Event Coverage
Kido-logy: marketers mantra to kids space
MUMBAI: Its kid’s time at FICCI Frames 2005. ‘Catch them young’ has always been the mantra of brand pundits who are experimenting anything and everything that will market more effectively to kids. And why not, with over one third of the population representing kids there is a huge demand and supply mismatch, which the marketers would like to address. Hungama TV, Animax, Pogo, Nick, and now Disney coming up the war for kid’s space is just warming up.
The session will explore the various issues like what type of programming would appeal to kids, how should advertisers create messages that they can effectively market to the kids, how to associate brands with kids and an understanding of children psychology as far as advertising as a medium is concerned?
To discuss these issues will the some of the top honchos of kid’s space like Turner Entertainment Networks Asia’s Ian Diamond, Branded TV Walt Disney Asia Nicky Parkinson, Lowe’s Sanjai Srivastava and Millard Brown Services’ Prasun Basu.
What makes kids suddenly so attractive as a market?
Children in India constitute 18.7 per cent of the world kids population and one-third of our country’s population is under the age of 15 years. While the UK has over 15 kids channels for less than a tenth of the Indian audience, India has only three foreign kids channels. Also kids are better consumers of advertising. Also their minds are not as cluttered as adult minds and so they can assimilate the message faster. That receptiveness translates into pester power.
In India, the ad spend per year on products meant for kids but purchased by parents, like health drinks, is 12 to 15 per cent of the total Rs 38,000 million.
So, innovative marketing strategies are increasingly targeting kids, directly or indirectly. A growing slew of ads feature kids – think of the Maruti ad with the little Sikh boy, the Hutch ad with the boy and the dog, the LG TV ad with the bespectacled boy, and several Pepsodent ads.
Why reaching kids is different?
Marketing to kids is different as they have certain characteristics, which marketers must keep in mind before creating their campaigns. These are:
Kids love bright color, characters and songs.
Children are secondary viewers and are initiated into TV viewing along with their parents.
Today kids have poor and selective socialisation.
They believe in Instant Gratification.
Parents give them professional attention rather than personal attention.
They have stronger peer bonding vis-?-vis sibling bonding.
Kids want a lot of power and control over things around them.
Kids connect with different role models in different part of their lives.
The Kido-logy session is not one to be missed at FICCI Frames 2005.
Event Coverage
Anime India announces Amazon MX Player as co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata 2026
MUMBAI: Riding high on the success of its blockbuster Mumbai debut, Anime India is accelerating its nationwide expansion with the announcement of Amazon MX Player as the co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata. The partnership marks a significant step forward in the festival’s mission to deliver large-scale, accessible, and fan-first anime experiences across the country.
Scheduled for 14 and 15 February 2026 at the iconic Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, Anime India Kolkata will launch the first regional chapter of what is set to be a year-long, multi-city tour. As the curtain-raiser for the 2026 circuit, the Kolkata edition aims to fuse the energy of global Japanese pop culture with India’s fast-growing community of anime, manga, and pop-culture fans.
A household name in digital entertainment, Amazon MX Player brings unmatched reach and cultural relevance to the Anime India platform. With its expanding focus on anime and youth-driven content, Amazon MX Player’s involvement as co-presenting partner reinforces Anime India’s vision of making anime culture more inclusive breaking barriers of language, geography, and accessibility to connect with fans nationwide.
Anime India Kolkata 2026 will showcase cosplay competitions, interactive zones led by the Indian Gunpla Community, India-39 Vocaloid Community, The Japan Curry, and Adda-o-Otaku by The Otaku Guild. Fans can join tournaments across fighting games, Pokémon VGC, and more. Acclaimed Japanese director Susumu Mitsunaka (Haikyu!!) will attend as guest of honour, appearing in panels and live sessions. Positioned as an immersive celebration of fan culture and industry collaboration, the Kolkata edition marks the beginning of Anime India’s nationwide expansion.
Sharing their perspective on the partnership, Amazon MX Player director Aruna Daryanani expressed, “Anime in India has evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream cultural movement, driven by an increasingly engaged and passionate fanbase. At Amazon MX Player, our focus is on expanding access by bringing anime to audiences across the country for free and in multiple local languages. Our association with Anime India reflects our commitment to supporting the growth of anime in India and deepening connections with fans, while continuing to build Amazon MX Player as a trusted destination for free, high-quality entertainment.”
“Anime India Kolkata is a celebration of how anime has grown beyond entertainment into a powerful cultural and creative force. By bringing fans, creators, and industry leaders onto one shared platform, the festival is helping define the future of pop culture in India,” said Anime India co-founder and director Neha Mehta.
The debut edition of Anime India 2025 in Mumbai attracted over 29,000 fans, quickly cementing its status as a landmark celebration of anime and Japanese pop culture. Riding on this overwhelming response, the Kolkata chapter is projected to draw more than 40,000 visitors across two days, positioning it as one of the biggest anime conventions ever held in eastern India.
Anime India is focused on bringing together fans from across the country to create a truly pan-India celebration of anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, and Japanese culture. With plans to expand into four key metropolitan hubs in 2026—east (Kolkata), north (Delhi), west (Mumbai), and south (Hyderabad)—the festival seeks to deliver globally benchmarked experiences while supporting and uplifting creators, artists, and fan communities throughout India.
