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Google aims for premium content
 YouTube is increasing its library of long-form content and is eyeing Bollywood tie-ups. Global search giant Google will begin offering pay-per-view content for its US viewers by this year end, but Indian users might have to wait for a while. However, there is something in the offing Google is gearing up its premium content aggregation in India. The total view of premium content from India has increased by almost 350 per cent globally, on a year-on-year basis (Q2, 2010 compared to Q2, 2009). Active videos have grown 440 per cent and new video uploads have gone up by 300 per cent. Google does not provide the break-up for video uploaded, but maintains that the growth has been phenomenal. YouTube, a popular platform for running campaigns, trailers and short format videos, is fast becoming popular with its long-form content, celebrity channels, and simulcasting programmes. Regional cinema is another area that is doing well on the web, but is still to catch up with the rest.
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 Celebs help oil companies cook success story
Saina Nehwal will be the brand ambassador of a new range of Fortune edible oil brand of Adani Wilmar, joining a rising list of celebrities promoting not-that-glamorous cooking oil. Even as more Indians are toning up for a healthier lifestyle by consuming less oil, cooking oil brands are roping in celebrities such as M S Dhoni, Preity Zinta, Sridevi and Prachi Desai to raise their share in the Rs 70,000-crore market dominated by unorganized sector. Adani Wilmar, an Adani group company, signed up the World No.2 woman badminton player as the brand ambassador of Fortune Plus on Thursday, just 10 days before the Delhi Commonwealth Games where Nehwal is a gold medal hope. The shuttler said the product she is endorsing, Fortune Plus, suited her dietary restrictions as an athlete.
With many edible oil brands raising their advertising and marketing spend to woo the increasingly brand-conscious Indian housewife, more celebrities are expected to enter this kitchen war. Already cooking oil brands spend close to Rs 125 crore on television commercials. While the market is expected to grow 6% per year, the organized sector that accounts for just one-fifth of the market eyes a much-faster growth.
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Nivea ramps up digital activities; out to garner male attention too
 With robust plans in place for digital communication, skin and body care brand Nivea is all set to accelerate its growth and presence in the virtual space. After wooing its female customers successfully, the brand has now decided to shift its focus to garner male attention as well. Going forward, the brand looks to shift focus from plain vanilla advertising to more engaging activities, especially for potential male customers. MEC, the media agency, handles the digital duties for the brand and it has a dedicated team for all the activities. Globally, Nivea has a dedicated e-brand management team that handles the digital duties for the brand.
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 Dentsu MediaTech becomes functional
Expanding its service offering, Dentsu India announced the launch of Dentsu MediaTech, its fourth full service, fully integrated agency in India. Dentsu MediaTech will offer clients a full spectrum of one-to-one engagement, cutting edge creative solutions, end-to-end media and a full-slew of digital, mobile and new media services.
ClozR Communications, the Group’s CRM and loyalty practice will merge with this fourth new entity. ClozR currently handles CRM for clients such as Jet Airways and Jaypee, besides others. Dentsu India has bought out Serco BPO (earlier Info vision), its erstwhile partner in the loyalty vertical. A number of new initiatives of the Dentsu Group in space management, retail design and creation of brand-experience centres will also function under the Dentsu MediaTech banner. To start with, Dentsu MediaTech will operate out of Mumbai and Delhi. |
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Dutts boxing around India!
 Sanjay Dutt, who is the face of Indian boxing, has started off a nationwide campaign to promote the sport. He feels that while cricket enjoys a cult status and is the most popular sport in India, other sports should also get their due. Baba, as the industry fondly calls him, also believes that not everyone can have the skill or luck to make it to the top in cricket and not everyone wants to become a cricketer too. So, he is on a mission to promote boxing right down to the grass-root level. From talking to people and convincing them to allow their children to participate in boxing and rooting for privately-run boxing exhibition matches in India to trying to reach out to many boxing associations and coaching camps and provide support to them, Sanjay has his year full with activities as the ambassador of boxing in India.
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 Viacom 18 to spend Rs 450 cr on films over two years
Viacom 18 will spend Rs 450 crore over two years on satellite rights for about 60 Hindi films. The buy has already started from this fiscal and will continue till FY12. It hopes to build a library of close to 400 films ahead of launching a movie channel. Viacom 18 houses Colors. Colors earned an operating profit of Rs 25-30 crore during the June 2010 quarter and occupies the number two slot in the Hindi GEC genre. Besides launching a film channel, Colors will explore opportunities in the regional entertainment space in Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal.
Another move that could help Colors with its movie channel is the proposed transfer of the business of The Indian Film Company (TIFC), to Viacom 18, for a consideration of $80-90 million. TIFC is a film fund listed on AIM, in which Network18 has a majority stake of close to 80%. The transfer of TIFC’s business would help Colors as it would have a production platform. Analysts say the estimated consideration of $90 million, for TIFC, is almost three times the current value of IFC and that the valuation should be linked to the monetization potential for the library, rather than the capital employed.
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In a first, Mumbai film festival to host international buyers
 Lights, camera, action. This year, Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) has business on its mind. The 12th edition of the Mumbai Film Festival, to be organised by MAMI from October 21-28, will be the first Indian film festival to host over 25 international movie buyers. The festival, which will screen over 200 films from 58 countries, will help producers reach out to overseas markets such as Iran, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Thailand, South Africa, China and Hong Kong. The film fraternity feels it’s time to develop an overseas market for Indian cinema, and there could be no better forum than film festivals. An overseas buyer can either buy a film or decide to represent the filmmaker/production house in the overseas market for a particular film or a slate of films. However, some in the industry don't view this has a significant change. Some of the big buyers from the overseas market to participate in the festival are Fortissimo Films Sales, France-based MK2, Wild Bunch, Memento Films and Beta Cinema.
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