RadioandMusic
| 03 Oct 2024
BIG FM launches 'THWINK BIG' - Talent Incubator and Content Studio

MUMBAI: Known for delivering clutter-breaking content and award winning shows, BIG FM has set up Thwink BIG – a short-form video and audio talent incubator and marquee content studio. Thwink will contribute towards making the brand future ready for catering to growing consumer and advertiser needs and changing media trends. It encapsulates three core aspects that are at the centre of the network’s strategy - excellent music, outstanding story-telling and captivating social experiments.

BIG FM has consistently won accolades at prestigious industry awards like the EMVIES, ABBYs, Indian Radio Forum and New York Festival and Thwink takes that legacy forward in a focussed way. Thwink will also produce all the national shows like Suhaana Safar With Annu Kapoor and The 90s Show With Anu Malik

The studio has already delivered high impact campaigns for renowned brands over the past two months:

The recently concluded popular on-air singing talent hunt Benadryl BIG Golden Voice – Season 5 went through a complete transformation from a pure on-air concept to a digital led one. In this season which had ace director Anu Malik as the judge, the top 10 contestants collaborated with established singers and composers like Kavita Seth, Prajakta Shukre, Rupali Moghe, Shahid Mallya, Vishal Mishra and many more to create original songs featured through a series of webisodes which has garnered over 50 million views and counting.

Taking the legacy of storytelling forward, a touching short film based on a real life story of a visually impaired couple was presented with an original score this Valentine’s Day. #LoveIsntBlind trended on Twitter and Yoodlee Films’ (Saregama India) Kuchh Bheege Alfaaz partnered with us to create interesting content around this concept. Popular television personalities Pooja Gor and Raj Singh Arora added their charm by starring in the video directed by Gaurav Bajaj of Notorious Owl Pictures.

The #BeatTheBudget short format video series for AirAsia starring famous comedian Suresh Menon began as a social experiment followed by a panel discussion and debate which seamlessly delivered the brand message with video views across social platforms still pouring in

The 90s Show With Anu Malik video aptly captured the 90s Bollywood flavour with a groovy television commercial

The #NoKhaaliPet initiative with Akshaya Patra Foundation and Nature Fresh Sampoorna Chakki Atta on World Human Rights Day aimed at spreading awareness among the citizens around the long-standing issue of hunger and malnutrition in the country. The team also created a high decibel impact through a dedicated musical rendition ‘Khaali Pet’ which was sung by a group of children and composed by renowned music director Ravi Singhal. 

Spearheaded by Manish Karnatak, the studio consists of top talent in both audio and video like Aditya Parwatkar who heads national programming for BIG FM with diverse career experiences in the media industry and Vanshika Sharma who is a passionate storyteller with over 12 years of extensive programming experience with media outfits such as Voot. The respective Audio and Video Creative Directors along with Manish and the team dedicatedly work towards delivering end-to-end content solutions across radio and digital platforms for both audio and video formats.

Commenting on the launch  BIG FM CEO Tarun Katial says, “Thwink will be a strong pillar to our content marketing offering for consumers and advertisers. We have put together a team of experts who will curate marquee cutting-edge content across mediums - audio and video deployed on Radio and Digital and work closely with talent across genres. It will also serve as a go-to partner for advertisers for creating clutter breaking content, spikes and solutions. It will enable strategic innovation and creation of quality content with increased efficiency. Thwink is our vision for the future of content in the industry.”

Speaking on the studio launch  Thwink BIG Head and  BIG FM National Creative Director Manish Karnatak says, “It is really important to have a strong understanding of the consumers needs in the uncertain digital domain. At the same time, it is key to possess capabilities to deliver on those fronts. Thwink BIG acts as a one-stop-shop in accelerating production of innovative content to further expand our repertoire of offerings and cater to higher volumes of media consumption in today’s times. We thrive on digital content and our aim is to empower content creators to take their offering to the next level. We have already produced and delivered differentiated content and will continue to offer this for our customers and consumers.”

Titan  Company Limited Chief Marketing Officer – Watches and Accessories division Suparna Mitra,  said, "The Sonata ACT - Manzil Pe Nazar' was a well thought-out, multi-phase concept by the BIG FM team and it perfectly integrated the messaging of our new product offering. The on-air programming followed by the on-ground studio shift activity, conducted with an all women RJ crew with an aim to empower women, resonated with our audience and achieved the desired results for the brand, winning us recognition. I am sure the Thwink team will work with the same creativity and energy, and I wish them good luck."  

Vodafone India  EVP Marketing Siddharth Banerjee said, "Vodafone’s 'One Nation, One Song, One Network' was a unique campaign driven by BIG FM to celebrate Independence Day. The concept of connecting 45 RJ’s via a conference call that was powered by Vodafone, aptly encapsulated our brand's core messaging of uniting the people of our nation on one network. I am sure the Thwink team will also live up to the expectations and deliver some breakthrough content. I wish the team good luck.”

Dentsu Aegis Network TheStoryLab Country Head, Sunil Kumaran said, “We recently worked with the Thwink team on a quirky campaign #BeatTheBudget for AirAsia. The team understood the brand well, had the right insight and perfectly integrated the brand’s objective into an interesting concept. The feedback for the campaign has been great so far and we look forward to making our first collaboration with Thwink into a long standing one.”

Saregama India VP, TV and Films Siddharth Anand Kumar, who collaborated with Thwink on a recent campaign said, “Associating with Thwink for our film Kuchh Bheege Alfaaz proved to be extremely fruitful since it allowed us to establish a stronger connect with our viewers. Our movie was well infused in the much loved short film #LoveIsntBlind conceptualised by the studio. We hope to work with the team on future projects as well and wish them good luck for this exciting journey.”

Congratulating BIG FM on the launch of Thwink, actor Annu Kapoor who has been associated with the radio channel for years through the award winning show Suhaana Safar with Annu Kapoor said, "The work done by the Thwink BIG team deserves to be applauded. It is great to witness their innovative and captivating ideas transforming into becoming successful campaigns. Their journey has begun on a good note and I look forward to work with them in the future on such interesting concepts." 

Ace music director Anu Malik who worked with Thwink for Benadryl BIG Golden Voice (BBGV) Season 5 and the latest commercial for BIG FM’s The 90s Show With Anu Malik shared, "The idea of launching webisodes and original songs with each contestant of BBGV Season 5 along with their mentors took the property up a notch. The team effectively leveraged the digital medium ensuring maximum visibility for one of the most popular on air properties. They also used a fresh, quirky approach during the making of the TVC for my radio show ‘The 90s Show With Anu Malik’. I wish the team good luck and hope to collaborate with them in the future as well.”

Speaking about the recent #BeatTheBudget campaign with AirAsia conceptualized by Thwink, popular comedian Suresh Menon said, "The central comic character in the concept concluded the discussions by plugging in great offers by AirAsia and this was an interesting way of establishing the brand's connect with the consumers. The campaign clearly showcased the creative prowess of the team. Kudos to Thwink BIG and look forward to working with them on projects in future as well!" 

Renowned television personality Pooja Gor who starred in Thwink BIG’s #LoveIsntBlind concept said, “It is incredible how the Thwink team executed this film so effortlessly. I am so glad that everyone and especially our fans were able to see this side of Raj and me. At first, during the narration, we thought it was a fictional love story, but were astonished to hear that it was the story of a real life couple and it just made our belief in love grow stronger. I hope the team consistently delivers content that touches people’s hearts and look forward to working with them again.”