At the Pitch CMO Summit, Sushant Sreeram, India Marketing Head, Xiaomi, spoke on ‘The innovative route of marketing via consumer communities’
Animated show ‘Chhota Bheem’ has been winning kids over week after week. Seeing the success of the show, kids’ channel Pogo now plans to take it to various platforms such as on-ground promotions, online games, mobile downloads, and 360 degree activities, among others.
Cashing in on its ‘Back to School’ initiative, Britannia Industries Ltd had introduced the Britannia ‘Back to School’ goodies, which could be obtained on buying certain packs of Tiger, Milk Bikis and Cakes. Goodies like bag tags, rulers, book labels and stickers, stationery and lunch boxes were given away free with every pack.
Starting from June 3, 2010, DMK-backed Kalaignar Television Network has added one more channel – Chithiram TV – to its bouquet. Chithiram, a 24-hour info-edu-tainment kids’ channel, will compete with Sun Network’s kids’ channel, Chutti TV, and other channels in the domain.
Walt Disney Television International India is rebranding its Jetix/Toon Disney platform to Disney XD, a boy-focused, girl-inclusive entertainment brand for kids in the 6-14 age group, on Children’s Day, November 14, 2009, from 12 noon. Disney XD’s content will be marked by themes of adventure, accomplishment, gaming, music and sports.
Banking on the ‘Disney Difference’, Walt Disney Company India has set up a specialised unit – Disney Media Solutions & Alliances. The attempt is to bring together all its properties under the same roof and be able to offer clients solutions across Disney platforms. Disney officials believe that this step will play a key role in Disney’s growth map in India.
exchange4media caught up with Duncan Morris, Vice President, Research and Marketing Development, Turner International Asia Pacific Ltd, on the occasion of the unveiling of Cartoon Network’s kids’ lifestyle research titled ‘New Generations’. Morris had quite a few interesting insights to share, especially regarding Indian kids.
ACK Media, one of India’s leading entertainment and education companies for young audiences, and Turner International have entered into a strategic content partnership to produce two animated films and 26 half-hour episodes of the Amar Chitra Katha stories. The first of the two films is slated to be aired in the first quarter of 2010.
Kalaignar Television Network is gearing to enter the regional kids’ television space with Chithram, which will compete with Sun Network’s kids’ channel Chutti TV. Preceding the launch of the kids’ channel will be another GEC, Kalaignar Asia, which will cater to the Tamil Diaspora in South East Asian countries.
POGO has been moving away from airing a lot of fiction towards providing a mixed bag with its POGO Original Productions, talent awards, games, movies, format shows and animation. In keeping with its strategy, the channel has launched ‘FAQ’ (Frequently Asked Questions), which is the 10th POGO Original Productions.
Walt Disney Television India is all geared for the new season of ‘Hannah Montana’, which is breaking in April 2009, and the subsequent theatrical release of the movie on May 10, 2009. Walt Disney has got busy building the presence of the brand across domains and touch points.
The third edition of Disney’s KidSense has unveiled the new tween ‘codes’ that are replacing the old tenets for tweens in India. These emerging codes are visible in the three Cs of tweens’ lives – Culture, Clan and Core. Disney’s KidSense 3, the qualitative study, attempts to ‘sense’ the truth and trends of the tweens.
Jetix is all set to host the Jetix Action League 2.0 in association with Boost in January 2009. The initiative will reward the five best school teams across five cities with a grant of Rs 1 lakh to each team and a Jetix Action League Games Trophy.
Star Plus is all set to introduce an awards show just for kids and by the kids. The Surf Excel LI’LStar Awards Show will air on Sunday, December 14 at 1 pm. The show has been produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment.
After fortifying its presence in cyberspace with portals in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, Chandamama, the 61-year old children’s magazine, is now going for the silver screen. Chandamama India and Toonz Animation have joined hands for a full length animation film based on a prime property from the library of Chandamama.
Maneesh Pharmaceuticals Ltd has tied up with Disney Consumer Products (DCP) to market its Smyle range of baby care products under the Disney Baby brand. The company has entered into an exclusive licensing pact with DCP to develop, manufacture and market the entire Disney Baby care range of products for South Asia and India.
Malt-based health drink Boost has launched in its new avatar with ‘Power Energizers’. The new Boost will be supported by innovative packaging, a fresh new look and design as well as a new brand campaign – ‘More I Play, More I Learn’ – re-iterating the importance of sports in teaching valuable lessons.
Yash Raj Films has embarked on a marketing drive for its first ever animation venture, ‘Roadside Romeo’, which tells the story of an adventurous canine. As part of this drive, Yash Raj Films has tied up with Disney Consumer Products (DCP) to launch a range of merchandise products based on the film.
Disney Channel is presenting a 3D experience for the first time on Indian television with the premiere of ‘Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of both worlds’ concert movie in 3D on September 28 at 10 am. The movie gets up close and personal with the hugely popular teen star Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana.
Pogo is launching a new season of the ‘Skatoony’ quiz show on September 21. The show would be aired on Sundays at 11:00 am. In line with Pogo’s endeavour to diversify its bouquet of original productions, ‘Skatoony’ is a quiz show which showcases children competing with cartoon characters for real prizes.
Kids Media India (KMI), a subsidiary of Spacetoon, has inked an exclusive licensing partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) for the latter’s merchandise. The partnership is expected to propel annual revenues generated from WWE-licensed consumer goods in India to $10 million in the next three years.
Disney Channel is launching ‘Break Time Masti Time’, based on the storytelling format, to mirror the fun, laughter and antics of 14-year olds during their school breaks. The programme will go on air from October and would be aired between 6 pm and 7 pm.
Placing brands strategically in various films is passé, it is now time for brand mascots to take a bow in films. Britannia’s Treat mascot, Funtoon, will make his ‘debut’ as an animated character in the forthcoming children’s film ‘Hari Puttar - A Comedy of Terrors’.
Nick along with Boost has announced ‘Let’s Just Play’ – an initiative to motivate kids and their parents to work towards a healthy and playful lifestyle. The ‘Let’s Just Play’ movement will kick off with an initiative where Nick would go blank for 30 minutes on September 27 to encourage kids to step out and play outdoors.
For kids’ channels, festive days are back again. With Friendship Day, Raksha Bandhan, Independence Day and Janmashtami round the corner, Cartoon Network, Pogo, Disney, Jetix and Nick have come up with various initiatives and programmes to ring in the celebrations for the young and young at heart alike.
WorldKids Foundation, a non-profit organisation, has joined hands with Kotak Mahindra Bank to showcase the best of national and international children’s films for a wide ranging age group from eight years till young adults of 21 years. The WorldKids International Film Festival is being held in Delhi from July 25 to 31.
Pogo is ready to launch its eighth original production, a game show called ‘Hole in the Wall’. The innovative game show format will be seen for the first time on Indian television on July 28 at 6 pm and will be on air Monday to Friday. ‘Hole in the Wall’ will engage the audience with the challenging fumbles and stumbles of the participants.
Chandamama, the 61-year old children’s magazine, is now going ahead in its cyber avatar. The publication has launched its online portals in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. It already has a portal in English and will soon launch websites in Marathi and Oriya languages.
No, the Jetix Premier League (JPL) is not a cricket tournament for kids, but a one-of-a-kind initiative where viewers will form their individual on-air teams to compete in the Jetix Premier League played on the channel. The channel will tour 600 schools and engage four lakh kids across six metros.
With the Beijing Olympics less than a month away, the buzz around the world’s greatest sporting extravaganza is increasing. Worldwide Olympic Partner Samsung is organising a mega quiz contest on Olympic Games for school children, titled Samsung Olympic Games Quest 2008. The contest is expected to see participation of nearly 1,000 schools.
DQ Entertainment International and MoonScoop Group have entered into a strategic alliance under which both companies would co-produce at least five TV series and two feature films (animated and/or live action) for worldwide distribution, with estimated global costs of over $100 million.
Hyundai wants to catch ‘em early. The car maker has launched an initiative to educate young minds about Road Safety, wherein students would be encouraged to present imaginative and interesting ideas by ‘Sketching the i’ as in Hyundai i10. The programme commenced on June 16 and will continue till the third week of August.
Following its Nick Fundoo Superstar activity, Nick has now announced the launch of its new property, ‘Nick Toon Jockey’. The initiative is to give an opportunity to kids to be a ‘Toon Jockey’, who would be the face of the channel and represent Nick across its various on-air and on-ground initiatives.
Portico New York has launched its special home furnishing collection of bed and bath linen based on the hugely popular Cartoon Network original series Ben 10. The special Ben 10 collection from Portico comprises bed-sheets, cushions, beach towels and pillows.
In a bid to tap the growing kids’ market, Reebok, under its Reebok Juniors brand, has introduced an entire of sports gear comprising apparel and footwear. Reebok Juniors has also launched its first communication, ‘Made to Play’, to support this launch. The range is targeted at kids in the 4-14 age-group.
Augmenting its original productions bouquet, Pogo is premiering three new original productions for kids this summer. ‘Sunaina’, a family sitcom, will air on Sundays at 10.00 am. ‘M.A.D. 6.0’ returns on Pogo on June 22, while the second season of ‘Cambala Investigation Agency’ is premiering on June 14.
Pushed to the margins of the society, these children might not have much to look forward to. Nevertheless, SOS Children’s Villages of India provided some succor to the deprived children, organising a musical concert, ‘Music 4 Kids by Kids’, at the Capital on May 21.
Surviving in the time of IPL and how. Vijay TV’s ‘Summerfest’ initiative for kids has delivered for the channel. The programme initiative that was kicked off on April 21 is still going strong for the channel with an exciting line-up of popular English and Hindi kids flicks dubbed in Tamil.
Zee Cinema has launched a special Summer Festival for kids featuring the best of Bollywood and Hollywood movies. The channel has roped in Darsheel Safary of ‘Taare Zameen Par’ fame for its promotional and communication campaign. The festival kicks off on May 19 at 12.30 pm, and movies would be aired Monday to Friday.
Harried parents looking at ways to keep their kids engaged during this summer vacation can look to Amar Chitra Katha. The publishing house has introduced selected collection of 60 Amar Chitra Katha books this summer, including epics, mythology, Indian classics, fables, folklore, brave hearts and visionaries.
Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC) has tied up with Toon Club for a new course in animation and creativity for kids. The new venture will be co-branded as 'MAAC Junior-Toon Club' and is scheduled to be launched in the last week of May.
Nick is back with its Nick Fundoo Superstar initiative following its success last summer. While last year Mona ‘Jassi’ Singh shook a leg with the Fundoo kids, this year Mandira Bedi is set to groove with four Fundoo kids for the music video. Well-known Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan will make Bedi and the kids dance to her tunes.
Following the success of ‘Pyjama Pakdo Contest’ and ‘Revenge of the Pyjamas’, Hungama TV returns with another version of interactive contest, ‘Pyjamagadh Ke Dholay’. The channel has also lined up new episodes of ‘Kiteretsu and Tensai Bakabon’ and a new show called ‘Backyard Science’ for the vacation season.
Kappa, the Italian fashion sports wear brand introduced in India by LMG Brands, has launched its sports wear range for kids – Kappa Under 14. The brand has also marked the launch of Kappa Under 14 by extending support to Arjun Maini, the Under-12 National Karting Champion.
Seventymm, India’s largest movie rental company, is presenting a bundle of frolic and fun for toonagers, tweenagers and teenagers to enjoy this summer vacation in the comfort of their homes. The website is running a special ‘Summer Camp’, with a whole range of movies, quizzes and videos.
India’s ‘New Generation’ in the 7-14 age group are wired, concerned about climate changes, want peace, and a whopping 74 per cent kids chose India as their favourite country over America. Cartoon Network’s New Generations survey, which was conducted across 14 cities, sure is an eye opener.
With summer vacations round the corner, kids’ channels are planning an array of shows and activities to keep them indoors. Disney Channel has unveiled new shows, new episodes, one mega contest and an interactive dance segment as part of its summer bonanza.
After numerous games under its belt, Zapak.com has now joined hands with a friendly ghost. The online gaming portal and BR Films ‘Bhootnath’, starring Amitabh Bachchan, have come together to launch gaming merchandise for the movie and keeping kids in mind.
Catch ‘em young seems to be the mantra for Fame India Ltd, which has created a unique concept called ‘Fame Reel Kids’, which is a five-day workshop that would be held in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata. Fame Reel Kids would give children in the 7-15 age group an opportunity to make films and also act in them.
With summer vacations not far away, parents can turn to Nick to keep their children indoors on hot summer afternoons. The kids’ entertainment channel has lined up a fun-filled Nick Summer Fiesta that includes exciting shows and movie premieres.
He won over the entire nation with his sensitive portrayal of a dyslexic child in Aamir Khan’s ‘Taare Zameen Par’, now Darsheel Safary is out to woo kids to make Horlicks part of their daily lives as brand ambassador. Safary will be seen in his first TVC soon for Horlicks and would be an integral part of the future campaigns of the brand.
For all Indian tweens aspiring to be pop stars, Disney Channel is offering a platform through the Hannah Montana - The Big Pop Star Dream contest. Disney Channel would fly the four semi-finalists to Mumbai to give them a complete makeover and record the ‘Hannah Montana’ title track in Hindi. The winner would be flown to the US to meet Hannah Montana herself.
We have got used to seeing a variety of in-film brand placements, but Britannia Treat has gone a step ahead, placing its brand mascot ‘Funtoon’ in upcoming movie for kids ‘Hari Puttar, A Comedy of Terrors’. ‘Funtoon’ won’t remain in the background, but is said to play a vital role in the film.
Pro-biotic seems to be the new health mantra. First came curd and lassi, and now drinks. In a bid to expand its pro-biotic portfolio Mother Dairy has launched Nutrifit, a fermented pro-biotic drink, in Delhi and NCR. Nutrifit has been positioned as an immunity-building drink for kids.
Buoyed by the success of ‘Little Masters’, a reality show for children below the age of 13, Jaya TV launched ‘Little Masters Season-2’ on February 23. The show, which will be aired every Saturday and Sunday between 9 pm and 10 pm, aims to provide a platform for children to showcase their singing and dancing talents.
Cartoon Network and 3P Learning, an online mathematics learning programme for schoolkids, have joined hands to promote World Maths Day. World Maths Day is web-based event where students from across the globe compete with each other to solve mental arithmetic problems in a multi-player game environment. The event is scheduled for March 5, 2008.
Britannia’s popular biscuit brand Tiger Biscuit now claims to pack in ‘1 kilo banana ka iron ka zor’, thus making it a healthy snack option. And to get this point across and announce the new variant, Britannia has unveiled a new campaign featuring its brand mascot, Mister Tiger, in an animated avatar to appeal to its primarily kids TG.
After consolidating its position in the kid’s television space with Chutti TV, Sun Network is set to roll out kid’s channels in Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada languages. The Malayalam channel will be called Kochu TV, while the Telugu channel will be known as Khushi TV. The Kannada channel has been christened Chintu TV.
Tired of old Mac, how about Pizza Hut as your little one’s birthday party venue? Pizza Hut has joined hands with Cartoon Network to organise Birthday Bang theme parties for kids at select Pizza Hut stores across India. And to entertain them would be popular Cartoon Network characters, The Powerpuff Girls or the cool dude Johnny Bravo.
Nat Geo, which had launched the ‘Nat Geo Junior Hunt’ in July 2007, has culminated with the announcement of the winner – Neha Jain of Birla High School, Kolkata. The ‘Nat Geo Junior Hunt’ was seeking India’s ‘superkid’, who was curious, adventurous and smart. The winner will host Nat Geo Junior shows on the channel for three months.
Hindi GEC 9X is planning to beef up its weekend offering with a new children’s reality-based format ‘Chak De Bachche’, in a bid to draw in a younger audience.
Nick is launching an innovative contest, ‘Nick Bhoot Bhagao’, from February 11 to March 7, 2008. The channel’s latest initiative is supported by a five-city school contact programme and a mass media campaign. ‘Nick Bhoot Bhagao’ contest will see Nick-toon heroes flexing their comic muscle as they battle ghostly intruders.
Forging ahead in its mission to provide the latest to today’s digital natives, Cartoon Network has enhanced its website, www.cartoonnetworkindia.com, by making it more viewer-focused, interactive and immersive. The enhanced website includes features such as video-on-demand, user-generated content, blogs, and gaming functions.
Turner Entertainment Holdings Asia Pacific (Turner) has entered into a strategic partnership with web infrastructure company Outblaze Ltd, creating a powerful digital partnership, TurnOut Ventures Ltd, in the Asia Pacific region.
Disney Channel will premiere its original animated series ‘Phineas and Ferb’ on February 1, 2008 at 11 am. Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, ‘Phineas and Ferb’ is an imaginative comedy from noted animation producers Dan Povenmire (‘Family Guy’) and Jeff ‘Swampy’ Marsh (‘The Simpsons’).
HIT Entertainment, independent children’s entertainment producer and rights owner, has announced another strategic partnership with Turner International India. This agreement will extend their existing association of television rights to include licensing representation of the company’s popular pre-school properties ‘Bob the Builder’ and ‘Thomas & Friends’.
With the country in the grip of patriotic fervour this Republic Day, kids’ channels are out to celebrate the day with some ‘new age’ toon heroes. Nick will air non-stop adventures of Ninja Hattori from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm on January 26, while Cartoon Network will premier the animated movie ‘Ben 10, Secret of Omnitrix’ at 11.00 am.
A sports day with Jetix came alive on January 19, 2008 at the Nizam Grounds in Hyderabad. The tournament engaged students aged 7-14 years in an unconventional game play, which involved teamwork along with physical and mental skills. The Jetix Action League plans to go to Chennai and Bangalore after this.
Hungama TV’s ‘Pyjama party’ is on. Boosted by the popularity of its ‘Pyajama Pakdo’ contest, Hungama TV has launched another on-ground activity with the channel’s popular toon characters Shinchan and Doraemon visiting Mumbai in search of ‘Sabse Bada Pyjamas’. The toon duo would also tour Ahmedabad, Delhi and Kolkata later.
Cartoon Network, the traditional leader of the Kids’ genre has had a tough time in 2007, as did sister channel Pogo and Walt Disney’s Disney Channel. Disney’s most recent acquisition, Hungama TV, however, has maintained its shares, and that is good news for the channel, making it a lead player in many weeks. There is good news for Nick, too, on the ratings front.
Disney Publishing Worldwide (India), a division of The Walt Disney Company (India), has entered a licensing agreement with Popular Prakashan to publish Disney Storybooks in Indian languages. Already eight titles have been launched in Hindi and Marathi, while a title would be launched in Malayalam in March this year.
After the stupendous success of ‘Hanuman’, the monkey god has returned to enthrall viewers again in ‘Return of Hanuman’. In order to build a greater connect with kids and adults alike, Jump Games has launched a mobile game based on this animated feature film from Percept Picture Company.
As part of its initiative to boost sales, Kellogg’s Chocos has tied up with Xbox to offer specially designed Xbox handheld mini-games – Mutants, Car Racing and Reactors. These games would be available with select 650 gms packs of the cereal, which are priced at Rs 225.
It’s Christmas time, the half-yearly exams are over, and kids are looking forward to their winter break. What better time than now to celebrate the spirit of Yuletide with one’s favourite cartoon characters. Kids’ channels POGO and Cartoon Network have a fun-filled mix of shows and movies to keep kids engaged.
Marvel Entertainment, home to some of the most well-known superheroes, including Spider-Man, The X-Men, The Hulk, and Captain America, has assigned Kids Media India (KMI) to represent their licensing, merchandising, publishing and promotional rights in India. KMI is a subsidiary of Dubai-based Spacetoon Media.
DishTV and gaming service provider Visiware have jointly launched Minikids TV, a fun games channel for pre-schoolers, where the games are navigated by animated characters that help kids not only enjoy themselves but also learn to master their various skills at the same time.
This December, Hungama TV intends to celebrate the festive spirit with the launch of new shows, movies and contests. In keeping with the channel’s personality, Hungama TV will introduce its new initiative called ‘Santabhai’.
The Disney Channel premiered its original movie, ‘High School Musical 2’ on December 7 at 6 pm. The channel will also announce the eight finalists of ‘My School Rocks’, the inter-school dance competition inspired by the movie, during the Sunday telecast of ‘High School Musical 2’ on December 9 at 11 am.
Worldkids Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of ‘entertainment with a purpose’, has launched the ‘Kotak Worldkids International Film Festival’ in Mumbai. The festival is showcasing the best of international and national award winning animation, documentaries, shorts and feature films at the weeklong festival from November 30-December 6, 2007.
Pogo has announced the fourth edition of its original production ‘Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2007’. The awards consist of multiple categories within two main sections – ‘Pogo Kids Awards’ that rewards kids who accomplish extraordinary talent, and ‘Pogo Voice Awards’ that empowers kids with the right of choosing their favourite icons.
Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) Media Pvt. Ltd, an entertainment and education company for young audiences, has acquired a controlling stake in children’s publications ‘Amar Chitra Katha’ and ‘Tinkle’ from India Book House (IBH). The start-up company will launch five offerings including ‘Amar Chitra Katha Illustrated Classics’, the ‘Tinkle’ family of magazines, the ACK online store, TinkleOnline.com and a set of proprietary characters.
Reebok, along with its brand ambassador Mahendra Singh Dhoni, felicitate kids who showcased their creativity in the recently concluded Reebok ‘Paint your T-shirt’ contest. Winners of the contest were awarded Reebok sports scholarship and a pair of Reebok shoes every year till they completed school.
Extending its confidence challenge strategy, Cadbury Bournvita has launched a new commercial titled ‘Bournvita Folk’. The TVC showcases an interesting ‘jugalbandi’ between talents from a metro and small town. O&M is the creative agency behind the TVC.
Mudra Health & Lifestyle has launched a website, www.chidia.com, a first-of-its-kind in the health and lifestyle communication space. It is a move towards Mudra’s vision of creating a platform for diabetic children and their parents to help in better understanding the disease.
This Children’s Day, kids channels have lined up a slew of programming as a special treat, with back-to-back animated films.
November promises to be a magical time, especially for kids, with HBO showcasing the exploits of the boy wizard Harry Potter throughout the month. Starting November 13, HBO will air the immensely popular Harry Potter films every Tuesday at 9 pm, with the movie that started it all – ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’.
This season, Disney plans to captivate the attention of kids with a new series, ‘Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive’. The series is currently being aired from Monday to Friday at 5 pm on the Jetix slot.
Close on the heels of the Power and the Glory survey, which studied the Global Indian, JWT Brand Chakras’ latest study focusses on the payoffs that mothers want from their children and vice-versa. The insight mining exercise was done at eight centers – Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Thrissur – and covered SEC A, B mothers with children aged between 8 years and 16 years.
Times Music has announced the release of soundtrack from Disney Channel’s movie ‘High School Musical 2’. The soundtrack has been produced and composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and remixed by DJ Suketu.
Disney Channel brings to India ‘My School Rocks’, a music and dance competition inspired by Disney’s original movie ‘High School Musical’. The winning school team will get to star in a music video of one of the songs from ‘High School Musical’, which will be specially choreographed by Shiamak Davar and aired on Disney Channel.
Everest Brand Solutions has launched a new TVC for Parle’s Kachcha Mango Bite, one of its latest offerings from the company’s confectionery unit. The insight for the TVC has been taken from the fact that children love to irritate others by imitating others.
Percept Picture Company (PPC) and Microsoft have joined hands to make available the trailers and other content of the animation movie ‘Hanuman Returns’ on the gaming console Xbox Live.
POGO and Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE), the specialised licensing and merchandising division of Cartoon Network, have devised a unique way to promote a new toy called ‘Buchki’. The toy finds a place in the forthcoming B R Films' 'Bhootnath'. This is not the only Bollywood property that CNE would be working for. CNE has already got into a Licensing and Merchandising (L&M) deal for Harman Baweja's 'Love Story 2050'.
Hungama TV has beefed up its comedy offering with the launch of ‘Kiteretsu’. Launched on October 22, this popular Japanese animation airs Monday-Friday at 6.30 pm.
Some of the findings of the recently released Walt Disney India and GroupM survey ‘KidSense 2007’ show that while television is still the key driver for the way kids perceive a brand, other media such print and Internet also play a role in the kids making a final decision.
Disney Channel plans to add fun to the Diwali festivity with its family entertainer, the unique ‘Diwali Dum Duma Dumdum’ contest. The contest will be on air during the Diwali season every evening from 5-8 pm on Disney Channel.
Nick is all set to build up some cricket fever with its ‘Nick Chak De Ninja’ contest, which kicks off from October 18. The channel has roped in cricketer Ajay Jadeja to promote the contest, along with one of its popular cartoon characters, Ninja Hattori. The contest will give a chance to 10 lucky winners to cheer for Team India during the Indo-Pak ODI match to be played at Gwalior on November 15.
Close on the heels of announcing new shows to spruce up their programme line-up, Cartoon Network and POGO have unveiled innovative marketing initiatives keeping in mind the shows’ DNA and further highlighting the their USP.
Kids can look forward to more entertaining times in front of their TV sets with Turner Entertainment Networks Asia sprucing up their programme line-up with a slew of original productions and formats for India spanning action animated series, quiz series, a family sitcom and a sci-fi show.
The Walt Disney Company (India) and GroupM’s proprietary research KidSense 2007 has just been released. In the second year of this research, more parameters have been added, and the broad takeaway is that kids today have become more than just decision influencers, and parents see them as consultants in many brand purchase decisions.
The Walt Disney Company (India) and GroupM’s proprietary research KidSense 2007 has just been released.
Disney Channel original movie ‘High School Musical’ is set to sing and dance its way into Indian television screens in its original English version on September 30 at 11 am. The movie will be followed by ‘High School Musical: The Concert’.
CBeebies, the pre-school channel from BBC Worldwide, marks its entry in India with a strong line-up of new programming this festive season, as six internationally acclaimed titles arrive on the channel.
Disney has planned new programming initiatives. The channel has aired a new show ‘Johnny and the Sprites’ that premiered on September 17. While under its Jetix time band, the channel will premiere the film ‘Flubber’ on September 23.
Delhi turned into a musical battlefield for the grand finale of Pogo Funtakshari 2007 championship. In sync with Pogo’s mission statement of encouraging, engaging and educating kids, Pogo Funtakshari recognises children’s passion for music and singing and offers them a platform to showcase their singing talent.
Kids channel Nick has launched a new on-air contest ‘Aflatoon Afternoon’ from September 10, in the time slot of 12 noon-3 pm. The channel plans to attract new viewers and keep themselves engage with kids all the time through various contests and merchandise.
International humanitarian organisation Right To Play, Adidas and the Adi Dassler Fund have come together to launch the Red Ball initiative in the Asian region. The initiative’s purpose is to raise funds and create awareness for Right To Play programmes, which bring the power of sport and play to the world’s most vulnerable children.
Animax, the youth animated channel has announced the premiere of two new shows – ‘Magikano’ and ‘God(?) Save Our King!’ – as part of their new programming band, Themed Nights, called ‘Wacky Thursdays’.
Following the success of the first season of ‘Gali Gali Sim Sim’, the Indianised version of ‘Sesame Street’, producers of the series have decided to go for a second season. The series is co-produced by Sesame Workshop, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia Pacific, with Miditech as production partner.
On the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami, Cartoon Network will showcase four Krishna movies. As part of this programming special on Janmashtami, Cartoon Network will premiere ‘Krishna: Kansa Vadh’, the final feature of the four-part Krishna movie series on September 4 at 12 noon.
On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, marketers like Cadbury and Mattel Toys plan their innovation having the main TG as kids.
Forthcoming movie ‘Dhamaal’ has tied up for its promotions with the children’s channel Nick. As part of the initiative, the starcast of the film visited the Nick Toon stars.
Following the success of ‘High School Musical’ and providing content that connects with children and families, Disney Channel has localised the sequel of ‘High School Musical 2’ and its soundtrack. The soundtrack will be releases across the Asia Pacific region on August 14.
Hungama TV has added more laughs to its mad fun with ‘Tensai Bakabon’. The show, which premiered on August 7, will air Monday to Friday at 6.00 pm.
Keeping in mind the growing younger tech savvy clientele, Lenovo and Disney Consumer Products have unveiled a limited edition Power Rangers Mystic Force themed desktop.
A new global study undertaken by MTV and Nickelodeon, in association with Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions, explains how children and young people interact with digital technology. It also challenges traditional assumptions about their relationships with digital technology while examining the impact of culture, age and gender on technology use.
Zee Jagran will premiere ‘Bal Hanuman’, a 3-D animation film, on July 28. The film attempts to break the old theme of Hanuman’s contribution to Lord Ram’s victory in Lanka.
Jetix has extended its offerings to over 600 schools across 20 cities in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, with the launch of ‘Jetix Action Academy’. The academy is a school contact programme modelled on a mock military boot camp to enthrall over four lakh children in South India.
Depot, the books, music, gifts and stationery retail format of Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd, has exclusively tied up with Small World Creation, UK, to launch interactive books for children that will be sold exclusively across Depot outlets across the country.
The Bhaskar Group has launched its fortnightly children’s magazine ‘Young Bhaskar’ in English following its incessant demand among its young readers. This launch follows the success of ‘Bal Bhaskar’, which was introduced a month ago.
With the success of Bournvita Quiz Contest on Sony Television, Cadbury India is back with another new concept of Advertising Funded Programme (AFP) in the kids’ domain. The new format is based on a reality show called ‘Bournvita Confidence Academy’ and premiered on July 15 on Pogo.
Pogo, the children’s channel from Turner, has launched ‘Pogo Funtakshari’. Starting July 15, children across India can tune in to Pogo to participate in the show that will be aired on Sundays at 10 am and 12 pm.
Hungama TV brings back its ‘Hungama TV Captains Hunt’ in its fourth edition. The channel will tour schools across Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Indore and Jaipur to engage children across India in the hunt.
Cartoon Network is introducing a new block – Boomerang – featuring classic toons which appeal to a wider audience irrespective of their age.
Kids Media India, part of the Dubai-based SpaceToon Media International Group, has announced its licensing and merchandising business in India and SAARC countries with a slew of properties. Among these is the animated character ‘Doraemon’.
Following its summer programming line-up and various activities, July will experience a weekend dose with Disney Channel’s movie line-up. The channel will air a host of movies every Saturday and Sunday.
Perfetti Van Melle India, the manufacturer of Alpenliebe, has roped in Kajol as its brand ambassador for the first time. The new TVC that features the actress has been done by McCann Erickson.
The latest Hollywood flick ‘Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix’ has roused huge attention among the media players. exchange4media.com looks at the movie’s various media tie-ups and the lack of brand associations.
Cartoon Network’s new live action series ‘Sazer X’ debuts in the action packed programming block ‘Toonami’. The show was launched on July 3 and is currently being aired from Monday to Saturday in the 6 pm time slot.
In the run up to the much-awaited release of ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’, Pogo will offer a sneak peek of the movie. The channel has been given the rights for special interviews with members of the cast, movie footages, and the London red carpet special.
Cartoon Network has introduced the initiative of Cartoon Network School of Self Defence under the aegis of its popular animated show ‘Dragonball Z’, and will promote basic martial arts and self-defence training for students across 500 schools in nine cities, reaching approximately 450,000 children.
Nick has introduced its new property ‘Nick Home Cinema’, whereby latest Nick movies will be shown. The property will be aired every Sunday at 11 am.
Hungama TV delves into the world of adventure and fantasies with its brand new show ‘Zoran’, premiering on July 2, from Monday to Thursday in 7.00 pm time slot.
In its weekend offerings, Hungama TV has announced an interactive contest called ‘Right Here Right Now’, which will air every Saturday from 1.30 pm to 7.30 pm.
Inspired by its property of ‘That’s so Raven’, Disney has launched a fashion line of apparels for teen girls in its merchandise sector. Available at select Westside stores across India, the collection features looks for girls in the age group of seven to 14.
Toonz Licensing has inked an agreement with Tiger Aspect Productions to bring the globally popular character ‘Mr Bean’ on television, film and DVD to the South Asia market. Toonz Licensing has been appointed the licensing agent for Mr Bean in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Disney Channel has announced its three winners for its on-air summer contest ‘Lose Control’. The winners are Aashna Gupta, Carl Williams and Aanya Obrien. These winners won themselves a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland along with a guardian.
Hungama TV will celebrate one year of its cartoon character ‘Shinchan’ on June 19. The channel will air a series of episodes of ‘Shinchan’ through the day.
Cartoon Network premiered the hugely successful animated movie ‘Shrek’ on June 17. To bond better with Indian kids, the channel adapted the movie in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu apart from English, with the inimitable Cyrus Broacha lending his voice to ‘Donkey’, one of the key protagonists, for the Hindi version of ‘Shrek’.
Children’s channel Nick has announced two new episodes of ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ and ‘Drake and Josh’. The two new shows bring another laugh riot on the ‘Nick Ha Ha Ha’ block.
Children’s channel Nick has announced its winners for its on-air summer campaign ‘Nick Fundoo Superstar’. The winners will get a chance to star in the Nick Fundoo music video with TV actor Mona Singh and Nick toon-stars.
Hungama TV has announced Pratik Modak from Hyderabad as the winner for the summer contest ‘Pyjama Pakdo’. The contest was taken on-ground through a 360-degree media campaign.
National Geographic Channel is back with the second chapter of its nationwide school engagement programme ‘Nat Geo Junior Hunt’, to find India’s superkid who is curious, adventurous, articulate, energetic and smart.
Kolkata based paint company , Berger Paints launches Berger Kidz under the aegis of Lewis Berger in association with Cartoon Network .
Nick has announced its new show called ‘The Adventures of Uncle Max’. The new show comes in the ‘Ha Ha Ha’ block on Nick. The show will be seen every Monday to Friday, in the 5.15 pm time slot.
Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE), the global licensing and merchandising division of Cartoon Network, has launched a new range of toy called ‘Blazing Yo Yo’ for Pogo.
Cartoon Network has roped in South India’s leading playback singer Karthik to sing the title track of ‘Pokemon’ to be aired in Tamil and Telugu. The show is being aired on Cartoon Network in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
Pogo has launched a 30-episode summer series for the preschool show ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim.’ Along with the series, the channel has also launched a new range of school products for children called ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim Back to School’ range. The show premieres on May 22 in the 2 pm time slot.
Turner International India Pvt. Ltd has expanded its association with Mobile2win. As part of this initiative, Mobile2win will create a WAP site for Cartoon Network and provide support in content distribution across mobile carriers for the network.
As per the latest TAM ratings, the three of the four-part Krishna series on Cartoon Network have gathered good ratings across children’s channels. The series of ‘Krishna: The Birth’, ‘Krishna: Makhan Chor’ and ‘Krishna: In Vrindavan’ garnered a TVR of over 2.1, 2.3 and 2.5 respectively for C&S 4-14.