As the dates of the ‘Punjabi Please’ 5 city concert with Sonu Niigaam get closer, the short-listed participants across 5 cities are busy brushing up their singing skills and working on enhancing their confidence level. Adding to the excitement, Close – Up – the brand which personifies ‘confidence and attitude’ has joined hands with BIG 92.7 FM, India’s No. 1 Radio Station to present the 5 City ‘Punjabi Please’ concert by none other than the music maestro Sonu Niigaam. The concerts will be held across the cities of Chandigarh, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai on the 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 April respectively.

Close – Up – a Unilever brand, has always epitomized confidence and attitude as a virtue which makes this integration with BIG 92.7 FM’s Punjabi Please Concert an excellent fit for the brand. The amalgamation of these two brands is sure to create waves in both the advertising and radio industry – with the concert getting a new visage. It’s the confidence level, coupled of course with singing talent, which matters the most to the contestants at this juncture and the platform which is being provided by BIG FM and Close-Up is going to be a true test of the same.

The ‘Punjabi Please’ 5 city concert, which is being presented by BIG 92.7 FM across the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chandigarh, is just the right pedestal for the talented and has this far seen huge participation from people across Cities with astounding numbers.

The five finalists have already been short-listed after a stringent audition process, and the best out of these will be selected through a voting process, which is on at the moment. The winner from each city will be announced on April 11, 2008 simultaneously across the 5 cities by none other than Sonu Niigaam. Radio is a local medium and in promoting the parochial pride, the Station gave an opportunity to the local populace along with the city’s favorite celebrities to help short-list their city’s best, to be showcased before Sonu Niigaam.

Speaking on this association with Close-Up Ms. Praveen Malhotra, National Sales Head – Integrated Sales Unit, BIG 92.7 FM, said, “We are extremely happy to have Close-Up as our main presenter and are looking forward to mutually beneficial relationship. The ‘Punjabi Please’ concert is all about confidence and talent and given the brand amalgamation, the partnership is ideal. BIG FM has, for the first time in the history of radio entertainment, tied up with an Artist to market an excellent product that will make for great entertainment for listeners on air coupled with great entertainment on ground. The response from across the cities have been phenomenal and we are confident that the concerts will enthrall the people of these cities.”

Adding to this, Ms. Priya Nair, Category Head - Oral Care, HUL, said, “Radio in the recent past has become a significant support medium especially in the bigger towns where high penetration and reach ensure that the medium helps add a sting to the media plans for the brand. With the Close Up TG reaching out for more media and especially radio, we have been tapping this medium often. BIG 92.7 FM’s endeavor and association hence gives us a chance to bring salience through the other medium. Close Up has regularly used music as a way to communicate this thought and it is in this regard that the ‘Sing with Sonu’ contest fits the bill with the brand. We believe that Close Up confidence shall aid the people who will get a chance to share the stage with Sonu Nigam; hence reinforcing that no challenge is too big if one is confident”

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BIG 92.7 FM, India’s No. 1 FM Station and the Radio initiative from Adlabs Films Ltd., since the launch of its first Station in September 2006, has expanded at sturdy speed and is poised to create history by successfully completing its goal for a pan India presence, spanning across 45 cities, 1000 towns and 50,000 villages to reach 200 million Indians across the length and breadth of the country. The Company is on its way to taking Radio as a medium of entertainment not only to the key metros, but also to virgin markets that have never before experienced this medium of entertainment and has already completed the same in 44 of the 45 targeted cities .In the first phase of its launches, BIG 92.7 FM set up Stations in the metros of Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai. The second phase of launches have taken BIG 92.7 FM to several tier II towns at the end of which the total count will be taken to 45.

About Sonu Niigaam’s new single ‘Punjabi Please’:

Punjabi Please is an exclusive pulsating single composed and sung by Sonu Niigaam. BIG FM has entered into a joint partnership with the artist to exclusively market this song. This song, will see an Artist and a Radio Station coming together to launch a music single for the first time on Radio! Punjabi Please was premiered across the Stations in the North, East and West in addition to the Bangalore Station of BIG 92.7 FM, on March 3, 2008. BIG 92.7 FM has a Multi media and Multi phased marketing plan for this music single in order to create unprecedented buzz around it. The track is also available for download on BIG FM site, www.soundbuzz.com & other international music websites.