Brands seeking to achieve cut-through in today’s fragmented media landscape should focus on storytelling rather than being sidetracked by technology and platforms, according to the managing director of Star India.
“Excess information is pushing consumers to make smarter choices,” Sanjay Gupta told the recent ISA CEO conference in Mumbai.
It is, he said, “forcing them to sharpen their filters on what they consume and what they choose to forget. They are more judicious about what occupies their mental space.”
Gupta believes what impacts consumers most today are those very few stories that break the clutter and rise above the din. (For more, read WARC’s report: Connect to busy audiences with storytelling, urges Star TV India chief.)
“Stories that are well-made, well-told and lovingly crafted, are stories that are able to create a space in a person’s mind,” he suggested – a topical example being Game of Thrones.
“This is why when the next episode drops in at 7.30am on a Monday morning, we somehow find the time to catch it immediately at home or on the way to work,” he said.
“We make time for the stories that capture our imagination.”
Game of Thrones is also an example of another trend – that big stories no longer take time to travel around the world. Star India’s Hotstar is currently making great play of the fact that it showing the final season at the same time as viewers in the US are watching it (and so thwarting pirate networks).
“It used to take six months for a blockbuster Hollywood release to come to India,” Gupta noted. “Now all it takes is five minutes, and it is available for people to see in the language and the device of their choice.
“Big stories are becoming bigger even faster, there are many more points connecting us with our viewers, thus enabling consumption to rise, so as a storyteller there is so much to be excited about.”
“Excess information is pushing consumers to make smarter choices,” Sanjay Gupta told the recent ISA CEO conference in Mumbai.
It is, he said, “forcing them to sharpen their filters on what they consume and what they choose to forget. They are more judicious about what occupies their mental space.”
Gupta believes what impacts consumers most today are those very few stories that break the clutter and rise above the din. (For more, read WARC’s report: Connect to busy audiences with storytelling, urges Star TV India chief.)
“Stories that are well-made, well-told and lovingly crafted, are stories that are able to create a space in a person’s mind,” he suggested – a topical example being Game of Thrones.
“This is why when the next episode drops in at 7.30am on a Monday morning, we somehow find the time to catch it immediately at home or on the way to work,” he said.
“We make time for the stories that capture our imagination.”
Game of Thrones is also an example of another trend – that big stories no longer take time to travel around the world. Star India’s Hotstar is currently making great play of the fact that it showing the final season at the same time as viewers in the US are watching it (and so thwarting pirate networks).
“It used to take six months for a blockbuster Hollywood release to come to India,” Gupta noted. “Now all it takes is five minutes, and it is available for people to see in the language and the device of their choice.
“Big stories are becoming bigger even faster, there are many more points connecting us with our viewers, thus enabling consumption to rise, so as a storyteller there is so much to be excited about.”
Sourced from WARC
