Turning old into storytelling gold

KYUNKI SAAS BHI'S... DREAM COMEBACK HAS IMPORTANT LESSONS FOR BRANDS THAT HAVE LOST RELEVANCE

- CHRISTINA MONIZ

IN THE 2000s, brands were built while awareness was relatively cheap. Since then, the cost of building awareness has risen more sharply than precious gold. It's only natural that retired brands have emerged as a new asset category on business radar screens. Think Campa Cola and Kelvinator, Chetak and Lambretta. It's an ingenious model and can give you a head start in a cluttered category.

Now think Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, which made its comeback on July 29, 25 years after its first episode was aired on Star Plus. According to a statement from JioStar, which references BARC data, the soap recorded over 1.6 billion minutes in watch time across TV and digital in its launch week, making it the biggest Hindi fiction launch in five years. Going by these numbers, it has surely managed to captivate viewers once again.