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Sony MAX competes with the GEC genre for advertisers: Vaishali Sharma
MUMBAI: Indians are obsessed with their stars and connect on an emotional level to the stories playing out on screens. Catering to this population of cine-lovers is Sony MAX that has been feeding this madness for the last 20 years through its vast content library, offering the best Hindi movies. And now to mark the successful completion of these two decades, it has kick-started months of interesting campaigns with its ‘Yeh Hai Desh Ki Deewangi’ TVC.
The campaign is an extension of its ‘Deewana Bana De’ positioning and features ‘Gullu Gulati’ as a mirror image of every movie lover in the country. Speaking about the celebratory campaign with Indiantelevision.com, Sony SAB, PAL and Sony MAX movie cluster head, marketing, and communications Vaishali Sharma shared that it is a celebration of the channel’s relation with its viewers.
She said, “It is pretty tough to create a campaign for the brand that is already very successful and also has a strong positioning, which it doesn’t want to change. So, we decided to let the campaign be a celebration of our success and the leadership position that we have been maintaining for the past 148 weeks. Also, it is a celebration of our relationship with our viewers and the passion for movies.”
The campaign, which showcases the protagonist recreating iconic characters like Raj from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Vijay from Don, Munna Bhai from Munna Bhai MBBS and Baahubali from Baahubali has been created by DDB Mudra group. Praising the agency for its cooperation and support, Sharma said that the agency not only knows the channel well but also loves what it does.
Apart from the campaign, the channel will be running a number of online activities to mark the celebration. The campaign will be played on digital and on cross channel platforms along with theatres. The channel will also be doing some interactive activities with its followers online like the #Deewangi challenge and ‘your best deewana fan moment’, revealed Sharma.
Elaborating on how the channel will continue to maintain its strong position in the market as it steps into the 21st year, Sharma said that it is very difficult to share what is going to happen in the next year as the industry is very dynamic.
“Every day the industry is seeing some changes. Especially with the NTO, there has been a great transformation and one needs to adapt to it. Right now, the focus remains on bringing a premium experience to users both on and off-air,” Sharma noted.
She added that the channel has grown tremendously well in the past few years and is planning to continue on the same path. “We are not just a movie channel but we compete with the GEC space. We offer the advertisers the same reach as other channels. I think we are a fantastic reach platform (for the brands).”
On being asked how she is planning to maintain the growth in the NTO world, Sharma said that it is practical to move on with the new tariff order. “I think it is an opportunity for us to really market ourselves strongly to the consumers and I think we should continue doing that and create a strong demand (for our content),” she concluded.
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Lessons from global media markets on building enduring content franchises
Rose Audio Visuals COO and CFO Mitesh Patel.
MUMBAI: The global media landscape has undergone a fundamental shift. Success today is no longer defined by a single hit show. It is defined by the ability to build intellectual property (IP) that travels, evolves, and compounds over time.
At Rose Audio Visuals, this shift is central to how we think about content pitching and creation. We are no longer in the business of just making shows. We are in the business of building IP ecosystems.
From Hits to Franchises
Globally, the most successful content is designed to extend beyond its first outing. It travels across: Seasons, Platforms (TV → OTT → Digital), Formats (series → spin-offs) Shows like Stranger Things and Money Heist are not just successful series they are multi-layered franchises with global recall, fan engagement, and long-term monetisation. The key learning is simple: If content cannot scale beyond one season or one platform, it remains a project not a franchise.
Local Stories, Global Impact
One of the most powerful global trends is the rise of culturally rooted storytelling. Platforms today reward local authenticity combined with universal emotion. Stories that are deeply regional are no longer limited by geography they are amplified by it. Consider the global impact of Squid Game or India’s own Sacred Games. The takeaway is clear: The more authentic the story, the greater its potential to travel if the emotion resonates universally.
Monetisation Begins After the First Window
A critical global learning is that the true value of content is not realised at launch, it is realised over time.
Strong franchises unlock multiple revenue streams: Licensing, International remakes, Brand integrations, Digital extensions , Events and immersive experiences
Global players like The Walt Disney Company have mastered this approach, turning content into long-term ecosystems that extend far beyond the screen.
The first window is just the beginning. The real value lies in what follows.
At Rose Audio Visuals, we increasingly evaluate projects not just on commissioning value, but on their long-term franchise potential.
The Rise of Creator-Led Franchises
An important global shift is the emergence of creator-led IP ecosystems.
Creators today are not just content producers they are building full-scale franchises across platforms, formats, and businesses.
A powerful example is MrBeast. What started as YouTube videos has evolved into: Multiple content formats, Global audience scale , Brand extensions and businesses, High-impact experiential content This is a fundamentally different model digital-first, audience-owned, and infinitely scalable.
This model is still in its early stages in Indian but it represents a massive opportunity.
The next wave of Indian content franchises may not come from traditional studios alone but from creators who think like media companies.
Balancing Data with Creative Instinct
Streaming platforms today are deeply data-driven. Data helps Identify emerging genres, Predict audience behaviour , Inform commissioning decisions However, global experience shows that data alone does not create hits. Data informs scale, but storytelling creates impact.
Talent is the Foundation of Franchises
Enduring franchises are rarely accidental they are built through long-term creative partnerships. Globally, there is a clear focus on nurturing Actors, Writter, Show runner and director. Franchises are not built on scripts alone they are built on creators. This is an area where we continue to invest deeply building long-term relationships with talent rather than project-based collaborations.
Multi-Platform Thinking from Day One
Content consumption today is inherently multi-platform. A successful show must be designed not just for its primary platform, but for: Short-form extensions, Social media amplification, Digital-first engagement. Every show today needs a second life beyond its original format.
India: A Market at an Inflection Point
India today stands at a unique moment in its content journey.
We are seeing significant opportunity in Regional markets (Telugu, Tamil, Marathi and others) Emerging formats such as micro-dramas, Scalable, franchise-driven fiction IP
India does not lack stories. What we have historically lacked is structured franchise thinking something that is now beginning to evolve.
The Way Forward
The biggest lesson from global markets is this: The future belongs to companies that do not chase hits, but systematically build franchises. Because while hits may deliver immediate success, franchises create long-term value, recall, and compounding growth.
At Rose Audio Visuals, this belief shapes how we develop, greenlight, and scale content across platforms.
For content companies today, the question is no longer “Will this show work?” It is: “Can this become a franchise?”
A Personal Note
Having worked across content, business, and strategy, one thing has become increasingly clear to me, the most valuable companies in our industry will not be those that create the most content, but those that create content that endures.
Building a franchise requires patience, conviction, and a long-term lens something that the industry is only now beginning to fully embrace.As we continue this journey at Rose Audio Visuals, our focus remains simple: to move from volume-driven creation to value-driven storytelling. Because in the end, stories may start conversations but franchises build legacies.
