TV channels, social media, brands flash the colours of Independence

As India celebrated her 70th Independence Day, television channels, social media platforms, and brands of various hues kept consumers engaged over the long weekend with different initiatives. Be it movie premieres, back-to-back episodes of popular shows, special emojis, sales and offers – the engagement was varied.

Zee Studio premiered the Cold War spy drama ‘Bridge of Spies’, while Star Movies premiered an espionage caper, ‘Kingsmen: The Secret Service’. Star Gold brought on the nostalgia factor with the classic ‘Sholay’

Meanwhile, Nat Geo was back with a brand new season of ‘India’s Megakitchens’. The new season not only showcases the preparation of food and delves into the history and cultural aspects within that environment, but also celebrates the hard work, dedication and unending resolve of the people who operate these massive kitchens of India. HomeShop18 kicked off its annual Now or Never Sale. Talking about the initiative, Sanjeev Agrawal, CEO, HomeShop18, said, “True to its name, Now or Never Sale is an abhi nahi toh kabhi nahi shopping opportunity for our customers. The products are not only available at great prices, but are also cherry picked by our expert teams. To make Independence Day even more special for our customers, we will start programming at 6 am in the morning, which means people can switch on HomeShop18 channel early morning and start shopping.” HomeShop18 has been holding the Now or Never Sale for the last eight years around Independence Day.

Twitter India added on to the celebrations with the launch of a new Tri-colour emoji featuring the map of India. The emoji went live on August 14, 2016 at 6.30 pm and will be available till 6.30 am on August 17, 2016.

Indians across the world could be a part of the Independence Day conversations by using the hashtags #India #इंडिया #IndiaAt69 #भारत #IndiaIndependenceDay when composing a Tweet. Twitter continues to celebrate Indian culture with special Twitter emojis for Independence Day, Diwali, Republic Day. Twitter emojis are a delightful way to bring together people to celebrate cultural moments.

To acknowledge and recall all the freedom fighters who struggled for India’s independence, multiplex chain Inox Leisure provided a platform to Women in Film and Television (WIFT) to assist in creation of awareness about the need for empowerment of Indian women to assist them in their struggle for independence. This was done through exclusive screenings of a series of six short films starring Shabana Azmi, Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Diya Mirza, Shriya Saran and Rituparna Sengupta, exclusively at Inox properties across the country.

Snapdeal embarked on its Wish for India Sale. Commemorating the 70th year of the nation’s Independence and celebrating the spirit of freedom, customers were also be able to share their wish lists for India with Snapdeal on all social media platforms. Saurabh Bansal, Vice President - Category Management, Snapdeal, said, “We are delighted to announce the Wish for India Sale. With this sale, we present exciting deals every hour for our customers, thereby, adding another reason for them to rejoice and celebrate freedom. Looking back at the incredible response we have seen on special sales on earlier occasions, we believe that Wish for India sale will be a grand success.”

New entrant Tata CLiQ celebrated Independence Day with a twist by offering a counterpoint concept in its ‘Dependence Sale’.

Aircel launched a unique recharge ‘Aircel Ka Azaadi Offer’ at Rs 123. The exclusive product designed especially for the Independence Day offers unlimited calling to any local network and unlimited data with a validity of a day. Anupam Vasudev, Chief Marketing Officer, Aircel, said, “With ‘Azaadi Offer’ we are removing the cost barrier for our customers and replacing it with unlimited benefits. We truly cherish the relationship with our customers and this is our way to be a part of their Independence Day celebrations.”

NovaPlay, a leading gaming platform for multiplayer gaming communities, came up with special offers for its game lovers under its ‘NovaPlay Lock-n-Load Sale - Independence Day Edition’. The Lock-N Load Sale offers a three-day sale to celebrate the occasion that began from August 15 and will conclude on August 17.