Serial brands

Serials are becoming brands by themselves, but do they have lasting value?

Television serials are becoming stronger brands by the day. The toppers in the basket earn anywhere between Rs 60-100 crore annually.

For serials, the money comes quick and the profit margins are very high. A simple calculation: The cost of a 10 second advertising spot ranges between Rs 1.5-3 lakh and advertisements occupy close to 5-7 minutes in each episode. A single episode generates between Rs 45 lakh-1.25 crore.

Albert Almeida, executive vice president, Max, says: "Some of the television serials are far larger and stronger than traditional brands."

Brand experts agree. A Kaun Banega Crorepati, they say, is well known all over the country and definitely enjoys better brand recall than many other brands.

Apart from advertising, which happens during breaks, there is a steady market for in-serial advertising, clear examples being Sony Entertainment Television's Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin (which earned more than Rs 1 crore for promoting VLCC) and KBC (which played host to a range of brands like Lenovo, Titan, Kotak, among others).

While in-serial advertising is still in its infant stage in India, world over it has grown to have a sizeable share of the advertiser's pie. Paritosh Joshi, president, ad sales and distribution, Star India, says that a classic example of how product integration in serials can be very big is that of The Apprentice.

In each episode, participants are given a task that involves working on some brand or the other. It is no secret that the brands that found mention were the ones that paid for it.

Not only do television serials rake in the moolah, they are also capable of changing a channel's position in the market. A well known example is KBC, which catapulted Star Plus to the number one position in 2001. A more recent example, is The Great Indian Laughter Challenge which has set the ball rolling for Star One.

What has also helped TV serials become huge brands is the 20-25 per cent growth each year in the number of cable and satellite viewers. Between 2001-05, the numbers grew from 26 million to 61 million viewers (source: NRS).

Also, serials are promoted on the channel itself, reducing advertising costs to a minimal. Says Almeida, "Television markets itself."

However, one thing that limits serials as brands is their short shelf life. While a traditional brand can live for 50 or 60 years (in some cases forever), says Nandini Dias, vice president, Lodestar, "A television brand is centred on innovation and hence it cannot last forever." That's where traditional brands have an edge.