Last week, the 71st edition of Miss World concluded with Krystyna Pyszková of Czech Republic winning the crown. After 28 years of hiatus, India hosted the pageant, which was produced by Banijay Asia & EndemolShine India. The event was held at the Jio World Convention Centre, Bandra.
In a candid chat with e4m, Rishi Negi, the COO at Banijay Asia & Endemol Shine India, spoke about the growing content space, experiential marketing, and the scarcity of the talent pool in the industry.
Talking about the contest, Negi said, “This edition of Miss World is not like the old pageant that we have seen before, which revolved around beauty. This edition is about beauty with purpose, they have been working on a cause for a long time.”
Edited excerpts from the conversation:
- You’ve been with the company since its inception in 2018. What’s your motto as the COO of Banijay Asia & EndemolShine India?
I’ve been a part of Banijay Asia from its inception, then I started Endemol Shine India. So, I have worked with both teams and I understand their strengths. Now that both of them have come together, we have the strength to complement any work that we take up, from reality to fictional shows to events like Miss World. - Being in this space for decades, what kind of evolution do you see in terms of content?
The advent of OTT has triggered content evolution. The last five years have changed the landscape of content consumption completely. There is a difference between India and Bharat, as in there are two kinds of audiences sitting in the country. We aim to create content that cuts across cohorts like Bigg Boss.We create in a way that is suitable for both the medium – TV & OTT; however, sometimes we have to make platform-specific content, but we always try to make mass-y content. Regarding OTT, the treatment or the format changes because you are dealing with slightly younger audiences. - Why is there a growth in the experiential marketing space in India?
During Covid, people were confined in a space for their safety. As things started to become normal, there was a surge in demand to experience rather than just seeing from a distance.People realize the essence of life is to create memories and experiences. Brands understood this insight and jumped on the bandwagon. Now, there is an increase in engagement and experience spaces. Social media also fueled the space with people sharing their experiences and thereby creating awareness and hence brands gaining momentum. - Do you think there’s a scarcity of talent specifically in the M&E industry?
There is always a shortage of talent, but at both companies, we have been able to retain the staff for the longest possible time. I think the game plan for any organization should be to retain talent. I believe it’s the people who make the organization. If they succeed, we succeed. - What will be your focus area in 2024?
We are expecting to expand in Asia very extensively. Recently, we have announced CreAsia which is our venture based out of Singapore. We want to create more content with a deeper connection, centred on the script. We will be focusing on the event space as it is growing in the country with IPL, WPL, and other tournaments taking place.
