Event Coverage
Now’s the time for planning to bring big value into media plans, says Mindshare Fulcrum MD Vikram Sakhuja
We continue the countdown to FRAMES 2003 with an interview with Mindshare Fulcrum MD Vikram Sakhuja. At the convention, he will speak on ‘Advertising : How to make the rupee go further’.
With massive media fragmentation having set in, how can advertisers maximise their media buy?
Now’s the time for planning to bring big value into Media Plans. By clever targeting, one can beat fragmentation. Let me give you a big tip. By targeting heavy and moderate viewers of TV and leaving out light viewers, one can fight fragmentation very effectively.
There’s a ton of saving in that for advertisers. The other way to combat fragmentation is being served on a platter by the government with CAS. Come July 14, if the government has its way, there will be three segments of TV viewers: non C&S (terrestrial), FTA and CAS. The fragmentation of the kind seen today will reduce for a big chunk of C&S.
What are the innovations one can expect in the future?
It would be pretty ordinary of me to predict the next great innovation. By definition, there is a creative leap involved in Innovations- one that doesn’t follow a time series. Having said that, I see too much media innovation these days around an attempt to break clutter via intrusive print positions / sizes or the nth cricket creepy crawler on screen.
The way I would like to see innovation going is the good old fashioned method of starting with a brand communication and then finding a new way to use the channel/ medium to say that message as it intersects with the consumer.
What’s ahead as interactivity and multi platform opportunities seek significant roles?
I am not taking a forward position on Interactivity / Multi-Platform opportunities just as yet. Why do I say that? For interactivity to happen with critical mass, the vision would be to have enough fully wired houses (and eventually fully wireless houses) that have a common gateway that links up to everything from communication and entertainment to refrigerators and heating.
For adoption to happen, I see three big issues: For technology to be adopted it has to be cheap, easy to understand / use and fast. The associate technologies also play a role. To that end, I see increasing adoption of individual platforms, but I don’t just as yet see a multi-platform opportunity happening fast.
The second issue is consumer based. This requires high disposable incomes plus a propensity to invest in technology related communication / entertainment. I see both being barriers to mass adoption. Third are the broadcast economics where I believe that there is a high entry cost especially in hardware, but also content. We are talking targeted homes here, and from a broadcaster’s standpoint, I see the investment being offset only by a long term pay back, and that too if the content is successfully syndicated.
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.
