Mktg - India;Samsung looks for mobile Karaoke star

Tarana Khan

Music drives the younger generation and the mobile has become a favourite music device with the youth. Cashing in on this passion, Samsung launched a karaoke mobile recently and is running an on-ground campaign to promote it.

The Samsung BeaT270 Karaoke Contest is a month long activity taking place in 17 cities in India, including the metros and smaller towns such as Kanpur, Bhubaneswar, Indore and Pune. Samsung has roped in radio channel Red FM and TV channel 9X to promote the show and provide a platform for the participants.

In an email interview with afaqs!, Sunil Dutt, country head, Samsung Telecom Business, says, “The contest gives them a chance to have fun, interact with the brand, get a chance to be on radio and finally on TV, if they are really good. It's also gives them a platform to showcase their singing talent.”


Red FM is the radio partner for the contest and is shortlisting the contestants in each city through a panel of judges and interactions with RJs. The selection will be through the joint network stations of Red FM and its partner station, SFM. The station will also select the national winner, who will be a wild card entry in Chak De, the dance reality show on 9X.

Speaking to afaqs!, B Surendar, national sales head, Red FM, says, “A mobile van, complete with karaoke setup, will hunt for singing talent in various cities. Red FM is also promoting the event through on-air promos, mentions and live on-board coverage of the on-ground activities. On-board links will amplify the on-ground action for lakhs of listeners on air through bytes from the participants and will also help create a lot of buzz at the venue.”


Dutt says that in the metros, 20 locations have been targeted per city, and the road shows are being carried out for about four-five days in each of these. In the smaller cities, about 10 locations are being tapped. The locations are usually colleges, malls, Cafe Coffee Day outlets and other popular youth hangouts.

Apart from radio, outdoor hoardings are also being used to promote the contest.

Talking about the response, Dutt says that per location, the average number of contestants is 35-40. So far, four cities have been covered and the next phase of the campaign has started. The national winner will be announced in mid-December.