Abstract
The case ‘‘ZEE Zindagi: Offering Value through Distinct Approach’ illustrates the strategic move by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) to launch the channel Zindagi in India. The case describes how Zindagi responded to research findings and audience feedback so as to offer what the existing Indian soap operas were either not offering at all or not offering it the way audience wanted them to. The case also explores how the channel focused on some strategically important factors and mixed those in such a way that it created a paradigm shift in the way serials were shown and viewed in India, thereby, applying blue ocean strategy by breaking and reconstructing industry boundaries.
The case scrutinizes the strategic move by Zindagi using ‘eliminate–reduce–raise–create grid’ and ‘strategic canvas’ of blue ocean strategy and discusses the important lessons to be learned from Zindagi experience.
The only way to beat the competition is to stop trying to beat the competition.
Inception of ‘Zindagi’
On 23 July 2014, ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), a leading television, media and entertainment company of India, entertaining more than 700 million viewers across 170 countries through its robust presence worldwide (ZEE Television, 2014), launched its latest channel ‘Zindagi’ as an initiative to air serials to tap the viewers looking for variety in content. 1 The channel was an expression of the company’s corporate philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ meaning ‘The World Is My Family’ (Zindagi TV, 2014). With an estimated launch budget of ₹80–100 crore, the channel was started to bring content from different countries with the idea that culturally different people, celebrating different festivals and living in different geographic regions and across ideological borders can be united together and brought closer through the universal stories, content and art, thereby, creating a world without psychological borders. As evident through the positioning of the channel ‘Jodey Dilon Ko’ meaning ‘Bringing Hearts Closer’, the channel aimed to deliver shows to Indian viewers that would connect them with people scattered across borders.
The channel was a unique offering of the company as it aired shows with content set outside Indian borders. The channel in its initial phase aired shows from Pakistan, but in the later phase planned to bring content from different countries, such as Turkey, Egypt and Latin America, as projected by Shailija Kejriwal (Deccan Herald, 3 June 2014) and Punit Goenka (DNA, 20 June 2014).
The multifaceted vision of the channel to bring content from international market and to create a cultural exchange across borders was unique as it would create both social and economic value. In terms of economic (business) value, it would create a value platform for the broadcasting channel ‘Zindagi’, advertisers, producers and the entertainment industry as a whole. In terms of social aspects, the channel would highlight the prevailing social issues in different societies, linked in some way or the other with everyone’s everyday life. Besides, considering the situation between India and Pakistan (culturally similar countries but politically divided), this channel would generate a unique platform towards peace between the two nations by getting Indian audience into the houses of an average Pakistani and breaking the tough mental blocks that prevailed among the masses.
Ever since the two nations became independent, conflicts became an integral part of the relationship between them. As a result, the import of Indian films was discontinued by Pakistan. After a long gap, the then president Zia ul Haq allowed the exchange of artists and some Indian films as a ‘friendly’ expression. Then Pakistani singers, such as Ghulam Ali, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hasan, became a passion in Indian homes during the 1980s (Ved, 2014).
During and after the era of President Pervez Musharraf, Indian films were not only exhibited in Pakistan but have actually become the heart of the exhibition sector resulting in an outburst of film-making in Pakistan, with some of them drawing colossal applause worldwide. This forms the outset of ‘Zindagi’ meaning ‘life’, which is believed to give a new life to the relations among people—irrespective of the political schema between the two nations. This objective was also supported through relaxation of certain regulations by the Prime Minister of Pakistan ‘Nawaz Sharif’, who in his visit to India met Essel Group’s 2 Chairman Subhash Chandra to discuss about the content of the channel (Baddhan, 2014).
In the digital age, people do not remember the channel number if they are not used to watching that channel (Srivastava, 2014). It was, therefore, not easy for the new channel Zindagi to catch viewer attention. Besides, with a large number of competitive serials being aired on different channels, the challenge for Zindagi was to offer something with exceptional value for the target audience. What factors should it consider so as to offer something different than its competitors and catch the viewer attention?
Changing the TV Landscape
Looking at its entry, Zindagi has created a buzz among Indian masses and has been received with open arms by Indian viewers. Authors’ interaction with many people, both offline and online, revealed that the channel received a huge appreciation in its short duration, and people were emotionally attached to the shows of this channel. A number of reasons can be postulated for this. One reason is that the language between these two nations is common. It is simple Urdu—considered to be a sweet language in both countries. Second, the settings (urban or rural) are largely similar. Third, controversies like the role of a woman in Pakistan, particularly the educated lot, resemble the concerns of Indian educated women. Fourth, the expression of family life, be it lower, middle or the upper class, is also very much alike. Besides, the social ambience, such as the complicacies of man–woman or husband–wife relationships, is identical and easily detectable.
But there are some things that are not similar. Indian audience have been shown tele-serials with hundreds of episodes. Zindagi offers an alternative of serials that conclude within a score of episodes, completing in a short time frame and hence easy to be followed. This fits well with the receptive Indian audience.
After watching Zindagi, people wanted Indian soap operas to change their traditional approach of airing their shows and think on different lines to make them more interesting. Zindagi did that. Therefore, Zindagi was seen to be bringing new life into television landscape. (See Exhibit 1 for various shows aired by the channel.) Interestingly, the channel managed to touch the hearts of one and all. The channel earned much praise and appreciation in Indian newspapers as well as on social media. It was not only the viewers but also the popular Bollywood celebrities who expressed their appreciation for the shows from across the border. Actress Kajol Mukherjee Devgan (Kajol) expressed that she was very impressed with Pakistan TV serials and was completely won over by the recent airing of Pakistani serials in India (The Times of India, 8 September 2014). Actress Divya Dutta labelled the serials as subtle (
Shows Aired by the Channel Zindag
What made Zindagi so unique that it created a storm over social networking sites since the day of its launch? Why were people getting excited about its serials even when there were many other serials and dramas aired on different channels?
Amongst a host of things that get people together in India is their love for serials. But on-ground research by the channel showed that people in India were complaining about long formats and indefinite closure of serials (DAWN, 17 July 2014). Besides, the Indian audience were showing discomfort with monotonous stories, stretching of episodes, unrealistic make-up and dressing of artists and panning on each face at every dramatic moment. Indian audience wanted serials with quality content that could respect both their intelligence and the time they invested in watching those serials.
Factors That Zindagi Focussed on Strategically
Responding to the research findings and audience feedback, Zindagi strategically focused on certain factors so as to offer what the existing soap channels were either not offering at all or not offering it the way audience wanted them to. The critical factors that guided the appropriate value creation that Indian audience responded to positively are:
Stretching of Episodes and Monotonous Stories: Zindagi aired serials with a definite closure and did not believe in stretching the serials beyond tolerance (Quora, 2015). The channel aired shows based on novels with an underlying social theme which kept the essence as well as the interest of the viewers intact (Deccan Herald, 3 June 2014). This made Zindagi an interesting channel to watch. Exaggerated Make-up and Dressing of Artists: It was the industry norm to use excessive make-up and expensive dressing and jewellery for artists in serials even when the artists were sitting in their bedrooms. Zindagi aired shows that portrayed all the characters realistically with dressing and costumes apt with the scene (Chickerur, 2014; Srivastava, 2014). Artists of Zindagi follow a dress code that is elegant, reflects values and is by far conservative as compared to the Western styles, thereby maintaining a cultural identity. This transpires well with the senior Indian citizens who find these serials alluring. Number of Episodes: The number of episodes in Zindagi’s serials was considerably less (e.g., 26 episodes in Zindagi Gulzar Hai, 23 episodes in Humsafar and 19 episodes in Aunn Zara) than that of the conventional serials aired by different competitive channels (e.g., 1833 episodes in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, 1423 episodes in Kasoti Zindagi Ki and 1661 episodes in Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki). Most of the serials aired on Zindagi channel completed within 30 episodes. This created a unique differentiation when compared to the shows aired on other channels. Content from Different Countries: The channel aired ‘never-seen-before’ content from different countries (starting with Pakistan) (Quora, 2015). This was a rare concept of the channel as it set the platform to create a cultural exchange between India and other countries. Target Audience: Through its premium and finite content, Zindagi was positioned as a premium Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) targeting the tier-I and tier-II cities. The audience for the conventional serials were mainly the housewives, but Zindagi raised its target market to the masculine segment including ultra-modern youth. Opinion makers and influencers, advocates, teachers, doctors and people from entertainment, politics and other professions also watch Zindagi with interest (Chickerur, 2014). Addressing Diverse Social Issues: Zindagi offered serials that were broad-based in terms of contemporary social issues. Every new serial of Zindagi addressed diverse social issues of class difference, gender discrimination, marital relationships, ideas around independence and many more. In doing so, Zindagi touched the hearts of people and made sure that content-driven serials rich in social messages can also have a huge fan following. Richness of Content: Zindagi aired shows having quality script with stories close to reality and relevant to everyday life of the Indian audience (Srivastava, 2014). These shows preferred richness of the content over sidetracks and high-voltage background music. Theme Songs: Zindagi created attractive theme songs in Urdu language, such as ‘wo humsafar tha magar ussey humnawaayi na thi’ and ‘Zindagi gulzar hai’. These songs stirred the heart strings of masses and became household music pieces.
There were some channels that carried few of these factors but neglected others, resulting in low effectiveness. So, the secret was to get the right combination of factors. Zindagi focused on these factors and with the help of extensive market research, the channel mixed these factors in an effective way. Reconstructing across the conventional serials, Zindagi offered an exceptional value to the Indian audience, forming a value curve that was distinct from the existing competitive channels. One wonders if Zindagi was so enticing, why it was not realized before. But then, as an old adage goes, ‘things happen when they are destined to’.
In India, television currently reaches 139 million homes by cable or DTH broadcast, which is expected to reach to 180 million homes by 2018. Around 30 per cent of this reach watches Hindi GECs (Shashidhar, 2014). Though some of the channels in this category were growing faster than their counterparts, quality content had a huge space in this category. As N.P. Singh, CEO Multi Screen Media, quoted, ‘There is always space for quality content. As long as you deliver good content, I don’t believe there will be clutter’ (Shashidhar, 2014).
Most of the existing GECs in India were catering to audiences with conventional mindsets. Zindagi targeted audience base with a progressive mindset, people who are trying to strike the perfect balance between their professional and personal lives in contemporary times. This audience base is looking for content which is real in nature and offers something they can relate to. The content on Zindagi collaborates itself very well to that mindset of its target audience.
Delivering quality content has been one of the prime differentiators of Zindagi. Offering this particularity demands an effective decision-making with respect to the assessment of the content that the channel is promising to deliver in the long run as well. Though Zindagi has started with some popular serials from Pakistan, little is known about how Zindagi evaluates the content on subjective grounds and how it will continue doing so while introducing serials from countries other than Pakistan. The challenge for the channel will be continuing the specificity of quality content while drawing from other countries, such as Turkey and Egypt (countries with altogether different cultures and languages). Considering the current scenario of the Indian soap operas, the stiff competition backed up by the outburst of choices and increasingly well-informed customers requires Zindagi to engage their audience at all virtual touch points. As digital media offers companies a platform to engage customers so as to encourage them to spread positive word of mouth and enhance trust amongst them (Islam and Rahman, 2016), Zindagi increasingly needs to pursue strategies to create such experiences that engage customers with each other and with the firm by offering various platforms, such as blogs and social network sites, thereby generating enhanced customer feedback, thoughtful insights regarding the evaluation of the content, emotional bonding and loyalty outcomes.
Currently, the television viewership per thousand viewers (TVT) of Zindagi might not be very high, but the applause that the channel received from the audience about its quality content and the mix of all other strategic factors is encouraging. It is quite likely that the channel could create a paradigm shift in the airing of shows of its category because it is for the first time that an Indian channel is setting a platform to reflect Pakistani art and culture, in an organized manner to a welcoming Indian audience. Besides, by shattering various cross-cultural stereotypes and asserting on similarities in terms of culture, language and confrontations that people of India and the other countries share, it will be a valuable contribution of the channel ‘Zindagi’ to create a culture of harmony, understanding and accord among the people of India and other countries.
Case Questions
What is blue ocean strategy? How did Zindagi originally identify blue ocean by pursuing differentiation without fighting hard with competitive GECs?
Using the ‘eliminate–reduce–raise–create Grid’ framework of blue ocean strategy, explain how Zindagi created an effective mix of some factors that made the channel deliver value distinctively? Also draw the strategic canvas of Zindagi in comparison with those of its competitors.