Star Plus, the Hindi general entertainment channel from STAR India, has a new logo. Recently, it has switched over from blue to a ruby-coloured star with the channel’s trademark swoosh in white. The channel completes a decade in India this year.
According to TAM India, during the second half of 2009, Colors scored over Star Plus. So, there couldn’t have been a better time to reposition the channel. In addition to the logo, Star Plus has come up with new programmes and has also put three commercials on air to send the message across with its new tag line: ‘Rishta wahi, soch nayi’ (Old relationship, new thought).
The new logo has been designed by Venture 3, a London-based brand solutions company, while advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather is the creative agency for the television campaign. The rebranding exercise has cost the company an estimated Rs 19 crore. Star India Chief Operating Officer Sanjay Gupta says, “The revamp of the channel was the result of a gradual process of three to four months. We did a lot of research on the way relationships across cities are taking shape. The result is shows such as Pratigya, Moment of Truth, and Sasural Genda Phool which establish the core strategy of our new campaign, Rishta wahi, soch nayi.”
Arch rival Colors, the Hindi general entertainment channel from Viacom 18, is also ready with some new shows. Viacom 18 Group COO & Colors CEO Rajesh Kamat says: “We are seeing the top three channels jostling for the number one spot, which makes us push ourselves beyond our own limits. We are coming up with a slew of exciting new shows — India’s Got Talent — Khoj 2, Bigg Boss Season 4 and Khatron Ke Khiladi — which are bound to strike a chord with the audiences. And with films fresh out of the movie hall on the channel, we are confident that the battle for eye balls will get even more exciting.”
There are about a dozen channels in the Hindi general entertainment space. Apart from Star TV and Colors, there are Zee TV, Sony, Imagine, Sahara One and others. At least three of these have got a makeover in the last two years or so: Sony, Zee TV and Sahara One. So, how much will Star Plus gain from the latest revamp? One sector expert says that advertisers don’t always look at the brand image of a channel; they look at the target audience of the channel. “The two channels — Star Plus and Colors — operate in a band with a gap of 30-40 gross rating points. Advertisers buy spots on shows, and hence we do not expect too much of a shuffle,” says Kamat. But it better work for Star Plus — a channel doesn’t rebrand itself every now and then, after all.
