Talent needs to shine whether its a man or a woman: Divya Dixit, ALTBalaji

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Divya Dixit, SVP- Marketing, Analytics and Direct Avenue, ALTBalaji shares the evolving gender dynamics in the industry.

This  International Women’s Day, Social Samosa Network went live on Instagram featuring a few women leaders from the Advertising and Media Industry while announcing the winners of the fifth edition of Social Samosa Superwomen. .

When asked which women-oriented series other than that on ALTBalaji captures a woman's character aptly, she says “Netflix's Delhi Crime," She explained that the way Shephali Shah portrayed the character is just wow. “It’s a beautifully well-essayed character showing a very strong woman doing her bit for the society”.  

She feels that strong women leaders are shaping the industry too. “Today I am at a senior level. There is no boys club although it does exist. The opportunities are equal here in our organization and everyone is liable to ask for an equal pay cheque.

However, she thinks we still have a long way to go.

Who is a Modern Woman
Consumer?

According to Dixit, modern woman consumer is a little bit of an amalgamation. She is modern but she is also traditional. “For instance, I wake up in the morning, do puja, go to work, meet my friends, have meet up meet-ups, but I am also a family-oriented person. I think I stand for every woman in this country”.  

She is the custodian of everything that is relevant to know, that is
hers and that’s why a woman is called a superwoman because she manages to do
everything.

Genre that works

Digital is that one space where you can super target and ensure that you are doing things to target the relevant segments of the society. She also sees that cinema is getting sensitive towards women-specific content. “The fact that daily soaps are being consumed as catch-ups on OTT rather than on TV, you see more and more such trends coming up,” she added.  

Further, she highlighted how comedy is working the most for ALTBalaji. “Each genre has its own audience- Comedy is an all-inclusive phenomenon- it garners everyone’s attention. Thrillers also work beautifully for us. Other than that youth is one genre is where we have broken records with shows like Punchbeat. Urban romance is next up and trendy”.

Biggest myths
around women to let go off

The fact that viewership of IPL is almost 30% of women sets the tone itself. Though ALTBalaji primarily doesn’t imbibe sports content yet, it does deal with sexual content. She further informed that 28% of its audience for Gandi Baat are women. And with each season the number keeps increasing. “We have also seen a lot of global audience coming for it. It's a myth that women don't like such content,” she added.  

Regional content is here to stay. It is growing. Period.

Also Read: Lauding the winners of #Superwomen2020

Tips for upcoming women leaders

Dixit highlights that at the leadership level it’s not just about IQ but also about EQ. “I  don’t need to prove these kids that I am superior to them. I would rather harness their creativity and their energy in the right direction”.

Women leaders also bring to the table a sense of compromise
between teams and build a cohesive workforce. That requires a lot of
interpersonal skillets as well.

ALTBalaji’s growth

Alt Balaji is known as one of the top four grossing OTT apps in the country. Dixit shares that all the other apps are giants, while ALT Balaji is small and network backed. “Our pockets are extremely light whether it's content or marketing. But we are sharp and nimble. By the time the giants are turning around, you have already overcome the trend”.  

While ALTBalaji has already done the co-production deal and has been working on it for almost 8 months. “And people are talking about it now. So you will see more such trends coming from us,” she concluded.