Hungama Digital Media bags two awards at the Abby’s ’09 for Ghajini

By Bollywood Hungama -

August 4, 2009 - 12:00 AM IST

Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the largest aggregator, developer and publisher of Indian entertainment content globally, stood tall at Creative Abby's ceremony at the 'Goafest, 2009' with one Silver and one Bronze award for the 'Viral and Email Marketing' and 'Integrated Digital Campaign' categories respectively for the ground breaking digital campaign created for the Bollywood blockbuster, Ghajini. Commenting on the success of this initiative, Neeraj Roy Managing Director and CEO, Hungama Digital Media, said, "It is an honor for me and my team to receive these awards in a prestigious platform like the Abby's. These awards are not only appreciation for our team's innovation, hard work and dedication, but also a definite sign of how the digital platforms have witnessed phenomenal growth and recognition over the past few years. While I am proud of being given these awards for the initiative taken by us for Ghajini, the sheer potential of the digital platform indicates that we have a lot more to explore and conquer."

Madhu Mantena, producer of Ghajini also reiterated the potential of the digital medium while congratulating Hungama Digital Media for their award. He said "I feel very happy that the digital initiatives taken for Ghajini have been appreciated at such a renowned forum. The online initiatives have added greatly to the success of the film across the world, by generating curiosity around its interesting elements, without giving away the plot. I hope to continue working with Hungama to use the full potential of the digital medium."

The integrated digital campaign for Ghajini was able to engage one million visitors over a period of two months. The website created for Ghajini was a phenomenal success, generating 3 lakh unique visitors prior to the release of the film and 4 to 5 lakh unique visitors post the release of the film. The two virals engaged with close to 2.5 lakh people, with more that 10,000 users posting their pictures on the 'Wall of Suspects' viral. Ghajini was marketed as a path-breaking film. Labeled as the Indian film industry's 'best kept secret', very little information about the movie was communicated prior to its release. The digital campaign too integrated the plot in a way that teases the user just enough but did not in any way give away the suspense of the film. The website true to the theme of the film refreshes itself every 15 minutes just like the central character's memory. No matter which section the user is accessing, every fifteen minutes you are driven back to the homepage. The website was also extremely heavy with video content, but was extremely easy to navigate and load.

The two virals, the www.wallofsuspects.com and www.findGhajini.com give the user the experience of the chase in the movie. Exclusive videos of Aamir Khan have been shot and used for the viral www.findGhajini.com. In this viral application, the user plays the role of Sanjay Singhania and tries to find Ghajini through the clues provided. After the user finds a clue, they are lead to find the next one. Once the user finds all the clues, he/she can put them together and dial a unique phone number, to hear Aamir Khan telling them over the phone, "I know who you are, I'm coming to get you on December 25th" (the release date of the film.)

Hungama Digital Media has been in the digital entertainment industry for the past ten years and has made a significant contribution to create maximum visibility for South Asian content. Hungama has created path breaking initiatives on the digital space, which not only capture the essence of Bollywood films, but also encompass all the key elements to attract mobile and internet users to the theatres.