How &PrivéHD is catering to non-conformist viewers

English movie channel &PrivéHD has launched Privé World Box Office to bring international films to Indian audiences for viewing. To create excitement for this new launch, &PrivéHD has rolled out a campaign, titled ‘Feel at home, no matter the language’ to create a buzz for the launch.

The campaign depicts a relatable situation in a foreign language through the lens of a typical Indian family portrayed by Deepak Tijori, Renuka Shahane and Rohit Saraf.

In conversation with Adgully, Kartik Mahadev, Business Head, Premium Channels, ZEEL, speaks about the launch of &PrivéHD’sPrivé World Box Office and the accompanying campaign.

Also read: Post lockdown, Zee Café has added 256 hours of content: Kartik Mahadev

Give us your insights on the universal appeal of International cinema? How does this appeal vary in Indian markets?

Bong Joon Ho in his award-winning speech at the Golden Globes made a very pertinent remark as he teased moviegoers to embrace the ‘one-inch-tall barrier’ to explore a world of amazing films. Today, the consumer appetite for world-class movies transcending languages has been witnessing a rise by leaps and bounds. Increasingly today, movie buffs appreciate quality of storytelling and content that is familiar, relatable and entertaining, over the language of the content itself. Thus, our offering has been crafted with insights that aim to bridge the gap between the Indian film fans and the universal narratives in foreign language films and hence, the inception of Privé World Box Office. The property includes enjoyable, must-watch foreign movies with familiar themes that will make you ‘Feel at home, no matter the language’.

How have foreign languages gained prominence in India? According to you, why exactly has this prominence grown?

Today, the world is at our fingertips. With the vast exposure to cultures, regions and trends that consumers have today, the world has indeed become more close-knit. When it comes to the non-conformist viewers, they’re always on the lookout for something new and meaningful. For instance, many international cuisines are now part of our indulgences as well. Having deeply explored mainstream Hollywood and Bollywood/ Regional content, these non-conformist viewers are constantly on a quest to discover fresh and quality content that is familiar and strikes a chord with them. Here’s where content in foreign languages comes into play and our sole endeavour with Privé World Box Office is to cater to these movie buffs with a curation that is sure to make them feel at home.

Give us insights about your offering and programming schedule. How exactly are you looking at keeping your audience entertained?

Each of the titles as part of Privé World Box Office has been carefully handpicked. The curation boasts of titles that come with familiar themes in 10 different languages. The offering includes a mix of genres ranging from romance, drama to action and comedy, thus catering to the tastes of all movie lovers. A new movie will release every week with our viewers having the option of watching the movie as per their convenience on any day of the week @9 PM. Some of our key titles include latest instalment of biggest French action franchise ‘Taxi 5’; the top-grossing Norwegian monster movie, ‘Ragnarok’; one of the craziest French love stories, ‘JeuxD’enfants’ aka ‘Love Me If You Dare’; ‘The Idol’ (Arabic), directed by two-time Academy Award nominee Hany Abu-Assad, among others. Some of the other titles to premiere include the French comedy, ‘Fonzy’, the Chinese neo-noir crime thriller ‘The Wild Goose Lake’, the Norwegian drama film based on a real-life event, ‘Utøya: July 22’, and others like ‘The Farewell’ (Mandarin), ‘Headhunters’ (Norwegian) and ‘Pain And Glory’ aka ‘Dolor Y Gloria’ (Spanish). Thus, the block ensures that there’s something for every movie lover.

How was the campaign ‘Feel At Home, No Matter The Language’ conceptualised?

Given our unique curation, we wanted to communicate how ‘foreign’ can be ‘familiar’, thus busting any myths around foreign cinema. The campaign has been crafted with insights that aim to bridge the gap between the quintessential Indian film buff and the universal narratives in foreign language films. Thus, we arrived at ‘feel at home, no matter the language’ as the core messaging to bring to the fore a curation of foreign movies with familiar themes that are relatable and enjoyable. Flux @ The Glitch was roped in to helm the light-hearted campaign along with Jigar Fernandes, Third Floor Films, who brought the vision to life with his direction. The film marks the return of the legendary Deepak Tijori along with the evergreen Renuka Shahane, who bring their expertise along with the new age internet sensation Rohit Saraf, who brings in his youthful charm. Through the lens of a typical Indian family, the film captures a relatable situation in a foreign language through a fun-filled banter amongst the family. The slice-of-life film brings alive a familiar feeling in various foreign languages, making it an extremely entertaining affair.

Give us some insights, your marketing strategy and the markets that you will be looking at reaching out to.

The rapid and constant change in the traditional media landscape and rising levels of digital sophistication in consumers has led to emergence multiple mediums to engage with the consumer. Context has also emerged as a key factor in any integrated marketing strategy. With the COVID-19 outbreak, we have witnessed a surge in television viewership alongside brands engaging on digital through Live video formats. In the English cluster, we have adopted digital engagement alongside television as part of the channel marketing strategy.

For Privé World Box Office, we had a robust 360-degree marketing campaign rolled out across TV, digital, trade, on-ground screenings and bolstered via PR that targets the six metros. Digital has always played a pivotal role in our marketing mix. Through Rohit Saraf and Renuka Shahane’s social media handles we teased movie fans with a teaser that intrigued fans and movie lovers. We then released the campaign films that made for a high decibel campaign announcement across digital and TV. The same was followed by snackable content across social media that generated buzz around the offering. Further engaging with fans, we hosted a fun-filled Valentine’s Day activity with Rohit Saraf, who combined his ‘love’ and ‘love for foreign films’ via Instagram reels. We garnered immense traction via UGC as fans reached out to the actor with their proposal messages in a foreign language. Going forward, we have weekly engagement activities for movie buffs planned around our premieres in the pipeline.

What’s your vision for International Cinema in India? Any trends or consumer insights you're looking forward to?

The growing acceptance of quality content from across the world is a trend that is set to grow. Cinema today is transcending borders and breaking all barriers garnering a global acclaim. It is the familiar themes and quality content that will continue to inspire movie lovers to open up to world-class foreign language films. Through Privé World Box Office, we are delighted to enable movie lovers discover a whole new world of foreign language films that are familiar in themes. With this as the first leg, our vision is to continue to showcase quality content from around the world with a lot more in pipeline.

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