Mumbai: ZEE strengthens foothold in Maharashtra with launch of its new Marathi music channel – ZEE Vajwa. The channel was unveiled amidst tremendous fanfare by renowned Marathi actor Swwapnil Joshi & the energy bomb of Marathi film industry, Siddharth Jadhav during the telecast of the prestigious Zee Gaurav Puraskar 2020 on Zee Marathi. The channel promises to dial up each moment, thus providing a mono to dolby experience for the Marathi youth aptly captured in the tagline – ZEE Vajwa, Kshann Gaajwa. Bringing alive the positioning, the channel released two brand films this week gearing up to the official launch on 17th October.
The brand films are intrinsically coded in Marathi culture with an extremely nuanced story telling that showcases how music, by its very nature, is transient and aids immersion in the moment. It is an active way to share, enjoy and celebrate. Keeping the offering of a Marathi music channel for the GenZ Marathi yuva in mind, the brand communication was built around the key thought of the impact and effect of music on an individual in any situation or emotional mind frame.
The first film, taps into the idea of energizing a moment with music. Tapping into nostalgia, the film resonates with everyone who at some point in their life would have either experienced the simple joy of plucking fruits from trees during summer breaks OR celebrated the fervour of Dahi Handi. This film is a unique semblance of bringing together the spirit of these situations. The film opens on a young girl struggling to pluck a jackfruit from the tree. Her brother, who is enjoying music on TV, sees her struggle and gets inspired from a high energy Govinda song playing on the music channel. He instantly increases the volume of the song and sets out to help his sister. We then see that music creates a magical energy that uplifts the moment and transforms it into a sight nothing less than a dahi handi celebration with everyone forming a human pyramid and helping her to get the fruit.
While the first film was on transforming energy, the second film is based on a sweet narrative of emotions and situations being amplified with music. The film beautifully showcases emotions of two different generations – the old and the new – with music being the catalyst that amplifies the situation. The film shows a group of young boys and girls who have gathered for a bhajan sandhya in the neighbourhood. Noticing aptness of the moment, one of the girls uses the lyrics of the bhajan playing on TV to express her feelings to a boy. This beautiful expression of playful affection using music, transforms a mundane bhajan sandhya into a high energy celebratory mahaul for not just the young, but everyone in the moment.
The campaign created by Publicis Ambience is a visual delight and portrays instances which the audience can relate to, creating a lasting recall for the brand. Both the films are directed by the National award-winning director Ravi Jadhav.
Commenting on the launch of the brand films, Mr. Pankaj Balhara, Dy. Business Head, Music Cluster, ZEEL, said, “The idea behind the campaign was to bring alive the channel proposition for our core Marathi music viewers. The situations or moments showcased in the films have a strong cultural relevance to ensure instant connect with the audience at the same time establishing the brand as a unique offering in the category. Each film distinctly establishes how music brings in transformation and amplifies a moment while beautifully building on our brand promise of “Zee Vajwa Kshann Gaajwa”
Prathyusha Agarwal, CMO, ZEEL, said, ‘At ZEE, we nuance our storytelling basis consumer insights to bring alive the cultural codes of that region in the most authentic and relatable form. Our Marathi cluster content brands are not just entertainment channels but cultural icons for Maharashtra and we aim to further strengthen this bond with the launch of Zee Vajwa. In-depth consumer research indicated that the Marathi yuva today is often waiting for occasions to let loose and live life to the fullest. With ZEE Vajwa, we promise to turn every moment into a mahaul kaaran kshann zingaat tar life zingaat. The two brand films showcase a beautiful inside view of everyday relatable moments and how music becomes an amplifier and transforms the experience, aptly captured in our tagline ZEE Vajwa, KshannGaajwa’
Srija Chatterjee, Managing Director, Publicis says ‘We did not want to be yet another music channel. We are a music channel for the Marathi Yuva, who may be saumya otherwise but the zingaat side comes out clearly during festivals or celebrations. And this is aided by music, as that is what helps them immerse in the moment and charge it up. Hence the trigger “Music is the way to amplify moments”, be it emotions, people or situations. And the idea “Life is more fun when we don’t wait for big exciting occasions, but when you lose yourself in the excitement of every moment”. Zee Vajwa, Kshann Gaajwa!The entire experience partnering Zee on this one has been exciting. How often does one get a chance to build something from scratch? This was one of those opportunities and it has been truly fulfilling for all of us here at Publicis’.
The marketing campaign will leverage ZEE’s Network strength in Maharashtra with high impact on-air promotions and strategic integrations in popular ZEE Marathi and ZEE Yuva shows like ChalaHawaYeuDaya, Dancing Queen, Lav Re toh video and many more. With TV promotions, the campaign will use digital as a key medium to engage and build recall amongst the younger audience with youth interest-based influencer tie-ups. The channel is set to differentiate itself from the competition by bringing alive the brand promise with a music++ experience for the viewers with many category firsts. Each timeband promise is inspired from the viewer world from with nomenclature crafted keeping Marathi culture and youth codes at core like ‘UthaUtha’, ‘IshkachiDhundi’, ‘Dolbywalya’ while creating an experience that amplifies the moment; the romantic slot called ‘Yad Lagla’ will showcase doodle love notes before each song, the request show ‘Manachi Request’ will pair people basis their music choices on-air and many more such experiences will be created throughout the day. With an immersive and engaging music viewing experience, ZEE Vajwa will also showcase two short format shows LimletGappa – Engaging with marathiyuva through vox-pop and Taareaplesaare – A celebrity chat show. A special category first long-format show – Bhavdyachi Tavdi will be telecasted specifically on weekends that will amplify the weekend mahaual with its unique concept.
The campaign commenced in September and will go on till December with an intent to aggressively build channel awareness and subscription.
Zee Vajwa will be available across all major cable, DTH, Freedish and digital platforms starting from mid-October. The channel will also be available on ZEEL’s digital and mobile entertainment platform, Zee5
Brand film 1:
Brand film 2:
