Madison
Madison forays into in-film advt, film marketing
MUMBAI: Sam Balsara’s Madison Communications has announced its entry into the field of in-film advertising and marketing of films and music.
For the same, Madison has acquired a new firm operating called TeamWorks fp&e. The new company with an authorised share capital of Rs 10 million will operate under the name of Madison Teamworks FP&e (MATES).
TeamWorks FP&e, which was the brainchild of Darshana Goradia (ex-Sony TV) and Sooraj Bhalla (executive producer of the film Sharaarat), already has business in hand of over Rs 30 million and has 14 clients like LML, Frito Lays, Reebok, Castrol, etc.
TeamWorks FP&e is currently working on several films including AB Corp’s Virudh, Creative Eye’s Aabra-ka-Daabra, Entertainment One’s Waqt and various films from Ram Gopal Varma’s – The Factory.
Says Balsara, “We and our clients are constantly looking for new ways to reach the consumer in an impact full manner and with least cost. The high cost of conventional media accompanied by the growing clutter has made in-film advertising an exciting and viable opportunity. On the other hand producers who are also constantly under pressure of making more lavish productions and then finding ways and means of meeting such expenditure are now more open to commercial exploitation of their properties. In keeping with the Madison philosophy, we will offer a highly specialised expert service in this area in a completely transparent manner, which should be welcome by both clients and film producers.”
He further added, “Between Madison, Darshana and Sooraj, I believe we have what it takes to make a successful foray in this area: An understanding of brands and their requirements, client trust and confidence, creative abilities to weave brand stories into film plots, an understanding of producers’ concerns and beliefs, a knowledge of what is happening in the film market and finally selling skills. Over the last few months we have had several discussions with Darshana and Sooraj and I was extremely impressed with their entrepreneurial spirit and with what they had achieved in a short time with very little resources.”
TeamWorks FP&e has successfully managed to get Shahrukh Khan to wear Levis jeans with Reebok shoes and have a cup of coffee at Café Coffee Day or bite a pizza at Pizza Hut. All this happened in the film Main Hoon Naa, where the mentioned advertisers experienced the medium called cinema through the relevant in-film advertising.
Consider another example of their work, in a film called Kyun Ho Gaya Naa, where Vivek Oberoi is shown as a rally enthusiast and hence his introduction in the film is wearing an Overall with Lancer, Castrol, Ceat and Cafe Coffee Day logos. The extensive rally sequence saw Oberoi zooming ahead in an interestingly designed Mitsubishi Lancer Car, with a pit-stop where the Ceat Radials were changed and Castrol GTX Magnatec was poured into the winners car with close shots of the product pack and the logos.
MATES is planning on rendering its services in the area of film promotions and marketing as well. Says Goradia, who will head MATES as CEO, “I am sure that advertiser spends in this area are going to grow by leaps and bounds in the near future and our joint venture with Madison enables us to operate on a wider canvas and with adequate resources to get a good share of this market. Madison is like a dream come true, not only because of its enormous size and reputation but also because of its liberated entrepreneurial ideology. I have dealt with Madison Media when I was with Sony and know the organisation and have got to respect it for its objective and professional outlook with a focus on deliveries.”
Bhalla, who will be director – content, says, “I believe the new venture will turn under-utilised resources of content into profit for a large number of producers and they should welcome our move. Also, we will be now in capacity to inculcate a corporate and professional culture in the fraternity, which is much needed. On the whole, the marriage with Madison will facilitate entry into untapped areas and markets, quicker and at less cost.”
MATES will be the seventh specialised unit of Madison; other units being Creative, Media, Outdoor, Rural, PR and Retail.
NEW DELHI: Starting the new year on a bright note, Madison Media has bagged the media account of Hyundai Motor India (HMI). The advertising budget of HMI is Rs 600 million. The account was previously handled by Zenith Media.
“Madison’s USP has always been what we do for our clients and the impact managed for media money. And to me there was a fit with the kind of impact, which Hyundai was looking for. I think we won the account due to our dedicated team, servicing and turnaround time,” said Madison general manager Basabdatta Chowdhuri.
For the record, Hyundai chose Madison after two round of presentations. While the initial round was more about credentials, the final round, comprising four agencies, was based on a specific brief. “There is going to be a major change in media strategy in the coming year and the client is looking for an overhaul in its media delivery,” said an industry source.
On the new business, Chowdhuri added, “Hyundai is an aggressive and active account. The company has done tremendously well, celebrating its fastest roll-out of 500,000 cars here. A lot of action is expected this year.”
This is Madison’s first win after Chowdhuri took over as general manager of Madison Delhi office late last year.
