STAR World goes musical with a 'Jukebox' on Facebook

Jukebox needs no buffering or streaming and will also provide music trivia and host contests that will allow fans to win music merchandise.

Social media and digital marketing has undoubtedly found an important place in the marketing pies of most entertainment brands. With consumers' attentions flitting from one social media site to another, brands are now creating innovative ways to make their digital campaigns and branding engaging -- and thus, more sticky.

On the same note, English general entertainment channel (GEC) STAR World, which has been putting in concentrated efforts in its digital marketing, has recently launched the 'STAR World Jukebox' on social networking site Facebook. This has been done in partnership with the music entertainment company, Sony Music.

Jukebox offers 30 latest popular chartbusters along with some music videos only for STAR World fans on Facebook. The good thing about Jukebox is that it needs no buffering or streaming and the songs and videos play directly with a simple click.

The STAR World Jukebox will refresh songs and videos every fortnight and treat fans to the latest Top 30 songs at all times. In addition, it will also provide interesting music trivia and regularly host contests that will allow fans to win music merchandise.

Commenting on this new launch, that took about two months from conceptualising to launch Saurabh Yagnik, general manager and senior vice-president, English Channels, STAR India, says, "We are committed to taking the brand beyond television and increasing engagement and interactivity with our fans. The thought process behind such path-breaking initiatives is to give the youth of the country a great hangout place at any point."

To sample Jukebox, one needs to become a fan on the STAR World India Fan Page and can then click any song on Jukebox. The channel currently has more than two lakh fans on Facebook.

Sharing how the idea came about, he says that during Facebook conversations, they observed conversations on Hollywood, and also musicians and artists. "Moreover, music forms a core part of our viewers' eco system. This is where we decided to launch STAR World Jukebox," he says. STAR World's core viewer TG (target group) is 15 to 35 year olds, males and females, across metros.

Yagnik informs that STAR World is already working towards Phase II of Jukebox, wherein it will invite user generated content. This will be uploaded on a separate player as a part of Jukebox.

Arjun Sankalia, director, international music and special products, Sony Music, says, "STAR World Jukebox is a great way to engage with the audiences who are seeking quality international entertainment through our music and iconic artists. This will be the destination for all music enthusiasts."

Yagnik of STAR World points out that digital is now a very important part of the channel's marketing mix, with spends in the range of 30-40 per cent of the overall budget. "We have a dedicated team led by a product manager and internal content writers. For us, social media is more important than just buying digital media vehicles. Through social media, we look to engage and grow our fan base organically week-on-week. It is about pure engagement and not plain brochure communication."