9XO: Picturesque idea

Interested contestants have to share photographs that showcase an association with music in any form.

International music channel 9XO recently launched a contest, Shoot the Music, on Instagram. The initiative aims to connect with music lovers across the country, particularly those who are active on social media.

The contest is open to all Indian citizens. To participate in the contest, people must share their photographs related to music on Instagram and hash tag them with #9XOmusic. The pictures can be of a concert, party, nightclub or even sitting at home, but necessarily associated with music. People who do not access Instagram can also send in entries through email.

Kapil Sharma, vice-president, marketing, 9X Media, says, "Our key objective is to build a strong association with music amongst the urban, net-savvy consumers who are our channel's key target audience."

The campaign began on December 22, 2012 and will continue till January 28. The contest was kicked off at IIT Bombay's Mood Indigo fest, where 9XO was the official TV partner.

As a part of the contest, every week, 9XO will announce three winners, who will win Sony head phones. Later, a mega winner will be announced, who will win an iPhone 5.

The music channel has extended the campaign to television, web, social media and on-ground through fests and youth hangouts. However, Sharma refused to divulge details about marketing spends.

It is running on air promos and tickers to promote the contest on television. On the digital platform, promotions are being carried out to tap people through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and its own website.

9XO has also extended the promotions to on ground and reached out to 10 bars/nightclubs in Mumbai and Bengaluru to promote the contest.

Sharma adds that Hard Rock Café, which has franchises in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, has also joined hands with 9XO as the hang out partner for the contest.

The weekly winners for the contest are announced every Monday, whereas the grand prize winner will be announced after January 28.

9XO is the sixth music channel from the 9X Media Group. It airs English and international music from across the globe and is targeted at the upscale urban youth. It offers a platform called OmeGrown, which enables independent Indian music bands that play English music to showcase their talent. Some of its other segments are O-Vid, Who Dat and Wotta Song. The channel was launched in April, 2012. The programming initiative of 9XO is headed by Luke Kenny.

Instagram is one of the most popular media to share pictures on the online medium. It is available free of cost at Apple App Store and Google Play store. The company was founded by Kevin Systrom and Mike Kreiger.