MUMBAI: Known to be a tough competitor in the GEC space, Sony Entertainment Television has played around with content to innovate and experiment. These innovations took the channel forward when it boasted of a few big non-fiction properties like Kaun Banega Crorepati and Indian Idol. Adding to its platter now is Indian Idol Junior, which will only add to their growing market share in the long run.

Having established itself as a platform in six years, people now recognize the brand which has helped the channel do an extension like Idol Junior.

Speaking with Radioandmusic.com on the show, Sony Entertainment Television senior VP and marketing head Gaurav Seth said, “Indian Idol as a brand enjoys a very high salience and recall. Since junior is for the first time, it was a big step to introduce the concept to the people. Also to break the clutter now and establish the property, it was a journey which we had to bring to life.”

The show is an extended version of the international Junior Idol aired in countries like Brazil and Puerto Rico. While every year it was Indian Idol that used to compete with other shows in June, this time the channel is playing it up with a junior edition of the popular show. The non-fiction property is what Sony is focusing on to give tough competition to other upcoming shows like Jhalak Dikhla Ja on Colors and Dance India Dance Super Moms on Zee TV.

“Indian Idol is a big property for us; it’s one of the bigger non-fiction properties that we do in the year. It is clearly something people look forward to and it adds weight to our weekend line-up. Even this year, we believe that this is really going to be something that will help us gain market share during the next three months,” he revealed.

The property currently has six sponsors on-board. The presenting sponsor is Nissan Micra, the powered by sponsor is Horlicks, while Alpenlibe, Kellogs Real Fruit and 99 Acres are the associate sponsors.

Although the format of the show has not been changed, there are stated to be a few minor adjustments as the tone of the show is not going to be focused on competition, but to celebrate the potential of the children.

Commenting on the content, Fremantle Media India content head Anupama Mandloi said, “Kid based reality shows work well today in GECs. It’s just the purity and innocence that children bring to the platform that every viewer connects with. We are hoping that it does transcend to TRPs. We have travelled to around 36 cities across India, sourcing kids who can sing. The focus is on talent and we have enough to blow everyone away.”

Idol Junior was launched with an innovative ‘Gaano ka Vahi Jadoo’ campaign showcasing golden moments from Hindi cinema with the kids thrown in. The second phase of the campaign involved the kids in the audition promos, where the talent of the kids was on display along with the judges’ reaction giving it a unique look.

Seth stated, “The idea of the campaign has been extremely successful. The strategy was twofold. One was to show that even in young India there is a large amount of potential. The second was to showcase them in a positive light as they are kids. In the whole journey you have a good voice and you will receive guidance from mentors like Vishal-Shekhar and Shreya Ghoshal is what worked for us.”

While the marketing and promotions helped in creating a substantial buzz and anticipation, it also transcended to the auditions in large numbers. The channel witnessed over a lakh participants from across 36 cities in India.

The channel will further the buzz by tapping into various digital and social media platforms through various initiatives. They recently unveiled the MyIndianIdol.com website offering users a chance to connect with the show, through engaging features, content and applications.

It has also unveiled the Indian Idol Junior application, which is available for download on iTunes and the Google Play Store. The application had enabled the users to register for the show using the Web Auditions feature and will offer content, games and engaging applications to viewers on- the- go.

The app is stated to encompass features like Bachpan Ki Awaaz allowing users to sing or speak into the app and relive their voice as a kid, Catch the Falling Notes a game where users need to catch the falling musical notes with a tap or mouse-click, Picture Puzzle a jigsaw with an ‘Indian Idol’ twist and Create your own Indian Idol Avatar where users can create their own ‘avatar’ using a combination of personal styles of the Indian Idol contestants.

MyIndianIdol.com along with the Indian Idol Junior App will enable online and social voting aiming to add a new dimension to the show.

“We will have lots of interactions online with our social media pages. There will be a lot of activity from a digital perspective. We have also created an app called Indian Idol Junior where you can record your voices and send it like an audition device. We have interactions on facebook pages and we will build the contestant profile. So there are a lot of plans which will be executed now,” Seth elaborated.

While the digital front seems to be the key to engagement, the content team will be playing around with different themes to bring up interesting studio episodes.

Mandloi reveals, “The beauty of the show is building the contestants, story and characters which is something very unique to Idol. We aim to take the best contestants forward and see their journey. Once they reach the studio stage, then it’s all about how they perform. This is an attempt to keep the brand fresh and alive and just the fact that its focusing on a different TG this time is going to bring that element of freshness.”

Another important aspect which the channel and Fremantle Media has focused upon is to consciously stay away from item numbers from the audition stage itself.

“Children have not been encouraged much to sing item numbers or songs that sound strange when kids sing them. We are trying to keep it focused on purity and keep the innocence of the kids alive,” she added.

Keeping the standard format of the show alive, the winner of Junior Idol will receive a recording contract and a cash prize.

The show and property has been known to create a large amount of buzz and an even larger buzz once the winner is announced. While the recording contract offers momentary success to the winners, it has been noticed that after a point of time some are merely forgotten.

Amongst the six seasons the channel has hosted, there have been some participants who have managed to make a name in the music industry while others have slowly disappeared to smaller concerts in their hometown.

Explaining the same, Seth said, “The winners and more from Indian Idol are not really forgotten. If they put their mind in training, they too can become accomplished musicians like Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sonu Nigam and more. You as a platform can only do so much, by showcasing the people and their talent to the country. After that, the people have to put in the hard work and grow up to become famous. The ones who have not even become playback singers are all doing shows today, they are still singing.”

It will definitely be a wait to see if the first junior edition of the show plays up to the expectations and showcases the innovation it promises to deliver in the long run.