#hoyejak: We used all SVF properties to promote Hoichoi, says Vishnu Mohta

Imagine, what will pop up in your mind when you hear ‘Let’s do it’ or ‘Ho jaye’, something naughty or kinky? But, these are words regularly used by Bongs in their day-to-day lives. Hoichoi however made it into a happening and impactful campaign.

The recently-launched OTT platform Hoichoi buzzed with a creative campaign called #hoyejak. Designed by Rediffusion Y&R, it created a hype across social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Hoichoi was launched on 20 September by Shree Venkatesh Films (SVF), an Indian media and entertainment company headquartered in Kolkata. #hoyejak by Hoichoi, an ad-free platform with a collection of seven original web series till date and three more to launch by the end of October, was preceded by some funny one-liners which created a lot of curiosity amongst the Bengalis during Durga Puja.

The faces of the campaign were none other than the Hoichoi and SVF team members themselves. #hoyejak hoardings dotted the skylines of Kolkata and were strategically placed at various locations to grab maximum eyeballs. Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta, interacting with Indiantelevision.com's Kirti Chauhan, said, “Hoichoi means happening of positive activities around you. Excerpts from an interview where Mohta shared insights about campaign:

Tell us about your marketing strategy to promote Hoichoi?

In the first six months, it is all about creating brand awareness. We are not looking to the brands and advertisers in the initial phase because we are offering Hoichoi in an advertising-free form to provide uninterrupted viewing. So, we have used all our considerable SVF properties across cinemas and screens, digital and social properties to promote hoichoi.

We believe advertising must be disruptive and highly engaging, just like the original content on Hoichoi. We launched an innovative #hoyejak teaser campaign to promote Hoichoi. It was an outdoor campaign and became the most talked about campaign of the city this Durga Puja. We had Hoichoi hoardings across the high-traffic parts of the Kolkata skyline, and those drew a lot of attention and generated conversations across mediums.

What does ‘hoyejak’ mean and how was the response to the campaign?

See, both, Hoichoi and Hoyejak are two very common, everyday terms used by Bengalis in their day to day conversations, and obviously were chosen because they establish an automatic connect. #hoyejak translates to "let’s do it” in English, and “ho jaye!” in Hindi. Not only the words, but also the faces we used were really pleasant, everyday faces to reflect the average Bengali on the streets of Kolkata. In fact, we used Hoichoi and SVF team members themselves in the campaign, and together, the creatives and the entire approach sustained the buzz and brought a smile to the faces of the public.

Tell us about the timing of Hoichoi launch, and the campaign rollout

Well, some very funny one-liners preceded the #hoyejak campaign, which created curiosity amongst Bengalis. Designed by Rediffusion Y&R, we had strategically decided to launch Hoichoi in the Durga Puja festive season, because it is obviously the best time of year to roll out anything for Bengalis, not just in India, but worldwide. The Puja holidays not only see Bengalis turn out in their festive best with their families, but also see most Bengalis travelling back from outside Bengal to their homes or loved ones in Kolkata and across the entire state.

Our choice of OOH locations which included the airport and Howrah station along with other high-traffic areas, gave our campaign in Kolkata a very high OTS and helped it make a big impact. It also had a lot to do with the creative content of course – not only were the 'tease and reveal' creatives very entertaining, but the fact that nine out of 14 creatives talked about Durga Puja, helped the campaign receive great word of mouth publicity.

How many locations did you cover across Kolkata?

Many. Right off, I can recall Howrah Station, Ultadanga, Science City, Syed Amir Ali Avenue, Rashbehari Metro, Harish Mukherjee Road, Ruby crossing, Gariahat Flyover, Garia, B. T. Road, AJC Bose Road, Gurusaday Road and the airport.

How much did you invest for the promotions?

I regret I would be unable to share the cost, but suffice to say that it was an extensive campaign that was put up across numerous prime OOH spots in Kolkata, and we did not hold back on it in any way.

How was it received by the viewers?

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram were buzzing. On the day of the Hoichoi launch event (20 September), #hoichoi trended pan-India at the no.1 position, with #hoyejak at no. 2. Prominent Tollywood stars took to social media to congratulate SVF on the grand launch of hoichoi. Both our hashtags, #hoyejak and #hoichoi, together generated over 3000 conversations and 47.9 million impressions, reaching approximately 6.8 million people within four hours of the launch.

Here are the video links: