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Zee Studio asks its viewers to Shut up and Watch
The English movie channel strives to connect with its viewers through two initiatives – a film club and Karaoke nights
With so many English movie channels already on the tube and new ones getting launched, it seems to have become imperative to do more than just show good movies. And Zee Studio is doing exactly that.
The English movie channel has come out with two interesting initiatives -- Studio Karaoke Nights and the Shut-up And Watch (SAW) Film Club -- to establish a greater connect with its target group. While the film club was launched on February 06 at Oxford Bookstore, Mumbai, Karaoke Nights was started a few weeks prior to that.
Sujay Kutty, business head, Zee Studio, talks about the initiative, “The Shut Up and Watch (SAW) film club and the Studio Karaoke Nights are aimed at giving our viewers a direct interface with the channel. It is extremely rare that a movie channel has stepped out of the living rooms of the audience and entered a domain such as a bookstore or a restaurant. Both the initiatives are platforms for celebrating our shared passion for quality cinema with the audience and leaving them with a memorable Zee Studio experience.”
The film club will have one screening per month, which is free of charge as of now; however, more than one Karaoke Nights event will be held each month, so as to develop a good rapport with their audience. Kutty also asserts that the club will focus on critically acclaimed movies, rather than blockbusters, as it is more difficult to get access to the former.
To convey information about upcoming events to its audience, the channel it will use its database for sending out text messages on the screenings and the scheduled Karaoke events. Zee Studio's official website is also being used to convey the information. Also, the Oxford bookstore, its partner for film screenings, and the clubs in which the Karaoke Nights are held, will also promote the initiatives at their end. For instance, Karaoke Nights have been held at clubs such as Soul Fry, Not Just Jazz By the Bay and Bootleggers.
The venues have been roped in for the promotions, with posters, standees, coasters and handouts. The channel is also banking on word-of-mouth publicity for the efforts. The channel plans to make these initiatives long term.