Elevator Pitch

If there is a Netflix for audio content, what would it look like? That's what Vikatan Play is offering you: top-notch audio content from popular authors and Vikatan magazines across all categories. With over 100+ audio series, books, and shows in a single app, we provide a premium audio experience for 1 million Vikatan listeners each month.

Unlike other audio apps, we focus on curated content that prioritizes quality and value over quantity. Enjoy exclusive popular series like 'Neerathikaram' and 'Vettai Naigal,' covering topics from politics to literature, catering to the curious minds of all categories. Just install the Vikatan app to enjoy Vikatan Play on the go. it's completely free!

About Vikatan:

Vikatan, a legacy Tamil media publisher founded in 1926, has been a trusted name in Tamil households worldwide for nearly a century. Over its 98-year journey, Vikatan has expanded its reach through the publication of seven print magazines and the production of content across more than 13 YouTube channels.

In 2024, Vikatan ventured into the Audio OTT space with its original content. Leveraging its 98-year-old content archives, which include popular brands and works from eminent Tamil writers and creators, Vikatan launched Vikatan Play to provide an exceptional audio experience for Tamil audiences. Vikatan Play is now accessible through the Vikatan App on both Android and iOS platforms.

Understanding your ICP

B2C Table

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Insights from the ICP user calls:

People Have Passive Time and want to use it effectively:

Beyond screen time, people often have passive periods, such as during daily commutes or while walking. They wish to use this time effectively and productively, either to accumulate knowledge or to be entertained. This need aligns perfectly with our product’s use case.

Quality Over Quantity:

Users are aware of other audio platforms like Spotify, Kuku FM, Pocket FM, and Storytel. However, they often find it challenging to choose the best option due to the overwhelming amount of generic content. They prefer high-quality, exclusive content that feels worth their investment, especially in Tamil.

Competitors Have Nailed Certain Use Cases:

Users gravitate towards specific brands for particular needs—for instance, Storytel and Kuku FM for book summaries, and Pocket FM and Spotify for fiction or long-form content. They perceive the most valuable platforms to offer top-tier content across these categories.

Brand Awareness:

Although Vikatan Play (our Audio OTT brand) is relatively new, users can easily associate it with our legacy content, as Vikatan has been a trusted name for nearly a century. While users are satisfied with the current UI/UX, they are looking forward to seeing more compelling and diverse content.

ICP prioritisation table

​Understanding Core Value Proposition

Jobs to be done for the Users

1. I want to spend my leisure time

2. I want to join the conversation

3. I want to learn something new

4. I want to make sense of things happening around me

5. I want help making a decision

6. I want to stay productive while being entertained

7. I want to build or reinforce daily routines

What are we really in the business of?

We are an audio on-demand platform designed for curious minds, offering immersive and exclusive content that spans a wide range of topics—from news to fiction, non-fiction, and beyond. Our platform makes it easy for users to stay informed and expand their understanding of the world, all through the power of audio.

What problem is our product solving for the customer?

Our platform serves as the perfect audio companion for curiosity-driven individuals who want to grow their knowledge on the go. We offer a curated selection of high-quality, exclusive content from Vikatan across various verticals such as spirituality, politics, and personal finance. By subscribing, customers can access premium stories and insights—from news and novels to non-fiction—that keep them engaged, informed, and entertained, without the need for screen time. Whether during a commute, a walk, or while multitasking, they can deepen their understanding of the world effortlessly.

Core Value proposition

For mobile-first, curious-minded individuals who needs high-quality fiction and non-fiction content, Vikatan Play is an audio on-demand platform that ensures they always get access to relevant, high-quality content tailored to their interests.

Key features and benefits:

Exclusive, Original Content across all types: Access a diverse range of content types—all in one place. From news and fiction to non-fiction, audiobooks, stories and podcasts, our platform covers multiple categories like spirituality, politics, personal finance, and literature. Every piece of content is exclusively produced by Vikatan, ensuring high quality and consistency across all verticals.

Tailored for Tamils: Our content library is meticulously curated to provide only relevant, high-quality content, specifically designed to meet the needs and interests of the Tamil audience. Every piece is carefully selected to resonate with Tamil listeners, ensuring a deeply engaging and culturally meaningful experience.

On-the-Go entertainment: Enjoy content anywhere, anytime—whether commuting, exercising, or multitasking—without the need for screen time, making learning more convenient and efficient. By choosing an audio-based experience, customers can engage without being tethered to screens, promoting a healthier, more productive relationship with content consumption.

Focused In-depth content: Spend leisure time productively by engaging with insightful content that enriches your understanding of the world, empowering personal and intellectual growth.

(Let's begin by doing a basic competitor analysis)

(Then let's try to understand the market at a macro level and evaluate the trends and tailwinds/headwinds.)

Now it’s time for some math, calculate the size of your market.

Total Internet subscribers in Tamilnadu, Aug, 2024: 78M

4G subscribers of those 78M (88%) = 69M

4 out 5 internet users are using Youtube. 80% of 69M = 55M

20% of SAM = 10M

TAM = Total no. of potential customers x Average Revenue Per Customer (ARPU)

SAM = TAM x Target Market Segment (percentage of the total market)

SOM = SAM x Market Penetration/Share

Users:

TAM: 69M

SAM: 55M

SOM: 10M

Market & Revenue

TAM: 69M x ₹400 = ₹2,760 Cr

SAM: 55M x ₹400 = ₹2,200 Cr

SOM: 10M x ₹400 = ₹400 cr

Source: https://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Report_14082024.pdf, https://www.business-standard.com/technology/tech-news/four-out-of-five-internet-users-in-india-consume-youtube-show-report-123092701183_1.html

Designing Acquisition Channel

Since it's a pre-PMF product, I'm using paid ads and email/WhatsApp marketing with our existing Vikatan users

We launched our product on November 8, 2024. It’s a free product currently operating on an ad-supported model. Instead of AOV, I’m tracking the time users spend on our app per month and estimating the ad revenue.

LTV = Average order value x frequency x retention

AOV: 14 Plays (14 x ₹0.30)

Frequency: Month

Retention: 1 month

LTV = ₹4.2

CAC

Facebook: ₹2, Insta: ₹3, Email: ₹0.5, Whatsapp: ₹3

Based on our ICPs,

Channel 1: Facebook & Insta

ICP:

Age: 30-50

Demography: Tier 1, Tier 2 cities

Gender: All

Affinity: Politics, Literature, History, Books, Podcast

Device: Mobile first

Language: Tamil

Platforms: Insta & Facebook

Marketing Pitch: Download Vikatan app and enjoy 100+ Exclusive audiobooks for Free!

Why Choosing This ICP:

Vikatan Play’s current high-value users are predominantly working professionals residing in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. Given that our content is primarily in Tamil and optimized for mobile-first consumption, we are specifically targeting users from these cities.

Additionally, as we are in the pre-PMF (Product-Market Fit) stage, our main objective is to identify early adopters who resonate with our offerings. These users will play a crucial role in providing feedback to help refine our product. Hence, we are focusing on an ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) that closely mirrors our existing power users.

Objective of This Campaign:

The primary goal of this campaign is to announce the launch of Vikatan Play, our new audio platform, and to create strong brand and product awareness. We aim to clearly communicate our core value proposition: users can access 100+ exclusive audiobooks for free. The Call-to-Action (CTA) for app installation and the core value proposition are prominently featured in the ad copies.

To maximize the campaign’s reach, we have collaborated with RJ Balaji, a well-known actor and director, along with influencers from Vikatan’s YouTube channel. These influencers are highly relatable to our ICP and are delivering a compelling pitch to drive app installs. Screenshots of the video ads are attached for reference.

Channel 2: Email & Whatsapp

ICP: Most active readers of the Vikatan on our website and app.

Channel: Email & Whatsapp

Marketing Pitch: Enjoy your weekend with the Vikatan Play!

Language: Tamil

Why This ICP:

With over 10 million active website visitors per month who regularly read text-based stories on Vikatan, there is significant potential to convert these readers into active listeners of Vikatan Play. Our user research highlights that individuals who already have a habit of listening during their passive time are highly likely to become power users of our platform.

Leveraging this insight, we designed an email and WhatsApp campaign that aligns with their existing behavior while effectively communicating our value proposition.

Objective of This Campaign:

Since most of our users are less active on the text platform during weekends, we decided to engage them with our new audio platform, Vikatan Play. The campaign’s central message was: “Why not spend your weekend with Vikatan Play and enjoy our exclusive audiobook collection?”

Given that our readers are most engaged through email and WhatsApp, we chose these channels for the campaign. The marketing communications clearly emphasized the weekend context and our core value proposition: a collection of new and exclusive audiobooks for users to explore and enjoy.

Email and Whatsapp communications are below.

I'm designing the new potential referral program for Vikatan Play based on the following five questions:

1. Who Will You Ask for the Referral?

2. How Will They Discover It?

3. Why Will They Share, and What’s the Platform Currency?

4. How Will They Track It?

5. How Will They Keep Referring?

1. Who Will You Ask for the Referral?

Here's the user journey map of the Vikatan Play once the user opens the Vikatan app.

The Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) for the users in the Vikatan Play is listening the Audio stories. The user journey map to the Aha moment is,

- Opening the app

- Discovering content they like

- Starting to listen to a story

- Completing the entire series (Aha moment)

Since there is no payment or other interactions involved on the platform, the best moment to prompt users for a referral is when they complete the series they started listening to.

2. How Will They Discover It?

We can target users for referrals both on-platform (App) and off-platform (WhatsApp, Email):

On-Platform:

1. Action: Listening to Stories

- Once the user completes the last episode of a series, a pop-up will appear asking them to refer Vikatan Play to their close ones.

- If the user does not interact with the pop-up (e.g., due to going off-screen or closing the app after completing the series), a push notification will be sent, prompting them to refer Vikatan Play.

2. Action: Browsing the Home Page

- For power users who have already completed multiple series, a banner can be added to the home page. This banner will allow users to click and initiate the referral flow seamlessly.

Off-Platform (Email, WhatsApp):

- If a power user completes multiple series within a week, an email or WhatsApp message can be sent to encourage referrals. High engagement is a strong signal that the user is enjoying our app, and channels like WhatsApp make it easier to initiate referral flows compared to in-app activities.

- However, it is crucial to ensure that users do not receive repeated referral requests or communications, as this could lead to spam. To avoid this, we must obtain user consent during the onboarding process to send communications via WhatsApp or email and limit the number of requests.

3. Why Will They Share, and What’s the Platform Currency?

Vikatan Play Referral Program

Vikatan Play offers an ad-supported experience for free users and an ad-free experience for paid users, similar to Spotify.

Key Benefits:

- Free Users:

Users who are not ready to subscribe early can benefit from the referral program by gaining ad-free access.

- Core and Power Users:

These users can extend their ad-free experience by referring new users to the platform.

Referral Rewards:

Referrer: 1 month of ad-free experience + 1 month Vikatan Digital Subscription.

Referee (New User): 1 month of ad-free experience + 1 month Vikatan Digital Subscription.

Why It Works:

- For new users exploring the platform for the first time, the ad-free premium experience is key to retaining them.

- The referral program benefits both existing users and new users by enhancing their experience while increasing user engagement and platform adoption.

- Additionally, since the program includes Vikatan's regular digital subscription, it encourages users to explore a broader range of content, increasing their depth of engagement.

Referral Type: One-to-Multiple

- A single user can invite multiple people to the platform and receive benefits for each successful referral.

- Since the program does not involve any transactions or monetary rewards, it serves as an effective user acquisition channel, and the chances of exploitation are very low.

4. How Will They Track It?

Referral Activation Process

For the Referrer

When a new user activates Vikatan Play using a referral link, the referrer will receive notifications via push notification, email, and WhatsApp with the following details:

• Who has started using Vikatan Play.
• How their benefits (e.g., ad-free experience and subscription) have been extended, including date details.
• Instructions on how to check the updated benefits in the "My Account" page.
• A Call-to-Action (CTA) encouraging more referrals.

Additionally,

The total number of successful referrals will be displayed on the referrer's "My Account" dashboard for easy tracking.

For the Referee (New User)

When a new user signs up using a referral link:

• They will receive an onboarding message highlighting the benefits they have received (1-month ad-free experience + 1-month Vikatan Digital Subscription).
• A thank-you note for starting to use the service.
• The onboarding journey will guide them further to ensure quick activation and engagement.

Why This Works:

Positive Reinforcement (Dopamine Effect):

Seeing someone start using a product they referred gives the referrer a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, creating a positive emotional connection.

Transparency and Trust:

Clear communication about what happens after the referee activates builds accountability and trust with users.

Ease of Management:

Referrers can easily track and manage their referral benefits and successful referrals from a single dashboard, improving the overall experience and encouraging further participation in the referral program.

The metrics will will track internally is,

1. How many referrals sent this month?

2. How many new users got acquired and activated from the referrals?

3 Referee and referral ratio

5. How Will They Keep Referring?

New Referee Conditions:

- The user must be a first-time user signing up with a unique email or phone number.

- The device used for sign-up must also be new (i.e., not previously registered on Vikatan Play).

These conditions will prevent misuse, such as users signing up with multiple email accounts.

Referral Type: One-to-Multiple

Since the referral program supports a one-to-multiple model, a single user can invite multiple people.

This allows users to remain engaged in the referral program to continuously extend their subscription and ad-free benefits.

Designing Acquisition Channel

Vikatan Play is currently in the pre-PMF (Product-Market Fit) stage. Based on my analysis, the most effective strategies for acquiring new users and gathering valuable feedback for optimization are:

1. Paid Advertising: Targeted towards early adopters to create awareness and drive installs.

2. Email/WhatsApp Campaigns: Specifically designed for existing Vikatan readers, leveraging their familiarity with our brand to encourage them to explore Vikatan Play.

These approaches allow us to engage high-potential users while refining the product based on their feedback.

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