MAM
HP partners with Bindass for ‘Bend The Rules’ campaign
MUMBAI: Bindass, over the years has understood the pulse of India’s youth and has become their friend and companion while entertaining them with content that is both purposive and engaging.
The channel in association with Hewlett Packard (HP) launched a new campaign – ‘Bend the Rules’ featuring brand ambassador, Deepika Padukone. The campaign celebrates how millennials in India ‘Bend the Rules’ by taking the unconventional road to success.
Millennials strive for success at an early age using the power of technology. HP is inviting them to share their stories by uploading a video on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube using the hash-tag #BendTheRules, of how they have bent the rules to achieve success.
A winning entry from India will get a chance to share his/her inspiring story with a larger audience through a short film which will be aired on Bindass and its YouTube channel.
Talking about this association with HP, Disney India VP revenue, media networks Nikhil Gandhi says that the channel wanted to try a different approach in order to deepen the engagement level with the youth. The campaign connects with the ideas and philosophies of Young India. It celebrates the young generation’s ability to ‘Bend the Rules’ and achieve success by taking the road less travelled.
Padukone, the brand ambassador for HP India is associated with this campaign. As someone who decided to pursue acting and leave behind a promising badminton career, she is familiar with treading the unconventional path to success.
Also featuring in the campaign is the HP Pavilion x360, a value-packed convertible PC, which easily converts from notebook, to stand, to tent, to tablet mode. With optimised touch-screen performance and beats audio, the device is ideal for the productivity and entertainment needs of consumers.
Backed by in depth research, Bindass has executed successful shows and campaigns which not only engage young India but also enable purposive action. “We are using this understanding to create the right approach to strengthen our partnership with HP and deliver Bindass ‘Bend The Rules’ to strengthen their engagement with the youth,” says Gandhi.
What made HP associate with bindass for the campaign? According to HP India head of marketing, printing and personal systems Lloyd Mathias, HP’s focus was to reach out to the Indian youth. “#BendtheRules is in the DNA of young India and we wanted to amplify the HP brand philosophy with a partner that understands youth. Brand Bindass is positioned as the enabler of purposive action and that holds really well with brand HP. We wanted to leverage Bindass’s reach on TV and digital to speak to the Indian youth and hence the association,” he says.
Mathias believes that by partnering with Bindass, it will help HP become more relevant to its audience and build a community around shared interests and passions. The bend the rules philosophy of HP will get validation and engagement through this association within its shared TG.
The initiative is spread across multiple platforms including television, print, digital, out of home, webisodes and Vine videos. Additionally, an extensive social media campaign covering Twitter and Facebook is also in place which rests on both Bindass and HP’s social media platforms.
MAM
Microdrama Specialist COL Group International Builds Out With Narativ, Rock Networks & BlingWood Deals
MUMBAI: Microdrama powerhouse COL Group International is building out its distribution network, with its CEO saying vertical video is about to enter its “next competitive chapter.”
The microdrama arm of publicly-listed Chinese company COL Group appointed Narativ Media as its official distributor in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and CIS regions and Africa, and a struck new content deal with a new Dubai-based microdrama platform.
The deals were unveiled this morning at MIP London, and also included Rock Networks as its exclusive Southeast Asia telco distribution partner for its app, FlareFlow. MIP London is now into its second day at the Savoy Hotel and adjoining IET London complex.
The deals come soon after COL appointed Harbour Rights to represent its titles in Europe and Latin America, as we reported yesterday in our extended feature on microdrama distribution.
COL’s Singapore-based microdrama unit says its “coordinated global distribution architecture and significantly expanded international content slate” would help to scale its catalogue to more than 1,700 microdrama titles worldwide. These hail from South Korea, Japan, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the UK and roll out across Sereal+, FlareFlow and 17K.
A deal with Dubai-based BlingWood, which recently launched as an OTT platform, will expand COL’s access to Middle Eastern and Indian microdramas, and includes a broader pipeline of Indian series from storytelling platform Pratilipi, Korean titles from BeLive Studios and British reality-led formats from Tattle TV — the UK’s first dedicated microdrama app, including titles such as Dog Dates.
“Microdrama is entering its next competitive chapter, where quality, retention and monetization standards are increasingly shaped by data and operational discipline,” said Timothy Oh, General Manager of COL Group International.
“As pioneers in both China and the U.S., scaling some of the world’s leading platforms in this space, we understand what it truly takes to win sustainably. Our role is not simply to offer catalogue volume, but to help partners select, position and scale the right content for their platform and audience. By bringing together a broad, constantly refreshed slate from across regions, we enable smarter curation, clearer differentiation and long-term growth for serious industry players.”
Narativ deal
COL and UAE-based Narativ described their deal as a “strategic expansion of premium vertical content distribution across high-growth emerging markets,” and comes as the microdrama continues to boom financially. The growth of the medium will be among the key topics of conversation today at MIP London, where COL chief Oh will be speaking.
The pact extends beyond content representation and is being billed as part of a more “structured micro-drama distribution infrastructure.”
Narativ will spearhead market development, platform alliances, broadcaster relationships and digital monetization frameworks across the MENA and CIS regions and Africa, where they have identified “rapid mobile-first consumption growth and strong demand for short-form, high-engagement storytelling formats.”
“Micro-dramas are reshaping global viewing habits, particularly across mobile-first markets like MENA, Africa and CIS,” said Manjyot Sandhu, CEO and co-founder of Narativ. “Our appointment as official distributor for COL Group in these territories reflects Narativ’s strategy to build sustainable distribution architecture.
“A key pillar of the collaboration includes integration with FlareFlow, enabling strategic telco partnerships, bundled carrier offerings, and alternative monetization pathways designed to accelerate scale across mobile ecosystems and OTT platforms.”
Oh added: “We are building more than a content slate – we are building the global infrastructure for microdrama. With hundreds of new titles launching every quarter, scale and regional strength are critical. Narativ with its deep foothold in MENA, Africa CIS and other key markets makes them a natural strategic partner as we expand FlareFlow and bring microdrama to new platforms, telcos and audiences.
Narativ, which is joint venture Sandhu operates with Copyright Capital, manages around 7,000 hours of content and has a digital network spanning 150 million subscribers across 21 language.
COL Group has emerged as one of the biggest microdrama platforms, running platforms such as FlareFow. It is also a part-owner of ReelShort.
