MAM
Need a hit? It’s all about marketing and communications
Professional marketing in the business of entertainment is the need of the hour!
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That was the core theme at the Ad Club’s one-day seminar on ‘value creation’ held on 11 January at The Oberoi hotel in South Mumbai. Among the key points that came across:
* Bollywood needs marketing lessons from third-party consultants;
* India finds its voice in entertainment programming;
* Indian television programming had to use communication and marketing more effectively to connect to viewers and address basic emotional needs;
* advertisers need to look at TV personalities for brand endorsements;
* successful entertainment brands are elusive, illusory and magical; and radio advertising complements TV advertising.
* Product placements in TV serials could become a reality.
The speakers at the seminar sponsored by Star India constituted a well-balanced panel of achievers representing diverse fields. The list included: PNC chairman Pritish Nandy; writer/director Ashutosh Gowariker; Bharti Enterprises marcom director Hemant Sachdev; Banyan Tree Communications CMD Anish Trivedi; creative consultant Rekha Nigam; Leo Entertainment director Sanjay Bhutiani; UTV Group director Zarine Mehta; Star India COO Sameer Nair and Reliance Entertainment chairman Amit Khanna.
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Ad Club chairperson seminars committee and Percept Advertising CEO Rajesh Pant, while addressing the distinguished gathering, mentioned that there was a need to ensure professionalism in the marketing of entertainment because entertainment is the best option to satisfy clients looking for short-term answers and gains.
Pant also added that the idea also originated from the recent happenings that disproved the flurry of negative media reports expressing concerns about the sad state of the media and entertainment industry. Pant referred to the pessimistic media reports mentioning that “the myth of Bollywood was broken and it was a failure of imagination”.
“Recent media reports have predicted doomsday warnings for the Indian film industry due to the large number of flops. However, well-marketed recent commercial hits such as Kaante and Saathiya have shown that well-packaged entertainment sells despite all odds. Hollywood films are never understated and go for the audience jugular. The marketing promotions for these films are planned from the initial stages of conceptualisation,” Pant added.
The attendees received inputs on various facets of entertainment and marketing such as in-film product placements; creating and cultivating relationships between celebrities and companies to establish and promote brand loyalty; building the brand’s image within the entertainment community; conceiving stratgeies to launch new brands within the community; creating a knowledge base and perspectives on how the programming elements can be used independently of marketing tactics; how the entertainment mix can ensure that programming elements can be integrated into the marketing process.
Pant felt that the concept of entertainment should be redefined and extended to include all those activities and events that elevate a person from the current travails of life.
For detailed viewpoints of the participating panelists, read
TV personalities – good option for advertisers
Entertainment brands are illusory, elusive and magical – Star India COO Sameer Nair
Bollywood producers need specialised marcom agencies
Radio provides unique options to advertisers
Leo Entertainment capitalises on in-film product placements
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.
