Zee Unimedia floats sponsorship packages to boost ad sales revenues

Zee Unimedia Ltd, the ad-sales subsidiary of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, has floated special customised sponsorship packages that offer brands an opportunity to associate with a combination of top-performing shows and pick up ad-inventory across the group’s network of 40 channels.

This move comes at a time when brands are in the process of finalising their summer advertising strategy especially for the Indian Premier League.

The company believes this strategy will help increase its share of advertisers’ spends. Ashish Sehgal, Chief Operating Officer, Zee Unimedia, said: “With a view to increase our share of advertisers’ spends, we have brought out a sponsorship package called ‘

Entertainment ka bonus’ with diverse offerings. This provides advertisers flexibility to choose from 40 channels on the group’s entire network, genres, combination of top-performing shows, plug-in and plug-out options, and longevity to run promotions over longer duration.”

Besides ZEEL, Zee Unimedia also manages ad sales for Zee Media Corporation. “It is for the first time we have gone to our clients (advertisers) with the collective strength of the network, offering them the best of audience reach in a cost-effective way,” he said.

The company expects to rope in 8-10 sponsors for these network-level sponsorship deals. The company has devised three kinds of packages which are priced in the range of ₹22-₹35 crore. However, it said that these sponsorship packages will be customised to meet a brand’s requirements.

Replying to a query on the kind of brands it’s looking to get on board, Sehgal said: “We are focussing on advertisers who require a wide audience reach across genres and are looking for long-term solutions. So we are engaging with several companies from multiple sectors and a lot of them are our existing clients. Our endeavour is to increase our share in advertisers’ spends and provide the best value for every marketing dollar spent.”

He added that brands look at multiple advertising options and the first quarter of the fiscal is significant for brands, especially the FMCG companies, to formulate their advertising strategies.

Asked if this will boost the company’s ad revenues during the first quarter of the fiscal year, Sehgal said: “We have consistently performed well in the first two quarters of the financial year. With this unique proposition, we are confident of getting a good head start for the year.”