Among the English entertainment channels there was a fair bit of activity that Star Movies did. In order to add variety it aired the TV series Lost. In keeping with the show's theme of mystery, adventure and intrigue, the promotion was driven by a teaser campaign that highlighted people who have been Lost. The thrust of this was also the microsite created at www.indya.com.
Traffic from the teaser communication was driven to the site. A watch-and-win contest on the website was held where participants were asked questions pertaining to the episodes just aired, and original merchandise from the show was given.
A series of "missing/lost" poster like creatives were used on outdoor sites like hoardings to build intrigue around the show. The band at the bottom of the teaser outdoors were masked with Star Movies logo, tune-in and sponsor logos to complete the communication and announce the show, thereby completing the communication.
On radio there was a five day intensive contest with original Lost merchandise as the big prize. One avenue for any English movie channel to advertise in in multiplexes. Major multiplexes in Mumbai and Bangalore carried Lost promotional branding and launch promos playing before the start of big theatrical releases.
Star Movies also had a presence on-ground. There was a two day activity in multiplexes in malls where activities like a special 15 minute audiovisual playing in the area were held. There were also quizzes on the show, Scream-o-meter where how loud one can scream for help if you are Lost was measured. There was also a special Lost jigsaw puzzle, which has to be put together in two minutes.
As far as direct marketing was concerned there was a special "message in a bottle" that took the form of a letter from the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. The back of this detailed the show.
Meanwhile in Diwali the channel premiered Shrek 2. It did an outdoor campaign to push the film with key hoardings at the most prominent locations in Mumbai highlighting the film. Radio spots were usded and also trade e-mailers, which were sent out in order to target the trade community.
In order to build a closer connect with ad agencies an inside a Shrek Inflate paid a visit to agencies in Mumbai and happily obliged all those who wanted to capture a moment with him. Each picture was placed in a Star Movies branded photo frame that read "Shrek & Me" and was handed over personally by Shrek. Shrek also paid a visit to various publications.
Print ads carried the message "Shrek's coming and look what he's bringing with him... 100 Hours of Non Stop Blockbusters." Online separate microsites were created for Shrek 2 and 100 Hours of Non stop blockbusters.
