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Sony Pix reinvents itself with new look, logo and positioning

New Pix promises to make viewers 'Stay Amazed' every time by showing movies which will make one go 'wow'

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How Sony PIX earned its Hollywood mojo

Sony Pix reinvents itself with new look, logo and positioning

New Pix promises to make viewers 'Stay Amazed' every time by showing movies which will make one go 'wow'

Sohini Sen | Mumbai | October 16, 2013

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At a time when almost all movie channels promise to show the same movie with the same punchlines, Sony Pix has decided to stand apart. The channel plans to reinvent itself with a new logo and brand positioning. Starting October 27, 2013, when they premier the biggest and latest James Bond movie, Skyfall, Sony Pix plans to change its look. The refreshed brand identity will be centred round the new brand philosophy, 'Stay Amazed'.

Incidentally, Sony Pix changed its identity once before to cater to the brand identity 'Hollywood is here'. But now that most other English movie channels have similar taglines or positioning, it has decided to reinvent itself.

The 'Stay Amazed' concept will reflect the youthful audience of the channel. According to consumer research, the bulk of English movies are watched by men in the age group of 16-29 years. Sony Pix has kept that in mind and tried to bring in a new flavour.

publive-image Saurach Yagnik

Saurach Yagnik, EVP & Business Head, Sony Pix, explained, "We cater to a genre which is primarily based on how movies are doing internationally. If a viewer doesn't find something interesting on our channel, he will move on to another movie channel because it has a better movie. They won't stick around just because they like the channel. However, we noticed that there are around 10 players in this space with little or no differentiation. We decided that we must innovate to break the clutter."

The new philosophy of Pix will take a leap forward to explain and show what people like from Hollywood. To illustrate it further, the new Sony Pix will be cool, bring a wow factor and present things with a twist so that everyone is amazed every moment. It promises to always entice, excite and engage its viewers – be it on social media, on-ground or on television.

The new logo will look the same but with a new colour combination. It will be in neon green, which is eye-catching and a trend in aspirational youth brands. The logo has been created by MediaLuna of Argentina after careful selection from over 24 pitches in the last six months from agencies across five continents.

To add star power, Sony Pix has tied up with Hrithik Roshan's 'Krissh' for a cross-promotion. Roshan Junior is already being seen in the TV campaigns for Pix's new look.

Digital media is one of the most vibrant marketing tools, especially for a company whose primary target is the youth. By innovating on the social media front, Sony Pix hopes to differentiate content between the various English movie channels. Pix has introduced 'Notty Pixy' – an animated character famed as a Hollywood insider who has all the gossip, trivia and news about the film industry. Pix has made plans to have a separate Notty Pixy slot at 7 PM on Fridays starting November, where movies of her choice would be played. Since Notty Pixy is a young mascot, the movies might be more of the fun, rom-com, college and high-school story based ideas.

Sony Pix already boasts of a fabulous movie library which includes franchises such as the entire Rocky collection, the Shrek movies, The Iron Man 1&2, The Amazing Spiderman among others. To add to it, the licensing for the entire franchise of Bond movies will also start soon. The premiere night category will see an extension in November with eight cities being part of the plan. Around 80-85 per cent of the total marketing budget has been set aside for marketing of the new brand philosophy and identity.

publive-image Neville Bastawalla

Neville Bastawalla, Vice-President, Marketing, Sony Pix, said, "We want to show the Bond movies because they are extremely popular. But at the same time we don't want it to be monotonous. So we will start with Skyfall on October 27 when the new look of the channel will be unveiled. TV campaigns showing James Bond in Skyfall and the new Pix logo are already out. We have worked on the idea that 'Bond is ready for the new Pix, and Pix is ready for showing the ultimate Bond movie'.”

Bastawalla added, “There will also be a trade campaign with the Bond movies as well as for agencies and marketers. A 360 degree campaign would be launched whereby your cell phone will also play a vital part. The phone will turn into a remote and you will have to undergo a secret mission. Three such steps will make you eligible for the prize whereby 5-6 people would be invited to Bond in Motion. There they can see the 50 vehicles used in 50 years of James Bond movies which will be an experience they won't forget."

Sohini.Sen@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

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