PHOTOS BY KETCHUMSAMPARK.COM The song features in the movie 3, which stars Dhanush (right) and marks the debut of 21-year-old Anirudh Ravichander (far right) as music director A VIRAL HIT Kolaveri Di is fast becoming a case study on how viral marketing can create a cult following for a product. Shelly Walia analyses the strategy that went into making this song an instant hit t’s a classic case of ‘viral marketing’ Sankalia, director (special projects), Sony the scores of related videos on YouTube is acceptability now. The market is growing gone wild, says brand expert Harish Music India. a spoof (in German with English subtitles) at the rate of 20 per cent every year. The Bijoor about the far-reaching impact In fact the video of the song, which was on Adolf Hitler who is infuriated with the success of the song is an endorsement of of the song Why this Kolaveri Di. This shot overnight by Sony Music India, was song’s success. This is part of the Hitler this phenomenon,” says Sridhar quirky Tanglish (a portmanteau for specially targeted at the online networking Gets Angry Series which features hilarious Subramaniam, president of Sony Music ITamil and English) number, which sites. “It was deliberately kept simple and subtitled parodies of Hitler getting upset Entertainment (India and Middle East). became an instant hit as soon as it was informal just like the song itself. It has a over various events and issues. It is for the And guess who else is cashing in on the digitally released by Sony Music India in raw making-of-a-video touch to it. Besides, first time that an Indian song has been song’s far-reaching appeal? It is none oth- the second week of November, has now we decided to introduce sub-titles to make featured on the series and that is quite an er than the Chennai Police which is using entered the lexicon of one and all. Three it accessible for the non-Tamil masses,” achievement in itself. In the video, the the catchphrase as a message for rash driv- weeks on, the song has received a whop- Sankalia adds. leader is concerned about ‘the most viral ers. And how can dairy brand Amul get ping 19 million hits on YouTube, has been thing in India, beating even swine flu’. He left behind? Its latest print ad reads Kholo on the playlist of 43 radio stations across wants to believe that it is just a fad and it Every, Kholo Every, Kholo Everyday show- India and has been ‘shared’ by over 6.5 will pass, but even his own men have ing Amul’s mascot, the little girl, enjoying million Facebook users. True to its meaning (Kolaveri means mur- betrayed him by posting the link of the a slice of buttered bread with what appears However, according to actor, lyricist derous rage), the fervour attached to the song on their Facebook profiles. He is to be actor Dhanush. and singer Dhanush, one shouldn’t take song does not seem to end any- enraged at the song being fea- But, unlike commodities and products, the song so seriously. “What probably time soon. Type Kolaveri Di on The video of the tured on BBC and with Sir how do you monetise a song? “Profits can made the song connect with the masses YouTube and you will get over song was Winston Churchill’s helpless- be raked in by building on Kolaveri Di’s were the simple English words that are 30 versions inspired from the deliberately kept ness as even the Queen has iconic status; by introducing collaterals the part of every language,” he says. original. “It has taken me by simple and ‘liked’ it. He is ultimately ready such as mugs, t-shirts etc. It was done with But Bijoor believes that there is a little surprise how this song has informal just like ‘to surrender to Rajini Sir’ and Quick Gun Murugun, the character creat- more to the success of the song than just become such a rage. I thought it the song itself ‘sync the song on his iPod’. ed for television promos at the time of the the simplicity of the lyrics. “The song, would connect with the young- Among the most viewed ver- launch of the music network Channel V. A undoubtedly, has a rustic touch to it that sters here in the south but not this far,” sion is the Pawar Slap Song, which fea- similar icon can be built around this song,” appeals to the base instinct of masses. says Dhanush. tures the video grabs of the recent attack says Bijoor. However, at the same time what boosted Creative minds all across the nation on Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Sony Music India wants to keep the the song’s popularity is the consumer-to- have created and uploaded different ver- Pawar. The latest to join the bandwagon is song fresh, buzzing and alive till each per- consumer technique, rather than the mar- sions of the song on YouTube. A Gujarati Kolaveri Di Milk version by Sonu Nigam’s son has heard it. “It is now our conscious keter-to-consumer one. Moreover, geog- one goes Why this Chokri Kharcha-Di or four-year-old son, Nevaan. effort to long-tail the Kolaveri Di concept raphy is history now. The digital world why does this girl make me spend so by creating and distributing official dance allows access to everyone.” much, while the Marathi rendition is called mixes of the song,” says Subramaniam. Along with its social media agency, the Kolhapuri Mix. The Malayalam ver- This song, which has now acquired a Jack in the Box, Sony Music India market- sion, in support of the Save Mullaperiyar Marketing experts like V S Sitaram, the cult status, has been written for the ed the song in phases. The song was first Dam Campaign, has been created by the former marketing head at Dabur, believe upcoming Tamil movie 3 (Mundroo). The showcased for a Tamil audience and was students of TKM College of Engineering in that though the lessons from this case film, which stars Dhanush and Shruti then gradually taken to national and inter- Kollam, Kerala, and questions the kolaveri study don’t apply to all products, there is Hassan, is slated for a January release. It national levels. “We first posted the song of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. definitely something for those that target also marks the debut of 21-year-old on our Sony Music south pages on “I don’t remember the last time a song the youth. “The song caught the attention Anirudh Ravichander as a music director. Facebook as well as on Twitter which are became a rage like this. Probably it was because it is simple yet sophisticated. But Dhanush, who has been in the industry followed by lakhs of people. Through Prabhu Deva’s Mukkala Muqabla which the popularity also has to be attributed to for over eight years now, having won the word-of-mouth, we tried to spread aware- garnered a similar response from across the viral marketing on social networking national film award this year for his role in ness about the song and get as many fans. the country. But, it was different as that platforms,” he says. Aadukalam, says, “Such things cannot be After the song showed signs of gaining was not the age of social networking,” says The popularity of the song also has planned. If one could anticipate how pop- momentum, we launched it on Sony Music Sankalia. something to do with the changing music ular a song would become, we would all India and international pages,” says Arjun One of the most popular additions to landscape. “Regional music has huge become superstars.”.