MUMBAI: Zee Studio with its recent rebranding has decided to take forward its previous philosophy of ‘Hollywood on Television’ to the next level with its new tagline ‘See it all’. The channel in its bid to stand out in a cluttered environment decided to rebrand in order to provide an opportunity to Indian viewers, access to the biggest Hollywood films.
Zeel vice president and business head Anurag Bedi informs, “Our positioning is unique; we are not talking about just premieres, or a certain genre of movies, but staying true to See It All. The new brand look and ideology focuses on younger audiences and we wish to create a niche audience base with the refreshed look and high quality content.”
When asked what research was undertaken by the channel before deciding a makeover, Bedi says, “As a result of our research we observed certain changes in consuming pattern like popularity of Hollywood movies growing more than ever in the country. In our effort to offer best content to the viewers, we decided to renew our identity completely. The new look is even more technologically sound and the movie viewing experience is heightened.” The channel has partnerships with leading studios like Disney and Paramount.
The channels target audience is young urban movie enthusiasts, primarily males, residing in the metros. The channel has seen good growth in the key metros and in the 1 million plus towns as well. It has managed to bring in new consumers from the tier II towns as well says Bedi.
The channel has renewed its library with a line-up of movies from genres like action, animation and comedy. The channel had previously come up with the property ‘Death By Laughter’. The other is ‘The One Movie You Must Watch’ and has launched a property called ‘Premier Action’ showcasing a big action movie of the month. With a new look, the channel has a strong line up this October including channel premieres such as How To Train Your Dragon, Lincoln, Shrek Forever After and Shutter Island. The new look comes just ahead of the festive season. It has launched a festival property ‘Studio Dynamite’ which will include blockbusters such as Mission Impossible, Transformers, Avengers etc. In the past, Marvels The Avengers, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Transformers: Dark of the Moon have worked well for the channel.
The afternoon 1 pm slot has performed well for the channel especially on the weekends where it has viewership which is comparable to the evening primetime slot according to Bedi. Larger than life movies, legendary characters and onscreen iconography will be used to leverage the popularity of some of the iconic characters and famous actors.
To promote the refresh, the channel has worked out a 360 degree communication plan. This includes print ads, TV commercials, outdoor campaigns and innovative social media contests and engagement. To create visibility for the brand the channel is in the middle of a large outdoor campaign across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore which announces their new ideology.
It has kept outdoor as a part of their marketing plans for their big ticket movies. A 10 feet tall Transformer model (Optimus Prime) has been placed at key locations, where one could click pictures with the model. Additionally there will be photo-booths wherein people can click pictures that can be superimposed on backgrounds from movies of their line up. As part of the campaign, Zee Studio will be reaching out to over 30 trade media agencies across these cities.
On the digital front Zee Studio is promoting its refresh via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The channel is running a contest for its viewers wherein they have to answer questions while watching movies and win gadgets such as iPhones and iPads. This contest has been running for first fifteen days of the refresh. On a parting note, Bedi says that their social media presence has increased as they currently have 1.4 million fans on Facebook and over 60,000 followers on Twitter.
