Pix picks your brain on Hollywood

After trying different media channels, Pix, the English movie channel from Multi Screen Media, has finally come on-ground – no pun intended. For the first time, the channel has come out with an on-ground large scale event. The campaign, Hollywood Pix Your Brain, marks Pix’s entry into large scale promotional events after setting up base with heavy on-air, radio, online, outdoor and other branding tie ups.

Sunder Aaron, business head, Pix, shares with afaqs!, “We have been using traditional media with heavy radio promotions, holding active online campaigns and outdoor, from which we have pulled back to a great degree owing to it being an expensive media, and some branding activities with cinema chains. However, this is the first time that we have come out with a big on-ground event, all of it to build the channel's profile.”

The activation, moving across six cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune and Hyderabad – is in the form of a contest testing its target group's Hollywood quotient. The venues are popular hangouts such as malls, multiplexes, colleges and corporate parks, where the channel sets a makeshift podium and invites people to try out their Hollywood trivia knowledge. While the campaign was ideated by the in-house marketing team of the channel, Pix has hired an event marketing firm to handle the execution.

Aaron says, “We wanted to connect Hollywood to Pix in our viewers' mind space and develop their perception of the channel. There has hardly been any large scale campaign based on Hollywood trivia, even though people are generally very much interested in this concept. We thought this to be a great space for Pix to be in. Also, on-ground activities have a key importance in establishing a brand.”

In addition, Pix has launched another on-ground activation specifically for media houses called You Guess the Oscars. The activation, launched in association with Fiama Di Wills, was launched in all the above mentioned cities except Pune. Though it does not involve any active interaction, the channel sends an Oscar nomination booklet to selected media companies, with a questionnaire urging people to make a guess at the Oscar winners.

Explaining the reasons behind a media house specific activity, Aaron says that the channel doesn't mean to limit its interaction with the few who get a taste of the on-ground, but also include its fraternity to spread the word around. The initiative has been limited to the print offices only, with companies such as Hindustan Times participating in Mumbai and Delhi, and Deccan Chronicle participating in Hyderabad.

While Hollywood Pix Your Brain will continue to happen at least once a month in different cities, Pix also plans to convert the campaign into a corporate event by next year.

Pix also aims to increase its viewer base by acquiring the rights of two major properties, the movie of the moment, Slumdog Millionaire, and the Indian Premier League cricket tournament.