iWorld
Asian Sponsorship News partners with Paul Poole for Thailand market
MUMBAI: Independent branded content and sponsorship intelligence service Asia Sponsorship News (ASN) has partnered with Paul Poole (South East Asia) Company Limited (PP(SEA)) for the Thailand market. ASN relaunched with a sophisticated analytics product in March and has now begun to expand its business into local markets.
ASN founder and CEO Ben Heyhoe Flint said, “The partnership allows us to deepen our research capabilities in Thailand, which means our customers get richer insights. It’s that simple. We’re delighted that they share our vision of creating rigour for the industry.”
PP (SEA) founder, chairman and managing director Paul Poole commented “Despite the turbulent times of late, Thailand is a fast growth sponsorship market and has overtaken Singapore in the last quarter for domestic spend. We see a lot of potential for ASN in the local market where brands and rights holders need rigour to buy, sell or plan their sponsorship activity more effectively.”
Since the end of 2013 the sponsorship market in Thailand has suffered the postponement of several major sponsorship platform. Yet prior to that, sponsorship spend had rallied 43 per cent in 2013- according to ASN data arguably due to Thailand’s environment of high media inflation which had forced advertisers to look at alternative ways of communicating to consumers.
Flint also confirmed that more partnerships are in the immediate pipeline for ASN in other Asian markets.
iWorld
Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
