| |
|
|
|
|
|
 Big money riding on Bollywood sequels
The next two years are going to be the years of sequels in Bollywood. Five blockbusters are getting ready with the next instalment of their stories — Race 2, Dhoom 3 ,Wanted 2 ,Partner 2 and Don 2 — and trade analysts estimate around Rs 150 crore to be riding on these sequels. In line for a sequel, for instance, is Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani’s Munna Bhai. The series made cash counters ring loudly. After the success of 3 Idiots, Chopra is all set to start rolling for the third flick in the Munna Bhai series, Munna Bhai Chale America. Likewise, Tarun Mansukhani, who directed the Abhishek Bachhan-starrer Dostana has already started working on its sequel, Dostana 2. Boney Kapoor’s BSK Network and Entertainment has projects like Mr India 2, Be Positive – which is a sequel to No Entry, and also a sequel to the Salman Khan starrer Wanted which would be christened Most Wanted. |
|
| ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... |
|
Organised rural retail faces speed bumps
 Rural retail was supposed to cash in on the prosperity of Bharat, but the storyline hasn’t really gone the way big corporate houses had hoped. While some have chosen to wind up business, others have preferred to go slow due to a host of reasons. Such stores offer products like agri-inputs, cattle feed, plastic furniture, FMCG products, automobiles, banking, crop insurance and other agronomical services. Setting up an organised retail business in rural towns proved to be challenging. Companies have faced problems with regard to infrastructure, distribution, fluctuating rural incomes and stiff competition from local kirana stores, which operate at much lower costs. However, these factors did not deter companies such as DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd (DSCL), ITC, Godrej and Triveni Engineering from investing in rural retail. |
|
| ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... |
|
 Sania Paks a punch with advertisers
Sania Mirza may no longer be a hot property with the Indian advertisers, but she’s all set to rock Pakistan’s advertising circle. From local companies such as Habib cooking oil, Malaysian Palm, Parker Fertilizers to big home grown telecom companies such as Mobilink and Ufone GSM, all have jumped on congratulatory bandwagon welcoming Sania bhabhi with hoardings across the city. Ad agencies in Pakistan are busy doing consumer research for their clients such as Habib Bank and Alfalah Bank to gauge Sania’s acceptability as their brand ambassadors. Both Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik seem to be the flavour of the season for the Pakistani companies. |
|
| ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... |
DTH: The Big Picture
 The direct-to-home or DTH industry in India is in a double-barrel fray. Growing rapidly, it has six competing players who are scorching the marketplace with quick launches and aggressive advertising on the one hand and competing for the cable industry's share of TV homes on the other. Nowhere else in the world are there six DTH players – Dish TV, Tata Sky, Airtel Digital, Big TV, Sun Direct and Videocon d2h – competing for subscriber numbers with multiple products, attractive pricing, deals and freebies, even as each says there's enough space for everyone. A report by Media Partners Asia predicts that DTH subscribers will increase from 17 million in 2009 to 45 million by 2014 and 58 million by 2020. Of the 225-240million homes in India, 140 million have TV sets of which DTH has about a 16 per cent share, and about 85-100 million homes don't have television. While all DTH
players
are hoping for some “highly needed relief“ from what they consider high taxation at over 30 per cent, no one's slowing down or waiting for that to happen. |
|
| .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. |
|
 When celebrities co-create brands
A standard practice abroad (Britney Spears’ perfumes, JLO’s apparels or Victoria Beckham’s line of fashion clothing), the concept of celebrity brand ambassadors going beyond the cursory mannequins and taking on the role of strategic co-creators is gaining ground in India. There seems to be no shortage of celebrities wanting to do such co-creations. While Hrithik Roshan’s Signature Line for John Players gave fans the chance to dress like he did in Dhoom 2, denim brand Wrangler tied up with John Abraham to launch a premium denim line called John Abraham by Wrangler. Then there were Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Zeenat Aman and Madhuri Dixit. The co-creator is closely involved with the development of the products and is part of all major decisions. Instead of an endorsement fee, the celebrity involved usually gets a pie in the revenue of the product. The jury is out, however, on whether celebrity co-creations help. While in Hollywood, most actors have a label to suit and sell their personality, it’s not clear whether India has a big enough audience willing to shell out big bucks for a piece of their favourite celebrity.
|
|
| ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... |
|
Small towns become important growth drivers for advertisers
 Smaller cities and towns that are fuelling India’s economic expansion through their growing consumption have emerged as key markets for advertisers seeking to tap their purchasing power, says audit and consultancy firm Ernst and Young Pvt. Ltd (E&Y). The consultancy released a report that tracked consumption patterns across the six metros (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata), key urban towns (KUTs) comprising the top 22 cities outside the metros and the rest of urban India (ROUI). The report says that the benefits of India’s growth story were not restricted to the metros, with KUTs and ROUI accounting for over 70% of urban consumption today. A few years ago, the top eight cities accounted for almost 40% of the country’s domestic expenditure. Today, the six metros account only for 27% of that expenditure. |
|
| ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... |
|
 DQ Entertainment joins hands with the Prodigies
DQ Entertainment India has joined the $28 million 3-D animated stereoscopic The Prodigies, slated for release in the summer of 2011, as production partner. The Rs 175 crore company based in Hyderabad, which listed on the BSE just two months ago, is into animation, game art and entertainment content in the Indian as well as global media industry. For Tapaas Chakravarti, chairman and CEO of DQE, this is the single biggest deal he has signed so far. It also means big bucks for the firm. |
|
| ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... |
|
 Will the dream come true?
Can DreamWorks Animation revitalise the cooling business of virtual worlds? DreamWorks will formally enter this crowded realm with Kung Fu Panda World, a $10 million website that will allow children to play elaborate games, chat with friends, learn kung fu styles and get a pet. The site, which took two years to develop, is centred on the company’s hit movie Kung Fu Panda, which had $632 million in global ticket sales in 2008. Membership will cost $5.95 a month although children can play free for one day if they watch a 15-second ad. |
|
|
Founded in 1984, Percept, an entertainment, media and communications company, today , is at an enviable leadership position with a team of 1200 people and 62 offices across India and Middle East. This publication has been exclusively created for our stakeholders. The contents of this publication has been created with inputs from Percept Companies and Divisions. This document may not be reproduced or circulated without prior consent from the Corporate Communications Department at Percept Limited.
|
|
|
|
|
_02.jpg)
