Hungama says Jai Ho

It is not every day that Salman Khan promotes a mobile app on TV. And when he does, there has to be a big reason behind it. And, this time the reason is his upcoming film Jai Ho, which will hit the theatres on January 24.

Titled 'Hungama-Jai Ho Friends-of-Friends', the campaign draws from the concept of the movie which touches upon unifying people for a cause. Using love for music as a trigger, this unique promotion aims to bring together people who share a common passion.

The TVC asks people to download the Hungama Music App, watch Jai Ho videos and listen to Jai Ho songs on the app. People can also invite their friends and share the app. Maximum chained shares will stand a chance to win and meet Salman Khan.

Music lovers need to give a missed call to 0922 313 8888 or SMS Hungama to 54646 to get personalised links to the 'Hungama-Jai Ho Friends-of-friends' campaign'.

Hungama launched the music application in March, 2013 with a catalogue of music tracks and music videos from over two million songs from Bollywood, international, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and other regional content. Hungama claims that the one feature that differentiates the app from other apps in this segment, like Flyte and Gaana, is that it is capable of playing videos.

This is the first time that the company has launched a TV campaign promoting the app. Speaking to afaqs!, Siddharth Roy, COO, consumer and allied services, Hungama Digital, explains the rationale behind the campaign. He says that the campaign is an attempt to tap into some new users riding on the huge and loyal fan following of Salman Khan.

"Our core understanding of the Indian consumer has shown us the music helps the movie to build interest about the story among the target audience. And when it comes to music videos, people stream them more often. With this campaign, Jai Ho wanted to tap as many people it could reach through digital and for us, it was a brilliant opportunity to build some new audience and also innovate for our existing users," Roy adds.

Hungama claims the campaign will help the app enhance its existing partnerships with over 400 content creators, record labels, studios, broadcasters and game publishers on a worldwide exclusive basis for digital and mobile content, and open doors to newer avenues.

Launched on January 16, the campaign includes promotion on various news, movies and music channels, along with theatre and radio ads as well. Promotion on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter will also form part of the campaign.

As per Roy, the application has crossed four million downloads across platforms since launch and this has been achieved through extensive marketing done on the digital platform. Besides, Hungama also had tie-ups with handset manufacturers to get the app embedded on phones.

During launch, the app housed songs and videos from regional languages including Telugu, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Malayalam and South Asian music. The application also offers several options including Mood Discovery, which allows users to discover music on the basis of mood, tempo, language, genre or era. The app also comes with a "My Stream" option that integrates social networks as a mean of increasing reach and engaging others by allowing users to invite, share and connect with their friends through these platforms.

The company had earlier worked with a few leading production houses and music labels in the country for marketing of movies and digital promotion of content. Hungama partnered with the Shahrukh Khan-starrer 'Billu' and created an application for social networking sites. Besides, it has also marketed films like Blue, Kambakth Ishq, Kal and Wake Up Sid, to name a few.