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A
CASE STUDY ON THE INDIAN SOAP
JASSI JAISI KOI
NAHIN
PREPARED
BY DEEPA
KUMARI
JASSI
JAISI KOI KYUN NAHIN?
Jassi
appears in our lives when 'saas-bahu' serials have
turned sour. There is an immense boredom in watching women
in yards of silk or chiffon sarees. Instead it is refreshing and
nice to see a head whose crowning glory is not a bunch of streaked
hairs decked up with designer
‘sindoor, ‘ or’ ‘bindi,’ but an outdated Sadhana-cut,
pony tailed simplicity. A face that stands out but not on
bejeweled, ‘mangalsutra,’-clad neck, but on competent
no frill shoulders.
Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin is an adaptation of the world
famous series ‘ Yo Soy Betty La Fea,’ that tells the
story of a simple middle class plain Jane, who is deprived of
glamorous looks and craves to shine in the fashion world booming
with discerning contemporary men and women.
Most of us would remember a pockmarked ‘Badki’ and an
acne scarred ‘Majhli’ who kept the audience captivated
in charmingly middle –class, ‘Hum Log.’ There was a
time on Doordarshan (DD) when its’ characters were not
exquisitely beautiful but also were great actors. All this changed
in a couple of months in the year 1994, when Sushmita Sen and
Aishwarya Rai took over the Universe and world by storm. Cosmetic
giants over the world, realized suddenly that India was the most
populous nation in the world, and that nearly half of that teeming
population comprised women!! India is one of the biggest
markets for beauty products and ever since the cosmetic giants
came to India the
average Indian women changed beyond recognition. Soon, more money
than ever before came to the advertising fraternity, and T.V.
soaps became standard bearers of all that was, ‘in.’
In the midst of all this chaos, Jassi on the Sony T.V.
provides much needed relief. In a world that uninhibitedly
worships false perfections, it gives us a reason to accept genuine
imperfections. Jassi is not perceptibly pretty, she is not
fashionable. She does not act overly bright
sometimes. She
breaks her heart over a cad like Armaan Suri and weeps
copious tears for love that stands no chance, at least for now.
She has a great family and good friends such as Purab and Nandu.
She wears work-a-day
clothes and carries herself with utter simplicity.
She stands out as a symbol of middle- class perseverance
and competence in corporate corridors occupied by ‘Paris,’
and ‘Gulatis.’ The
nerves of steel that she cloaks under her collared, oversized,
gunny -sack –like ‘salwar kameezes’ and the feisty spirit
that dwells on beneath it. She rates low on snob value but high on
moral values. She cannot boast
of elite
social standing but enjoys a
high reliability quotient and
performance that is consistent in the corporate world.
She is the new face and voice of middle class girls who do
not know how to cook aloo-gobhi or gol-gol rotis but are
symbolic of their new avtaar as corporate women.
THE GAMBLE: FOUR P’S OF MARKETING
A marketing strategy was devised before the launch of Sony’s
best bet so far Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin. A serial showing the
struggle of an ordinary girl has caught the attention of the
Indian middle class.
The success of product/service depends on how the four P’s of
marketing namely product, packaging, presentation and promotion. The four P’s of marketing were tailor made to ensure the
success of Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin. The serial was introduced
on the 1st of September 2003 and the Sony T.V. peeled
of its’ marketing strategy in three stages. It was difficult to
promote and popularize a character that was not so good looking.
Usually, most of the promotional campaigns show either the face or
a scene from the show on the billboards. However, the Sony T. V.
decided not to follow the run of the mill approach. The Sony T.V.
hired the agency Euro RSCG for its’ promotional campaign and
came up with a unique three- tier system, that would unveil the
star and their role instead of the actor as well as throw light on
the show.
In the first stage, launched in July, excitement and curiosity was
created around the main character Jassi. Who is Jassi
and how does she look like was the focus of pre-launch campaign.
There were no faces in the campaign and the focus was on blurbs.
For quite some time people, were unaware of the real Jassi.
The producers were so secretive about the identity of Jassi and to
add to the secrecy of her identity she would introduce herself as Jassi.
The second stage of campaigning took off soon after the launch
of the show. The pre-launch campaign was basically the teaser that
focused on creating curiosity around the central character, on the
other hand the second phase took it a step forward, and the focus
was shifted on the other characters populating the show. The
second phase talked about the Jassi’s family, her boss Armaan
and her rivals in the office, in Jassi’s case glamorous and dumb Pari who is her archrival, and other details
about Jassi.
The third stage focused on the psyche of the viewers. What is
their opinion of Jassi the character, and why is she so
different from others? The idea was to boost the buzz. Apart from
metros, promotional activities were carried out in other places to
create awareness for the show.
Last year, in the October 2003, a few dozen people converged on Apna
Bazaar, chanted “Jassi, Jassi, Jassi” and
dispersed. That was India’s first flash mob with a marketing
objective-organized by SET, to promote its show
Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin. “ We built expectations
–most communication efforts talk to the eye, but we made sure
that the word about the program was right into ears. We started
flash mobs, had people who would get into local trains carrying
pink umbrellas and discuss the program. All this got people
curious and made them to switch to our channel,” said Sunil
Lulla (Executive V.P., SET)
In nutshell Sony’s gamble with the conventional and the
contemporary media has paid off and would continue to do the same.
TELIVISION RATING POINTS Vs POPULARITY: WAS MARKETING STRATEGY
REALLY WORTH THE EFFORT?
After its’ launch, the 9.30 pm soap Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin
is fast becoming a habit as the streets are almost deserted during
that time. Recruiting firms advertised for Jassi like
secretaries and Jassi –inspired caricatures were common in the
run-up to the polls.
Yet, the serial is not as high up on the TRP charts as it is on
the popularity list. “I agree the buzz around Jassi far exceeds
the TRP’s, but given the time, I am sure the TRP’s will follow
and reiterate the same thing- Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin,”
said confident Sunil Lulla (Executive V.P., SET) who is banking on
slot performance rating that has risen five times. With a first
episode rating of 3.6 that has steadily climbed to 5.2 at the end
of a dozen episodes people, people at the Sony Entertainment
Television are aware that the enthusiasm for Jassi among
viewers has not yet translated into viewer ship on lines of Kaun
Banega Crorepati.
But the plain old Jane is collecting fans for sure. Females aged
15 and above, bored urbanites in big cities have taken the fancy
for the simple secretary. In smaller markets (0.1-1 million) Jassi
has bagged 10+ rating in Orrisa, M.P and West Bengal. While
Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana are also kind to her, the real
“soapy regions “ like Maharashtra and Gujarat have
to develop a taste for plain Jassi, breaking free from
holier and ever sermonizing Tulsi of Kyunki Saas Bhi
Kabhi Bahu Thi and Parvati of Kahani Ghar
Ghar Ki. To habituate viewers to accept newcomer Jassi as a
part and parcel of their lives, SET has introduced one-hour
specials of the half-hour (9:30-9:59) slot serial to increase
viewer ship. According to the recent TRPs’ (28/03/04-03/04/2004)
Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin is the leading show of Sony T.V. with
the TRP of 4.4.followed by Kussum and C.I.D.
The serial has turned out to be the Sony’s best bet and a
profitable venture too. Not only Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin has
made an impressive opening in the first week, it has consistently
climbed the ratings chart and made it to the bracket of the
frontrunners. As she meets the expectations of her urbane and
charming boss Armaan Suri in the serial, Jassi did
not disappoint her off screen bosses too, who were edgy and
anxious. The serial struck the right chord and producers are
looking as pleased and proud of Jassi and their decision.
The reason behind its success is that ninety percent of the people
can relate to Jassi. The success of Jassi lies in
the fact there are many like her and it is easier for the audience
to identify with her than Tulsis and Parvatis. It
has come to defy the fact that ugliness is a trait not exactly
appreciated in unnatural, modern, and material world. On the other
hand beauty is still skin deep and lies very much in the eyes of
the beholder. If a clumsy but an intelligent character pops out of
her television sets, heads are bound to turn and create a success
story for itself.
WEBSITES VISITED
#1. www.rediff.com
#2. www.indiatimes.com
#3. www.feminaindiatimes.com
#4. www.agencyfaqs.com
#5. www.msnindia.com
#6. www.yahoo.com
#7. www.hindustantimes.com
PREPARED
BY
DEEPA KUMARI
LECTURER,
RAI UNIVERSITY,
MEADOWS
CAMPUS, FARIDABAD.
E-mail-deepakumari@hotmail.com
E-mail-deepa.kumari@raiuniversity.edu
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