Hrithik Roshan is Magic for M2-Magic Moments

M2-Magic Moments Vodka, a Radico Khaitan Ltd. brand, has recently launched its seven flavors for Indian market. The flavors are raspberry, ginger, lime, lemon grass, green apple, chocolate and orange.

The new brand is targeted at youth. The M2-Magic Moments Vodka has unique packaging which draw consumer attention. The bottles have graphics directly printed on to them, and Radico Khaitan has invested in the latest packaging decoration technology currently being used in Europe.

M2-Magic Moments Vodka promises everything that a person’s life should have – enjoyment, fun, zest and zing. It’s a product which stands for excitement in life.

Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan has been signed on as the brand ambassador for M2 – Magic Moments vodka. The energy and stylish modern appeal of Hrithik fits well with the international, young, energetic Magic Moments vodka brand and the experience that it promises its consumers.

Aamir Khan is Jhingalala for Tata Sky

Aamir Khan has been in the news these days, heavily promoting his latest production, Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, which is also his nephew, Imran Khan’s debut film. Recently, he has started endorsing Samsung and Parle Monaco. He has been the Titan brand ambassador for a while now.

Tata Sky is a joint venture between the Tata Group, STAR TV. In this venture TATA owns 80% and STAR TV owns a 20% stake. Tata Sky was incorporated in 2004 but was launched only in 2006. The company uses the Sky brand owned by British Sky Broadcasting.
Tata Sky, has roped in Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador. Bollywood star Aamir Khan has entered into a long-term contract with Tata Sky. Aamir Khan will be used extensively for communicating the benefits of Tata Sky to the Indian consumer. It is definitely a strategic move as the rival dish TV has signed Shah Rukh Khan. Tata Sky would use Khan to take the brand forward. He is not the first brand ambassador for the 21-month old DTH service provider. Hrithik Roshan was used during the Cricket World Cup in 2007 for select campaigns and other film stars like Kiron Kher and Paresh Rawal were also used for some campaigns which basically testimonial ads.

Khan will feature in all the Tata Sky ads in print, TV, outdoor and radio with the popular Tata Sky tag line Isko laga dala, to life jhingalala.

Rediffusion DY&R is the company’s creative agency.

Emergence of Multiplex in India

In 1979, world’s first multiplex ‘Eaton Center’ in Toronto, Canada was opened for the general public. The Eaton Center has 18-screen movie theater complex. Eaton’s movie centers, which were a craze during the 1980s and 1990s, faded slowly and closed finally in March 2001.

In 1997 PVR established, first multiplex in India – PVR Anupam at Saket, New Delhi. The PVR Anupam changed the Indian movie exhibition landscape. Movie exhibition till mid nineties was dominated by Cinema halls – the traditionally single screen halls. Cinema halls witnessed a surge of customers mostly during the festive season and on weekends. The emergence of multiplexes changed the movie exhibition business in India. Today, all eyes in the entertainment industry have turned towards multiplexes, as they generate a larger share of revenue though they accommodate less number of seats per theater.

The emergence of new multiplexes has reduced the audience for traditional cinemas, thereby prompting some of them to transform themselves into multiplexes. The multiplex business is not only prompting traditional cinema theater owners to convert their property into multiplex but in recent times has also attracted many international players to venture into the business. No wonder the multiplex business is so lucrative that foreign entertainment giants like Time Warner, South Korean multiplex operator Megabox, and Australia’s Hoyts are in talks with real estate developers such as the DLF group, the Raheja Group and Sobha Developers to set up chains of multiplexes across the country. We should not forget that roughly a dozen Indian players have entered in the business in small or big way.

New players are trying to enter this sector and the existing players are busy expanding their horizons. In recent times the multiplex has gone beyond the metros to redefine entertainment in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities like Lucknow, Indore, Nasik, Aurangabad, Kanpur, Amritsar. The good news for most of the movie exhibitors is that at present roughly 70 percent of the total box office collections in the country come from non metros.

These multiplex has multiple screen movie theater complex which also offers lifestyle shopping. It offers brand new experience of watching movies. Today multiplex are considered not just a part of the entertainment, it is an opportunity for family outing which include movies, shopping, eating out, gaming parlors, buying books, buying groceries, etc. Most of the multiplexes malls in India have common structure, which I believe is structure of the ideal multiplex. Ideal multiplex malls have a four to five floors with various leisure and recreation options for customers. The top floor has multiplex and rest of the floors offer facilities like shopping, eating out, gaming parlors, book shops, groceries, etc. The structure of the multiplex mall explores the consumer psychology, where customers who come with the intention of watching a movie are made to pass all the floors in the shopping mall. It increases the possibility of their making some impulsive purchases. I don’t know about other but I end up buying something every time I go to watch movies. Moreover, the multiplexes do not allow outside food and beverages into the movie theaters which offer them opportunities to sale of their own products at a premium.

The decade old Indian multiplex industry has definitely changed the movie exhibition industry in India. The multiplex industry, in India, is still in an early growth stage, and is way behind the size and scale reached in the developed countries.

Shah Rukh Khan The King of Endorsements

In 1993, Shah Rukh Khan first appeared in three ads for tea brand Brahmaputra. The ads heralded the arrival of Shah Rukh Khan as a brand endorser of some stature. The very next year, he ended up endorsing three more brands – Hero Puch, Cinthol and Mayur Suitings. The series of his hits not only established him as a super star of film industry but also positioned him as a bankable endorser.

In 1996 he was signed by cola giant Pepsi, which can be seen as the turning point of his endorsement career. Shah Rukh Khan since then, has endorsed Bagpiper, Hyundai Santro and i10, Top Ramen noodles, Jeanne Arthes, Clinic All Clear shampoo, Emami-Sona Chandi Chyawanprash, Lux, Omega, Airtel, Nokia, sunfeast, Compaq, Home Trade, Videocon to name a few.

The superstar Shah Rukh Khan has 34 brand endorsement deals for year 2008 which is down from 37 endorsement brand in year 2007. I believe that other celebrity like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay kumar have not shown great interest in the endorsement market. In the given scenario it is important to understand what makes him the most popular celebrity brand endorser around?

Shah Rukh Khan has been around for a long time, and has become a bankable name. He is the only one who has proved to be consistent for last fifteen years (since the release of his first movie in 1992). In recent past we have seen that the actors like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay kumar are also consistent and bankable name of the Indian film industry but they are not the corporate world darling. In my views corporate world not only look for these two factors there are something more than this. The other important factors are – corporate friendliness, image of celebrity, brand personality of celebrity.

Marketers claim that Shah Rukh Khan’s appeal cuts across age, gender, and class, and blends the characteristics that mirror multiple identities – the ordinary middle class guy who went on to became the King. The king is a traditional and family loving Indian.

The biggest plus about the actor Shah Rukh Khan is that he holds self-made man image. The common Indian man associates with him and aspires to become Shah Rukh Khan. In last few years Akshay kumar has also attained status of self-made man which is challenge to the king. The other plus about Shah Rukh Khan is his image of down-to-earth, approachable person and his ability of straddling the classes and the masses. He is not niche actor like Aamir, and not even a down market actor like Govinda. In this parameter also Akshay kumar has taken a lead. This new image of the Bollywood star Akshay kumar can be a threat to the Shah Rukh Khan’s endorsement kingdom.

The fact that Shah Rukh Khan has been so overexposed by advertising leaves little room for credibility among consumers. I can’t imagine Shah Rukh Khan driving Huandi Santro or i10 but the fact that the Shah Rukh Khan’s fans still associate him with the products is doing wonders for him.

Shah Rukh Khan The King of Endorsements

In 1993, Shah Rukh Khan first appeared in three ads for tea brand Brahmaputra. The ads heralded the arrival of Shah Rukh Khan as a brand endorser of some stature. The very next year, he ended up endorsing three more brands – Hero Puch, Cinthol and Mayur Suitings. The series of his hits not only established him as a super star of film industry but also positioned him as a bankable endorser.

In 1996 he was signed by cola giant Pepsi, which can be seen as the turning point of his endorsement career. Shah Rukh Khan since then, has endorsed Bagpiper, Hyundai Santro and i10, Top Ramen noodles, Jeanne Arthes, Clinic All Clear shampoo, Emami-Sona Chandi Chyawanprash, Lux, Omega, Airtel, Nokia, sunfeast, Compaq, Home Trade, Videocon to name a few.

The superstar Shah Rukh Khan has 34 brand endorsement deals for year 2008 which is down from 37 endorsement brand in year 2007. I believe that other celebrity like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay kumar have not shown great interest in the endorsement market. In the given scenario it is important to understand what makes him the most popular celebrity brand endorser around?

Shah Rukh Khan has been around for a long time, and has become a bankable name. He is the only one who has proved to be consistent for last fifteen years (since the release of his first movie in 1992). In recent past we have seen that the actors like Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Akshay kumar are also consistent and bankable name of the Indian film industry but they are not the corporate world darling. In my views corporate world not only look for these two factors there are something more than this. The other important factors are – corporate friendliness, image of celebrity, brand personality of celebrity.

Marketers claim that Shah Rukh Khan’s appeal cuts across age, gender, and class, and blends the characteristics that mirror multiple identities – the ordinary middle class guy who went on to became the King. The king is a traditional and family loving Indian.

The biggest plus about the actor Shah Rukh Khan is that he holds self-made man image. The common Indian man associates with him and aspires to become Shah Rukh Khan. In last few years Akshay kumar has also attained status of self-made man which is challenge to the king. The other plus about Shah Rukh Khan is his image of down-to-earth, approachable person and his ability of straddling the classes and the masses. He is not niche actor like Aamir, and not even a down market actor like Govinda. In this parameter also Akshay kumar has taken a lead. This new image of the Bollywood star Akshay kumar can be a threat to the Shah Rukh Khan’s endorsement kingdom.

The fact that Shah Rukh Khan has been so overexposed by advertising leaves little room for credibility among consumers. I can’t imagine Shah Rukh Khan driving Huandi Santro or i10 but the fact that the Shah Rukh Khan’s fans still associate him with the products is doing wonders for him.

Amitabh Bachchan – The Biggest Celebrity Endorser of All Time

The celebrities are super achievers like Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan. The celebrity has a life cycle. Among all Indian celebrities, Amitabh Bachchan is an exception. He is beyond the normal life cycle of a celebrity in terms of endorsements. Amitabh Bachchan is popular with possibly all demographic, psychographic, geographic. He commands respect across the length and breadth of India, cutting across the barriers of age, income, region and language. Today he is not only one of the successful actors but also one of the most successful endorses. Having said this I must talk about the fact that during the first two-and-a-half decades of his acting career when he was called the one-man Hindi film industry never endorsed any product.

Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (Amitabh Harivansh Srivastav), born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh is one of the most prominent Indian film actors of Bollywood. Amitabh Bachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice. He before entering the film industry applied for a job with All India Radio for the post of a news announcer, for which he was rejected – probably a destiny’s call. The actor also did Playback Singing for many Indian movies. The actor has also endorsed many brands and is one of the leading celebrity endorsers for Indian corporate world.

Birth of Endorser Amitabh Bachchan
In year 2000 Amitabh Bachchan, anchored Kaun Banega Crorepati (popularly known as KBC ) which positioned him into the league of the most expensive endorsers. The phenomenal success of KBC helped marketers realize that Amitabh Bachchan single-point attention-grabber. He is one Indian celebrity who could not only command attention but also lend his credibility status to the brands. He has been brand ambassador of products across industry and categories including Pepsi, Mirinda, ICICI Bank, Parker Pens, Reid & Taylor, Maruti Versa, Cadbury’s, Nerolac, Hajmola, Navratna tail, Emani Boroplus, Eveready, Dabur, Sahara city Home, D’damas, Binnani.
Amitabh Bachchan, before success of KBC had probably endorsed just one brand in mid nineties which was a corporate branding exercise for BPL. The campaign managed to position BPL as an aspirational Indian brand. After success of KBC he has endorsed brands in product categories as diverse as banking, soft drinks, batteries, paints, chocolates, automobiles, writing instruments, apparel, diet supplements, personal care and real estate.

Challenge for Endorser Amitabh Bachchan
It is believed that if the endorser is associated with many brands, exclusivity can no longer be associated with the celebrity. The audience gets confused when the same celebrity plugs many brands and hence the endorsement value gets eroded. In recent times, Amitabh Bachchan endorsement list has come down but he still endorses brands in double digits. And in my view most of his brands he endorses are doing good. I believe, if it was not Amitabh Bachchan the marketers would have been struggling with the ideas. Marketers can position Amitabh Bachchan as an action hero; an energizing personality; a jovial character; an advisor; a spokesperson; Mr. dependable and not to miss a passionate endorser – there is lot in Amitabh Bachchan which is unexplored. Having said this strongly advocate that marketers needs to use the celebrity power of Amitabh Bachchan judiciously.

Amitabh Bachchan – The Biggest Celebrity Endorser of All Time

The celebrities are super achievers like Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan. The celebrity has a life cycle. Among all Indian celebrities, Amitabh Bachchan is an exception. He is beyond the normal life cycle of a celebrity in terms of endorsements. Amitabh Bachchan is popular with possibly all demographic, psychographic, geographic. He commands respect across the length and breadth of India, cutting across the barriers of age, income, region and language. Today he is not only one of the successful actors but also one of the most successful endorses. Having said this I must talk about the fact that during the first two-and-a-half decades of his acting career when he was called the one-man Hindi film industry never endorsed any product.

 

Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (Amitabh Harivansh Srivastav), born on October 11, 1942 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh is one of the most prominent Indian film actors of Bollywood. Amitabh Bachchan is known for his deep, baritone voice. He before entering the film industry applied for a job with All India Radio for the post of a news announcer, for which he was rejected – probably a destiny’s call. The actor also did Playback Singing for many Indian movies. The actor has also endorsed many brands and is one of the leading celebrity endorsers for Indian corporate world.

Birth of Endorser Amitabh Bachchan
In year 2000 Amitabh Bachchan, anchored Kaun Banega Crorepati (popularly known as KBC ) which positioned him into the league of the most expensive endorsers. The phenomenal success of KBC helped marketers realize that Amitabh Bachchan single-point attention-grabber. He is one Indian celebrity who could not only command attention but also lend his credibility status to the brands. He has been brand ambassador of products across industry and categories including Pepsi, Mirinda, ICICI Bank, Parker Pens, Reid & Taylor, Maruti Versa, Cadbury’s, Nerolac, Hajmola, Navratna tail, Emani Boroplus, Eveready, Dabur, Sahara city Home, D’damas, Binnani.
Amitabh Bachchan, before success of KBC had probably endorsed just one brand in mid nineties which was a corporate branding exercise for BPL. The campaign managed to position BPL as an aspirational Indian brand. After success of KBC he has endorsed brands in product categories as diverse as banking, soft drinks, batteries, paints, chocolates, automobiles, writing instruments, apparel, diet supplements, personal care and real estate.

Challenge for Endorser Amitabh Bachchan
It is believed that if the endorser is associated with many brands, exclusivity can no longer be associated with the celebrity. The audience gets confused when the same celebrity plugs many brands and hence the endorsement value gets eroded. In recent times, Amitabh Bachchan endorsement list has come down but he still endorses brands in double digits. And in my view most of his brands he endorses are doing good. I believe, if it was not Amitabh Bachchan the marketers would have been struggling with the ideas. Marketers can position Amitabh Bachchan as an action hero; an energizing personality; a jovial character; an advisor; a spokesperson; Mr. dependable and not to miss a passionate endorser – there is lot in Amitabh Bachchan which is unexplored. Having said this strongly advocate that marketers needs to use the celebrity power of Amitabh Bachchan judiciously.

Celebrity endorsement – Cricketer’s loss is Bollywood’s gain

Bollywood Rising

The cricket celebrity brand endorsement is declining. The number of brands endorsed by Sachin Tendulkar has dropped from ten to six over a period of five years, Rahul Dravid endorsement list has come down to six from twelve and Sourav Ganguly is endorsing barely has a couple of brands today. The only exceptions among cricket celebrity are MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, who have grown their endorsements year-on-year. at the same time the film industry has gain importance in recent years. The silver screen celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham are few of the celebrity who has gained prominence in recent years.

Shah Rukh Khan’s endorsements have gone up from 6 to 18 in the same period, Hrithik Roshan’s have increased from 1 to 11 and Saif Ali Khan’s deals have doubled from 4 in 2003 to 8 now. Amitabh Bachchan, who has gone down the power list in the last two years, has managed 10 endorsements deals. Other Bollywood stars like Aamir Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham have between 3 and 7 deals in their pockets.

Cricketers were the favorites of PepsiCo till last year has signed up movie stars including Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.

Among women celebrities Kareena Kapoor endorsement count has gone up from two to five, while the number of brands Katrina Kaif, Kajol, Priyanka Chopra and Bipasha Basu endorse has risen from almost nil to about six to seven each. The new celebrity such as Deepika Padukone and Vidya Balan are endorsing three to four brands each. The new celebrities are in demand and they are expected to sign a few more. The best part about the silver screen is that the senior actors like Hema Malini and Juhi Chawla have multiple endorsement deals.

Film insurance in India

In December 1998, after signing the deal for Taal with Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd, United India Insurance had approached a few London and Tokyo based insurance companies to re-insure the film. The re-insurer refused to re-insure Indian films, citing the complete lack of accountability in film production in India. The re-insure were looking for a commercially viable project, backed by detailed reports regarding the risks involved, the financing of the project and completion schedule etc. However, the issue of financing was found to be the biggest stumbling block for the development of the film insurance industry in India. The hesitance of the foreign insurance companies was completely justified as the Indian film industry was completely unorganized. Those were the days when the distributors, music companies and financiers were the major sources of funds for the film industry. The other prominent source of financing were financiers such as diamond merchants, brokers, builders and other cash rich businessmen, charged very high interest rates, generally in the range of 36-48% per annum. The cheapest source of financing for the film industry was underworld mafia.

The problem ended In December 2000, a Joint Institutional Committee on Financing Entertainment Industry submitted an interim report that laid down certain norms for offering financial assistance to the film industry.

The Cine Mukta Policy
In the history of Indian Film Industry, Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd produced Taal was the first Hindi film to be insured. United India Insurance drafted the policy from scratch and honored producer-director Subhash Ghai with naming the policy The Cine Mukta Policy. The film insurance can not be standardized it is dynamic. The structure of the film insurance mostly depends on the film. A production house can take part insurance or can also insure entire film.

The insurance premium also depends on various factors. A film where large sets had to be put up, the policy would be heavy on insurance for properties and sets, a film shot in a single room/bungalow etc., insurance on the properties and sets could be completely avoided. A film where the actors performed dangerous stunts, extra insurance had to be taken. The insuring companies do not cover pre and post-production problems, box office results and the loss of profits.

Aishwarya Rai Effect
In June 2000, Aishwarya Rai met with an accident. The accident costed United India Insurance, a sum of only INR 1.6 million but it attracted substantial media coverage as it was the first instance of the Hindi film industry availing the benefits of film insurance. The film insurance was the in thing for the film Industry. United India Insurance, piggyback on the Aishwarya Rai Effect by July 2001, had insured around 8-10 films, for sums varying from INR 25 million to INR 220 million. The insured films included YashRaj Films – Mohabbatein, Aamir Khan Productions – Lagaan, Farhan Akhtar – Dil Chahta Hai, Karan Johar – Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and Dreamz Unlimited’s – Asoka.

The credit for pioneering the film insurance business in India goes to the producer-director Subhash Ghai. He was the first Indian filmmaker to insure his film Taal. The landmark film Taal was insured for a sum of INR 110 million with United India Insurance in 1998. The move was welcomed by both media and film personalities as opening of a new chapter in the Indian film industry.

Film insurance in India

In December 1998, after signing the deal for Taal with Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd, United India Insurance had approached a few London and Tokyo based insurance companies to re-insure the film. The re-insurer refused to re-insure Indian films, citing the complete lack of accountability in film production in India. The re-insure were looking for a commercially viable project, backed by detailed reports regarding the risks involved, the financing of the project and completion schedule etc. However, the issue of financing was found to be the biggest stumbling block for the development of the film insurance industry in India. The hesitance of the foreign insurance companies was completely justified as the Indian film industry was completely unorganized. Those were the days when the distributors, music companies and financiers were the major sources of funds for the film industry. The other prominent source of financing were financiers such as diamond merchants, brokers, builders and other cash rich businessmen, charged very high interest rates, generally in the range of 36-48% per annum. The cheapest source of financing for the film industry was underworld mafia.

The problem ended In December 2000, a Joint Institutional Committee on Financing Entertainment Industry submitted an interim report that laid down certain norms for offering financial assistance to the film industry.

The Cine Mukta Policy
In the history of Indian Film Industry, Mukta Arts Pvt. Ltd produced Taal was the first Hindi film to be insured. United India Insurance drafted the policy from scratch and honored producer-director Subhash Ghai with naming the policy The Cine Mukta Policy. The film insurance can not be standardized it is dynamic. The structure of the film insurance mostly depends on the film. A production house can take part insurance or can also insure entire film.

The insurance premium also depends on various factors. A film where large sets had to be put up, the policy would be heavy on insurance for properties and sets, a film shot in a single room/bungalow etc., insurance on the properties and sets could be completely avoided. A film where the actors performed dangerous stunts, extra insurance had to be taken. The insuring companies do not cover pre and post-production problems, box office results and the loss of profits.

Aishwarya Rai Effect
In June 2000, Aishwarya Rai met with an accident. The accident costed United India Insurance, a sum of only INR 1.6 million but it attracted substantial media coverage as it was the first instance of the Hindi film industry availing the benefits of film insurance. The film insurance was the in thing for the film Industry. United India Insurance, piggyback on the Aishwarya Rai Effect by July 2001, had insured around 8-10 films, for sums varying from INR 25 million to INR 220 million. The insured films included YashRaj Films – Mohabbatein, Aamir Khan Productions – Lagaan, Farhan Akhtar – Dil Chahta Hai, Karan Johar – Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and Dreamz Unlimited’s – Asoka.

The credit for pioneering the film insurance business in India goes to the producer-director Subhash Ghai. He was the first Indian filmmaker to insure his film Taal. The landmark film Taal was insured for a sum of INR 110 million with United India Insurance in 1998. The move was welcomed by both media and film personalities as opening of a new chapter in the Indian film industry.