Indian television selling Hope and Fear
I read about the Three Marketing Levers - Hope, Love and Fear on Seth Godin’s Blog. Not that I’m an ardent follower of his fundas of consumer psychology, but quite a lot of what he concludes about the subject (marketing) is pretty fundamental and most of his examples are convincing since they are very relevant to everyday experiences of you, me and others as a consumer as well as a salesperson.
Anyway, this post isn’t about Seth, but about Indian Television. I think that Indian Sitcoms and Indian News Channels (especially Hindi) are leveraging the two selling points of Hope and Fear to the fullest extent on Indian Television. How many times do you come across a Hindi News Channel with a flashing red-banner of ‘Breaking News‘. We all love watching ‘Breaking News’, isn’t it? We love to anticipate that the news might be really dreadful like a terrorist attack and also FEAR someone beloved may be involved in an incident.
The news might be as trivial as that about the visit of a European Prime Minister to India and the undue hoopla about whether his super-hot model girlfriend would be joining him; but, with a red ‘Breaking News’ banner under it, it all seems like as if the world is changing :P! We love celebrity love stories and would care a little less about a dying village in the country to see what can happen. We undoubtedly HOPE to live that celebrity life 
As Indians, we are used to living in families and often joint families in many cases (although, I think joint families have been declining at least since my brother’s generation). After liberalization and the upturn in the economy - there has surely been a psychological liberalization of our thoughts too - tending to be more liberal and less traditional. As conservative our mindsets might be, we don’t hesitate to be more open-minded about sex these days. Undoubtedly, the sitcoms airing on our entertainment channels are nothing less than a cultural backlash of sorts. At the same time, they also promote liberal thoughts. Parents (especially women) would watch the TV shows with the FEAR that their family traditions are being uprooted with the invasion of the Western culture and the HOPE to retain these traditions in the backdrop of a modern lifestyle.
Another notable sitcom on Indian television (now not airing) was Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi - HOPE to those few women to make it big in the fashion industry? NO! Rather, HOPE to many women to succeed at the modern Indian workplace which demands good looks to climb up the corporate ladder! (hmmm…really?)
Although, one might not find LOVE (the third marketing lever) triggering TV viewers to glue to a TV show, there is another psychological aspect which sells well with almost all the youth (especially collegiates). It goes with the slogan ‘We are of the people, for the people and by the people’. I don’t know what one would call it in ‘one’ word. But, I would call it Democracy as a brand. For example, there is ‘Citizen Journalist’ by CNN-IBN which makes their brand sound like the ‘News Channel of the People’. This brand image is common with print media, where, people are allowed to voice out their opinions and choose their lead story, etc. - Hindustan Times is a classic example I think. How can one forget DNA? Remember the hoardings across Mumbai?
Anyway, getting back to TV, another example is that of the reality shows that allow you to vote. Although, it’s not a novelty any more, but one strong reason for an upsurge in such reality TV shows in India was because it allowed viewers to choose their ‘favourite’ artist/player/dancer. Hence, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa was threatened by Indian Idol. Reality TV has surpassed this phase as of now and are now busy dramatizing them with celebrities!
But there’s something new to always look out for - such as MTV Roadies going out of India.
Currently, I’m enjoying these faked MTV Roadies auditions, what are you watching?
nice article…actlly v true