MUMBAI: Road shows, youth hangouts and extensive press promotions mark Southern Spice Music's launch of the veejay hunt, The VJ Factor in Hyderabad this week.

The VJ Factor is a hunt for new blood on the channel, a move made to support new programming initiatives. The selected veejays would not have to be comfortable with English, the common lingo on the channel, but also with the other four South Indian languages - Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

The channel, gearing for potential competition from national players this year, has already held similar VJ Hunts at Bangalore and Chennai. The elimination rounds will be held on 4 and 5 March, with the finals slated for 5 March. Southern Spice Music has planned extensive road shows, and placed promotional materials and registration forms at convenient locations such as colleges, coffee shops, pubs, multiplexes, music stores, bookstores and other youth hangouts in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Extensive television promotion of The VJ Factor is currently running on SS Music along with print ads in Andhra Jyothy and The Times of India, Hyderabad. Promos will also run on some of the malls in Hyderabad.

360 degrees, a Times Group division will manage the event, that is to be sponsored by Sand piper Azaad Panchee After Dark Parties. According to sales and marketing head Nischal Kumtakar, SS Music has now achieved 96 per cent connectivity in South India, and has bagged several new clients including Motorola, Hero Honda, Thomson TV, Airtel and Johnson & Johnson.