with hard hitting, single take talkies delivered by actors Kangna and Dhanush who played the average Indian consumer delighted with a Tata Sky connection at home," says Nayak.

"When we asked new Tata Sky subscribers what motivated them to come aboard our platform, they gave us some brilliant insights. This campaign presents these insights in simple and direct narratives delivered through relatable characters played by Kangna and Dhanush, both fine actors," says Dikshit.

To ensure maximum reach in the hinterlands, Tata Sky has launched the campaign in 11 languages (Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Assamese, Odiya, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali) and four dialects (Manipuri, Bhojpuri, Marwadi, Tulu). It is supported by a 360-degree marketing campaign that includes print, outdoor, in-theatre advertising and radio.

Tata Sky enjoys wide acceptance in the southern markets. The missed call campaign launched in the south with Tollywood actor Dhanush is targeting 1,200 towns that have been identified under DAS III and have the least penetration of direct to home. "To target consumers in SEC C and D markets, the campaign focuses on the value for money offerings and the convenience of recharge depending on the size of wallet. We have differentiated ourselves by being simple and by delivering high quality content," says Dikshit.

Tata Sky has a dedicated team stationed at its call centres to follow up on the missed calls. The call-centre employees have been trained to be consultants to prospective consumers. "Digitisation allows us to create new hubs that will give us the infrastructure to reach cable-dark markets. So while 11 languages will be mainstream, we will go deeper into the hinterland with the dialects," says Dikshit.

According to industry estimates the budget of the campaign is around Rs 20 to Rs 25 crore.

Dikshit says the DTH market is still nascent in India. While household penetration is low, there is also the misconception that DTH is expensive. Therefore, reaching out to consumers in the hinterlands remains a challenge.

Tata Sky currently has more than 30,000 dealer outlets operating across 5,000 towns and villages. To better service these areas, it offers subscribers various options to ensure they pay at his/her own convenience such as a la carte channels, flexible mode and denomination of payment such as Rs 8, Rs 10, Rs 100 vouchers. Currently Tata Sky has 11 million subscribers; close to 50 per cent of its new subscribers have opted for HD.

The government has set a timeline for the completion of digitisation in four phases. Phases I and II covering the metros and 38 cities (cities with more than 1 million population) are already over; phase III deadline (all urban areas) is December 31, 2015; phase IV, covering the rest of the country, has a deadline of December 31, 2016.

Brand: Tata Sky
Budget: Rs 20-25 crore
Agency: O&M