In 2015, VivaConnect ran a campaign for Zee Talkies, Maharashtra's leading Marathi entertainment channel, called "Daba Bot, Milel Note." It was a missed-call contest, fronted by Marathi film star Prathamesh Parab, where viewers answered film-based questions for a chance to win cash prizes.

The response was massive. Over 1.3 crore missed calls in total, with up to 9 lakh calls coming in on a single Sunday. Zee Talkies called it the biggest engagement contest in Maharashtra at the time.

Why This Worked

What made the campaign work wasn't just the prize money. It was that everything about it, the language, the celebrity, the format, the timing around weekend viewing, was built for that specific audience. Nothing about it felt translated or adapted from a national campaign. It was made for Marathi viewers, by understanding what Marathi viewers actually respond to.

The Same Belief, Built Into Helo.ai Today

VivaConnect is the parent company behind Helo.ai, and that belief, that regional audiences deserve communication built for them, not adapted for them, is something we've carried into everything we build.

Today, with Helo.ai, brands can engage customers in their preferred language and dialect, across WhatsApp, voice, SMS, and RCS, with AI that understands regional nuance instead of just translating a national message.

The format has changed. Missed-call contests have given way to AI-driven, multilingual conversations. But the principle is the same. If you want real engagement from a regional audience, you don't adapt a campaign for them. You build it with them in mind from the start.

That's the thinking that powered 1.3 crore missed calls for a Marathi entertainment channel a decade ago. It's the same thinking behind how Helo.ai helps brands reach deep into India's regional markets today.

Read the original coverage here: Industry News Zee Talkies garners the highest response for Viewer engagement campaign by VivaConnect