Case Studies

The Client

Hinduja Ventures's production entity led by Ambika Hinduja focuses on producing entertainment content, specifically Hindi feature films that cater to a worldwide audience. The production banner has garnered appreciation from critics and audience alike with its successful début in the year 2006 with the film' Being Cyrus'. The film boasts of A-list Bollywood actors, a strong script and great direction. Focused on producing meaningful and urbane entertainment content, the critically appreciated film production banner released its second film – 'Teen Patti' on February 26, 2010.

The Brief

After a sabbatical of nearly four years, the production house was approaching the release of the then much anticipated film 'Teen Patti' (Release date: February 26, 2010). Presenting its next Hindi feature film after the banner's 2006 release 'Being Cyrus', the production house wanted to explore online media options to maximise publicity coverage for the film Teen Patti.

The premise of Teen Patti was built around a game of playing cards. The film's story revolved around a high rolling Indian mathematician who benefited in the game of Teen Patti (Poker) by eliminating risks through his theory that redefines the principles of probability and randomness. The film tells the tale of greed and deceit that ensues, making the lives of the lead characters as unpredictable as the game of Teen Patti.

The stellar star cast of the film boasts of "Greatest Star of the Millennium" (BBC Online)- Amitabh Bachchan, Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley and Filmfare Award (India) winner R. Madhavan.

With multiple releases in and around the film's release-date, the production house wanted to generate tremendous buzz on Teen Patti even before the official launch of trailers and music.

The Approach

Working within a time frame of two months, HGS Interactive designed the online communication strategy for the publicity of Teen Patti. The film's focal elements were its popular star cast and the premise of a card game, which was factored to generate viral networking through social networking sites.

The Solution

• HGS Interactive created awareness on the web with Social Media Optimisation (SMO) strategy. SMO is the medium of informing the masses about anything new via the web of social networking sites. The SMO was focused on popular networking sites within India Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Orkut, which were the main targets of communication strategy.
• A 'Fan page' was created on Facebook with customised tabs to navigate into sections like 'Photos', 'Videos', and 'Cast & Crew' etc. With the FBML technology, Teen Patti fan page was customised to confirm to the film's publicity design. Simultaneously, Twitter and YouTube too had the Teen Patti skin on its page and channel, respectively.
• Innovative applications were conceptualised and developed on Facebook. A sassy application ‘Are you being played’ that confirmed to the film's premise of greed and deceit was developed. The application had a connect with the film as it was designed keeping the characteristics of lead artists in mind. Various other interactive contests and games to keep the audience glued on to the page were executed on Facebook.
• The celebrity status of the star cast was leveraged to gain additional publicity. A 'AB Fan Club Blog' was incorporated that gave generic information and updates about Amitabh Bachchan. This Blog discreetly promoted Teen Patti across all pages by exploring and executing areas of brand connect.
• Apart from the digital communication, HGS Interactive facilitated an official tie-up between the production house and Sify.com, Casino Royale, Goa and Kingfisher Airlines to increase brand visibility among a larger scale of audience. From traditional Press Releases to Teen Patti Luck games, HGS Interactive successfully increased the upcoming film's visibility amongst the masses.

The Result

Facebook Teen Patti fan page fans hit 5000 plus in less than 2 months and YouTube Teen Patti channel were declared Rank #5 as the most viewed channel on YouTube and Rank #14 as the Most Subscribed Channel.

HGS Interactive gave Teen Patti a dedicated fan base of 5,000 plus users and a visibility that averages over 600,000.