MAM
Zee TV, Colors, Sony gain even as Star Plus leads
MUMBAI: That phase II digitisation switch offs and IPL6 are having an impact is seen in TAM‘s week 16 ratings for 2013. Overall, the general entertainment channel (GECs) genre shed 19 GRPs, even as Zee TV, Colors, Sony Entertainment Television (Set) managed to hold on to their GRP numbers. Life OK and Star Plus, however, seem to have taken a bit of a dent in their ratings.
As per TAM data (HSM including 5 new LC1 markets, C&S, 4+) sourced from a channel, the pecking order of the Hindi GECs changed a bit as Colors moved up to No.3 slot.
Despite the loss of 19 GRPs, Star Plus continues to be the leader of the genre with a good margin of 64 GRPs more than Zee TV. Many shows of the Star India flagship channel saw a drop in viewership. The channel ended the week with 233 GRPs.
Holding on to the second spot, Zee TV added around six GRPs to close the week with 169 GRPs. The channel‘s reality show India‘s Best Dramebaaz rated a 1.9 TVR on Sunday 14 April and 1.8 TVR on 20 April. The channel‘s other shows witnessed marginal changes in numbers.
Colors gained around 11 GRPs to take its tally to 167 GRPs helping it retain its No 3 spot. The Viacom18 channel had aired the Gr8 Women Awards on 14 April that rated 0.4 TVR.
Set too added five GRPs to gross 165 GRPs. The channel‘s crime shows continue to hold strong. C.I.D notched a 2.4 TVR (last week 2.3) while Crime Patrol fetched a 1.9 TVR (last week 1.8).
Sab ended the week with 123 GRPs (last week 137) while Life OK ended up with 103 GRPS (last week 111).
Sahara One with 21 GRPs (last week 19) remained at the bottom of the ladder.
MAM
How beverage brands are rethinking marketing strategies for weather-led demand
SLMG Beverages Private Limited joint managing director Paritosh Ladhani.
MUMBAI: As Sun climbs up the hemisphere, summer has clearly arrived in India. On 7th March 2026 Delhi registered a maximum temperature of 35.7 degrees Celsius which is the highest reading logged for the first week of March in the last 50 years. Climate Change has been prolonging summers by causing earlier spring warming, delayed autumn cooling, and more frequent, intense heatwaves that persist for much longer periods.
In an endeavor to stay ahead of the curve, Beverage Brands are shifting from fixed seasonal marketing tactics to weather responsive strategies backed by data-driven insights, flexible campaigns, and diversified portfolios to capitalize on unruly temperature spike. In 2025, India’s beverage market experienced a massive, heat-triggered surge with carbonated drinks and ice cream volumes spiking 20–25 per cent in the March quarter itself on the back of hottest February in 125 years.
Clearly campaign timelines are being advanced to reap the seasonal shift in line with the jumping mercury. In the Indian context where Cricket is nothing short of religion, big ticket tournaments like T20 World Cup, Indian Premier League, ICC Champions Trophy provide plethora of opportunities to calibrate marketing campaign designs and associated business strategies to associate refreshment with community viewing both outdoor and indoors. A new trend that has taken the world by storm is that of booking the theatres for bonhomie viewing. It has also opened avenues for joint marketing initiatives by the Multiplex and Beverage Brands.
Price disrupting small potions and value packs tend to drive significantly higher volumes owing to volumetric flexibility and affordability to the consumers. Ramping up of cold supply chains for transit and at point of sales (POS) are strategic business imperatives that again define success of beverage brands.
In the era of AI and Big Data it is easy to track and calibrate messaging based on daily or weekly weather changes. Geo-targeted digital advertisement campaigns are also being run during heatwaves to make the business and marketing imperative very contextual. These pre-emptive strategies fueled by real time data and technology immensely help beverage brands to adjust supplies to the areas that are likely to generate more demand.
Novelty brings premium to the FMCG Sector and Beverage Brands are no exception. Newer SKUs build up excitement in consumers besides imparting the scope of frequent revitalization of brand marketing campaigns. Ensuring continuum of supply chain across material suppliers, logistics providers, distributors/wholesalers, and retailers become a strategic business strategy imperative for beverage brands during peak season.
Carbonated drinks among other beverages including packaged mineral water sell like hotcakes in summers, a period where holiday season gives big impetus to sales volumes. Tying up with air carriers railways, amusement parks, malls, convention centers for inclusion in the onboard beverage deck also holds a big window of opportunity for brands.
Limited period diversification into special summer categories entailing juices and functional beverages to capture the broader hydration market is also a business cum marketing imperative that beverage brands eye on. This also brings to fore the responsible side of the brand placing the compass on wellness of consumers.
Seasons are cyclic, hence summers are inevitable. Further, due to anthropogenic climate change, summers surely have been staging prolonged appearance that keep bringing beverage brands on to their drawing boards frequently for strategizing business and marketing campaigns that are agile, refreshment-focused, visually dominant in retail, affordable, and optimally promoted through seasonal campaigns in above and below the line media.
