Zee spreads feel of fear

To give a thrilling experience to the audience, Zee TV has planned an augmented reality activity along with promotions in cinema halls, online platforms and ambient branding across 12 cities.

Zee TV has rolled out a distinctive promotional campaign to create thrill and buzz around its new horror show, Fear Files, which premiered on June 30.

To maximise engagement and provide a real horror experience, the channel has planned an augmented reality activity using computer graphics and sensors across malls in Mumbai over the next two weekends. Huge LED screens will be placed to resemble mirrors in malls. People who come near the marked zone can see their reflections in the 'mirror' screens, with an image suddenly appearing behind them - as it happens in horror shows. The activity has been executed by Xenium Technologies.

To promote the show, the channel has run advertisements in cinema halls across 12 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Baroda, Indore, Bhopal and Surat. Also, mirrors of the washrooms in the cinema halls were branded with the message that read 'You will never look at a mirror the same way again'. The mirrors were partially blurred to reflect a partially blurred image of the person in front of it, creating a spooky feel.

Akash Chawla, marketing head, national channels, ZEEL, says, “The biggest challenge that the marketing team had to surmount was to evoke the emotion of 'thrill' from its target audience. Hence, keeping in mind the primary target audience of the show, promotions are centred around online and new media, along with traditional media mix. The communication across every medium will aim to tease people with the fear of the unknown and give them a thrilling experience.”

The promotional campaign also includes print advertisements, television and DTH advertising, along with digital and social media initiatives. The entire campaign kicked off on June 29.

On the online platform, viewers can 'witness' paranormal activities like a ghostly image suddenly appearing on the screen while surfing a website. Viewers can also share their experiences by writing in stories and uploading videos. Paranormal expert Mehra Shrikhande will share daily tips and feedback with online users. The DTH promotional plan has ads and promos that will be aired through the top three DTH players - Dish TV, Airtel DTH and Tata Sky.