MxMIndia

Tag: Disney Channel

  • Starting January 31, Disney Channel takes the family route with clean, entertaining shows on weekends. A Q&A with Vijay Subramaniam, VP-Content &Communications, Media Network at Disney

    In the family way…

     

    Pardon our cheeky headline, but a channel like Disney doesn’t give you the liberty to do this ever. For, starting tomorrow (January 31), Disney Channel takes the family route. Kicking off its new credo will be five new live-action shows over weekends with a brand promise of ‘Shanivaar, Ravivaar only for Parivaar’. They are Kabhi Aise Geet Gaya Karo, Maan Na Maan Main Tera Mehmaan, Goldie Ahuja Matric Pass, Lage Raho Chachu and Zindagi Khattee Meethi featuring television veterans like Renuka Shahane, Mahesh Thakur, Sudhir Pandey, and Maninee Mishra. On the eve of the the change, Vijay Subramaniam, VP-Content and Communications, Media Networks, Disney India spoke with MxMIndia

     

    From a kids-centric channel to now a family one. Given your long association with the channel, how do you and the team feel about the transition?

    It feels amazing because it’s the journey we pretty much imagined for the channel and the brand in this country. We are a kids-centric family inclusive brand and our brand of entertainment will always be that. We are a young brand. When we came into the country, the first protocol was to connect with the kids which I think we’ve done consistently and successfully for a while. While doing that, we’ve also enjoyed a great deal of parental approval and participation. Now, we find we’re in a great place to complement our offering with the opportunity to entertain the entire family together. What we’re doing is adding one more offering or layer to our content offering.

     

    The kids’ domain was also getting a little cluttered.

    No, I’d say there’s always a marketplace for differentiated high quality programming. I don’t entirely believe there’s enough segmentation yet. The real journey for us is that the brand entertains kids and families together everywhere. That’s the uniqueness of the brand and there was a point in time where we too wanted to take the time to invite families to come and sit on the couch together and be entertained by the Disney channel.

     

    While the flagship Disney Channel turns ‘family’, your other kiddie properties continue

    Absolutely! I said it’s a compliment. It’s adding an existing layer to our entertainment offering. It’s stuff that kids will also enjoy. It’s made for the entire family. These are shows and stories that are not just uplifting and positive but are very entertaining.

     

    You had a re-run of Shararat on Disney for a very long time

    That’s right. Those were the early days of experimentation on what kind of stories work and how do audiences respond. More recently, we started putting shows like, The Suite Life of Karan & Kabir and Best of Luck Nikki. We even piloted a DisneyQ in the Family Mastermind format. These are progressive steps we’re looking to take to add to our existing offering and bring families into our entertainment foray.

     

    What are your targets in terms of ‘Made for Family’ content? What’s it going to increase a year from now?

    In terms of number of hours, right now there are three hours and we’ve not really set an outer goal yet. It is a significant step that we’ve taken and our entire focus is on being able to do this and set out the high quality content we’ve set out to deliver. I think our focus is really going to be on those two areas.

     

    The family content also pits you against the existing Hindi GECs which in a different league altogether. Are you going to match that in terms of presence, scale and emotions?

    Our aim is and remains to entertain kids and families together on the weekend using differentiated stories and storytelling. It is organic. We believe, over time, our popularity, through the stories and the shows, will increase and grow. We’re very clear and independent in our view of how our journey is going to be for us. We believe the opportunity is there for great stories which families gravitate towards. If you were to draw a parallel, you can look at the movie industry. There are blockbusters and there are standout films – both equally successful. I think that analogy would apply to us as well.

     

    Surely you would’ve done a fair bit of research on this, but, in a market where kids are drawn increasingly towards detective shows like CID or funnies like Comedy Nights with Kapil, do you see enough of a pull for clean entertainment?

    Absolutely. I completely agree with you in terms of what they are watching but, equally, there is an opportunity that they would be, if given, delighted to watch not just them but their parents and their grandparents. That opportunity is what we are tapping into.

     

    From where you are right now, any targets in terms of how you would fair in terms of the ratings roster?

    Unfortunately I can’t share our targets with you. We continue leading the marketplace and we will hopefully continue doing that. We want to now start tracking strongly in the family measurement scores and I know in India you don’t have co-viewing as a measure, so if you were to interpret family as the 25 plus audiences, we want to start tracking pretty strongly there as well. That would be the first measure, really.

     

    Were there any worries that you would alienate your core viewer: children on weekends?

    No, again going back to Best of Luck and The Suite Life of Karan & Kabir. Those steps gave us enough insight into how you can actually entertain kids with live action content. Because it is the stuff that they watch. If anything, we were energised by the fact that we will be able to entertain kids and families together with a new dimension which is live action which otherwise isn’t coming from the genre. Secondly, it’s the unique storytelling style that we’ve chosen that we pride ourselves in. At the heart of everything we do, we are kid-centric and family inclusive. All our stories have to pass on that filter.

     

    Are you looking at films in the near or distant future? The Disney family in the U.S. have a fairly large film component.

    That’s right. The DCOMs (Disney Channel Original Movies), you mean. They’re not on the anvil right now. Our entire focus is to deliver consistently high quality wholesome family entertainment that, with finite fiction is what we’ve started with and moved down the path of…

     

    How has it been in terms of advertisers?

    The response has been very encouraging. The fact is that it’s two-fold. Firstly, we do have a legacy with our partners. Our journey has been progressive and it’s been for them too. We have a large roster of partners that are already engaged with us, both as a network and as a Disney Channel. This has only expanded their horizons because this allows them to target other segments which currently they didn’t have an access to from a Disney standpoint. Secondly, the response to the uniqueness of our stories and the fact that it’s wholesome and fun and uplifting and really the dil ko choo jaaye part of it has been tremendous. A lot of brands have seen the qualitative values besides the quantitative ones to want to be a part of this journey.

     

    I’m sure you’d have done your research. But, at one level, it’s good to talk about the fact that you want to be associated with the good things. But it’s another when it comes to ratings and alike.

    Absolutely! I do believe that, ultimately, high quality, differentiated stories with values stand out. They will stand out and they will succeed on both parameters. That’s our belief. It is a journey, it is organic, it takes time because you’re asking people to first come and sample the stories. We’re pretty confident that through that sampling, they will be first entertained and therefore, engaged. That journey done consistently well, we will be successful.

     

    Are you looking at any regional feeds of this family format?

    Not at the moment. Again, singular focus, we’ve made a conscious choice of entertaining the Hindi speaking markets first.

     

  • Disney channel's Jet Set 2! campaign generates staggering 8.3 million entries

    Disney takes 30 kids, families to HKG Disneyland

    By A Correspondent

     

    Disney’s beloved Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck along with the popular cast from Disney Channel india, winners of Jet Set 2 and designer Shantanu on the occasion of unveil of the Disney branded plane

    Disney Channel culminated its Jet Set 2! Campaign with 30 kids and their families flying to Hong Kong Disneyland.

     

    Generating a staggering 8.3 million entries, Disney Channel’s Jet Set 2! surpassed last year’s 6 million entries and has seen winners from across the country.

     

    “The phenomenal response to the campaign, now in its second year, demonstrates the brand’s unique ability to connect so well with audiences. Our association with renowned designers Shantanu and Nikhil for the Disney inspired line, unveiled through the winner kids, only added to the excitement and celebrations,” said Bikram Duggal, Director-Marketing, Media Network, Disney-UTV.

     

    The channel, in association with Jet Airways, also unveiled an aircraft adorned with Disney characters at an event held on Monday (June 17). The new Disney plane from the fleet of Jet Airways will take to the domestic skies beginning June 20.

     

  • It's Children's Day, and a cross-section of stakeholders help us in this genre check of kiddie TV

    TV for Children: Growing, and how!

    Representational photograph (Kids participating in laughter therapy session in in Mumbai… Photograph by Fotocorp)

     

     

    By Ananya Saha

     

    There was a time, not so long ago in the 1990’s, when the Sunday slot of Mahabharata and animated series meant family viewing or kids genre. Kids were allowed to watch TV with parental permission. And today, kids genre in television media is the third largest after Hindi GECs at 27.6 per cent and Hindi movies at 11.9 per cent according to the FICCI-KPMG 2012 report.

     

    Anita Nayyar

    Acoording to Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media, India & South Asia, the advent of Discovery Channel in 1999 saw a segment of kids watch it for education or interest. “Star World in 2004 had programmes like ‘Full House’ starring kids, but it was really post-2006 when kids became dominant. Their growing viewing needs and dedicated channels for them were addressed by various slots on various channels and some dedicated channels like Cartoon Network, Pogo, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Hungama, etc,” she points out. However, there is no denying the fact that there is not enough programming and print magazines for the young adult making them an underserved audience.

     

    Nina Elavia Jaipuria, EVP and Business Head, Sonic and Nickelodeon India concurs, adding, “In terms of getting their daily dose of entertainment, this TG needs to flirt with options available across multiple platforms – be it TV, online or print.”

     

    Sashwati Banerjee

    Apart from television content, on the print content, Sashwati Banerjee, Managing Director, Sesame Workshop Initiatives India PLC added, “Books / print is another matter. This is not a generation that is growing up with print awareness and it is reflected by the recent ASeR report which showcases that children in Grade 5 are reading at Grade 2 level. There is a serious crisis in education, and reading, comprehending and fluency are critical indicators to children’s lifelong learning. There is a large number of publishers in India, but very few publish children’s books and a still smaller number specialize in publishing children’s books. Recent reports have indicated that ebooks have a higher growth potential. However, wider access is still an issue as these books require high end mobile devices (cell phones and tablets) to access and use.”

     

    Nina Elavia Jaipuria

    Catering to infants to kids upto eight-years, Galli Galli Sim Sim has evolved in multiple ways since it’s inception in 2006. It evolved the format from the classicSesame Streetmagazine style to a more narrative ‘block style’ based on research that children in India are more used to stories or narration. Considering that access to television is limited, Galli Galli Sim Sim produced a radio programme, that is being aired by 10 community radio stations to reach populations with critical messages around health, hygiene, literacy and girl child education.

     

    Talking about Nicklodean and Sonic, Ms Jaipuria, said that Nickelodeon reaches out to 11 million kids pan India. “With media spends on kids channels approximately in the range of Rs 270cr, It is slated to grow further due to a slew of new channel launches in FY 13, she asserted. She also said that with the launch of Sonic in 2011, the investments in the kids genre has grown.

     

    According to a recent E&Y study the children’s genre has emerged as the largest viewership segment after India’s general entertainment channel (GEC) sector. The segment comprised 18.3 per cent of the viewership among 4-14 year olds in 2011, as compared to 16.9 per cent in 2010. The study also states that advertising revenue generated by the children’s genre totalled Rs 2.4 billion in 2011, up from Rs 2 billion in 2010. This is attributed to the growth in the viewership in the children’s genre from 43 million in 2010 to 48 million in 2011. This segment focuses on its target audience through a total of 14 channels in the age groups of 2-4 years and 4-14 years, comprising the majority of the market, as well as 14-18 years.

     

    The market for kids programming is huge, and the audience in this segment is growing. No wonder then that this November Zee launched ZeeQ, a 24×7 edutainment channel for kids aged 4-to-14-years. There are talks and suggestions of a DD Kids given Doordarshan’s reach. Kids seem to be pampered in the true sense and it is positive pampering.

     

    Even as the category sees more entrants trying to woo the young audience, in terms of advertising pie, this genre ranks after general entertainment and sports. “We’ve seen a range of products and services making the kid the hero – from financial like insurance say an ICICI Smart Kids with the kid at the dinosaur museum or Bank of India with the kid putting his piggy bank in the locker to a flipkart.com with kid avatars of the elders contemplating a buy; simply because they are either targets or influencers and their starring role has the potential for breaking clutter. We’d estimate the kids ad-market between Rs.200crores to Rs.260crores. The pioneer in using kids to demonstrate pester power was Maruti Suzuki’s Esteem report card commercial,” elaborated Ms Nayyar.

     

    With evolving societal structure as well as keenness on kid’s development for the future, Ms Nayyar predicts that “edutainment” will be the biggest driver in the category growth. Kids today are also more exposed .They are more amenable to instruction through entertainment. According to her, the vehicles that will drive the growth will be television, print and online, with online gaining lead.

     

    “Word-of-mouth in this category has really been underestimated but here is a core audience for this marketing phenomenon,” said Ms Nayyar.

     

    Challenges

    Content creators and television channels for kids are increasingly experimenting with applications for cellphones and low-cost tablets and migrating content from a traditional linear medium such as TV to non-linear mediums to expand access to populations that need it the most as well as to enhance and enrich learning experiences for children. Notwithstanding the fact that the advent of digitization in India will be a key driver to the growth of the genre in the near future, mobile devices rather than the television set will be the primary driver to engage children in the future. “We’re seeing this change in theUSas well,” said Banerjee.

     

    But the genre is facing very many challenges even as it looks at growth. As Ms Jaipuria points out:

    – The kid’s category is still hugely under-indexed despite the category contributing 8% to viewership on an All India Level at 4+ age group. TV adsales are under 2% for this genre. Hence investments in the business are under pressure.

    – The fragmentation in the kid’s category is increasing by the day with over a dozen players existing currently. This makes it possible for the broadcasters to offer differentiated content across genres and platforms.

    – Kids as an audience are a tough bunch to target. They do not consume print and outdoor as primary consumers. A large chunk of the marketing investment is on BTL activities such as School Contact Programmes, Retail activation, direct consumer contact using multiple on-round vehicles which have an extremely high cost per contact.

    – Distribution and carriage remains a challenge for this category.

     

    Also, as Ms Banerjee explains, children today are “exposed to all kinds of programming especially in single TV homes. There is also extremely low awareness amongst parents on what children should view and what they should not. There is an imperative need to provide rating guidelines as well as awareness on how media affects children.”

     

    While the experts believe that the greatest challenge is the creation of original content, or even good adaptation, quality is a major issue. There needs to be a very clear understanding  of the sub-slice segment categories to contain the spill to international programmes, CDs and the online world as also increase the share of viewership of the media vehicle.

     

    Says Ms Nayyar: “A lot of content and marketing is done and created for the Sec A and B but we miss a whole other India which invests heavily to educate its kids to give them another destiny. Here, affordable print with in-school promotions with reach beyond the creamy layer would create a whole new bottomline. Also, regional is a huge emerging market; again content with localization and language are opportunities and challenges. Content as always will be both the game player and game changer!”

     

    The growth might also come from other content and entertainment avenues such as gaming. The only challenge is to tap into the potential with the right content.

     

  • Record response for Disney Channel's Jet Set Go campaign where 30 kids and families will fly to the Hong Kong Disneyland

    Disney wows kids with contest, launches new shows for summer

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    This is the time when it’s not just the weather, but even the competition between various channels targeting children that hots up. This year, Disney Channel has raised the bar with a unique offer in association with Jet Airways: 30 kids and their families fly to the Hong Kong Disneyland.

     

    Talking about the campaign called ‘Jet Set Go’, Vijay Subramaniam, Business Head, Walt Disney Television International India said: “This is the first time ever that a plane full of families is flying to Disneyland! And to add to the unique experience, we are also wrapping an entire Jet Airways aircraft with Disney favourite characters Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy, a one-of-a-kind virtual ‘billboard in the sky’.”

     

    Families will fly to Hong Kong on July 9 for two days where they will stay at the Disney’s Hollywood Hotel. The contest, wherein the kids have to watch Disney Channel closely from April 29 until May 28 and spot a magical plane with their favourite characters- Mickey & Friends on their television screen to win, saw an overwhelming response.

     

    “The campaign stands out because of the record-breaking response that we have seen in just three weeks! We had three lakhs calls on day one, crossed the two million mark in a week and now, we have registered 3.5 million calls from across the country with another 14 days to go. These are at least 50 times the responses the genre has been receiving through other campaigns, so this is clearly unprecedented levels of participation and excitement,” added Mr Subramaniam.

     

    The channel feels the response is the testimony of the strength of the channel’s reach. Almost 50 per cent of the entries came from 5 key circles – Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Mumbai & MP + Chhattisgarh. And the entries coming from across the country and the winners selected till date come from  both metros and Tier 2 cities – Dehradun, Chandrapur, Kolkata, Vishakapatnam, Pune, Baerelli to name a few.

     

    The channel has been working on various campaigns in its objective of reaching out to its TG. Last year, it had ‘Disney Channel Shooting Stars’, billed as one of the biggest talent hunt platform by a kid’s channel. “Disney Channel is the only kids channel to cross the 200 GRP mark this summer as well as the last and such megashowcases reinforce our position as the leading entertainment brand for kids and families with viewers and advertisers alike,” said Mr Subramaniam.

     

    He added about how and why a kids’ channel should take advantage of summer vacations. “Summer is a time when kids have greater control over the remote and kid’s channels see a 25 per cent increase in viewership. Last year, Disney which houses Disney Channel, Disney XD and Hungama TV, saw an increase of over 30 per cent in viewership.”

     

    This year, along with the ‘Jet Set Go’ initiative, the  channel has also planned a strong content push with over 500 hours of fresh programming across the three channels, which will see premieres of 24 series across genres. “Through tent-pole programming and campaigns such as Jet Set Go, our idea is to use summer as a springboard to engage more kids and families throughout the year,” said Mr Subramaniam.

     

  • The much-loved character has leapfrogged from being a mega-hit on Pogo to merchandising and the big screen

    The not-so-chhota success of Chhota Bheem

     

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Chhota Bheem, the nine-year old boy and his small group of friends – Raju, Chutki and Jaggu (the talking monkey), have been having a dream run on Pogo. Launched in 2008 on the channel, the character of Chhota Bheem has gone on to become immensely popular and we have seen the character move to the bigger screen with Chhota Bheem movie and there is no dearth of merchandise based on his character, including comic book, tee-shirt, fun puzzles, bags, bean bag, toys and more.

     

    Krishna Desai

    Talking about the popularity of the show, Krishna Desai, Director Content, Turner International India Pvt. Ltd, said: “Since its launch in 2008 on Pogo, Chhota Bheem became an overnight success. Today, Chhota Bheem holds several titles to its credit including being ‘Kids’ Favourite TV Character’ (Ormax Media 2011 Report). In addition to other popular shows like Mr Bean and Kumbh Karan, Chhota Bheem has helped Pogo sustain its No 1 since 2011. In fact, this year, the premieres of ‘Chhota Bheem: Dholakpur to Kathmandu’ movie in March and ‘Chhota Bheem aur Hanuman’ movie in May, were the number 1 programs across all channels.” (Source: TAM, All India , 4-14 yrs, 12:00-13:30, March 25 and May 1, 2012)

     

    However, TAM data for the period of April 15-May 12 (CS 4-14 yrs, all India market, excluding feature films shown on kiddie channels) shows that for the channel share, one sees a fluctuation between Pogo and Disney for the top slot where in week 18, Pogo has a share of 25.5 as opposed to 20.4 of Disney. In week 19, Pogo is at 21.2 while Disney has jumped to 24.6.

     

    Giving his take on the popularity of Chhota Bheem and Doraemon, Karthik Lakshminarayan, COO, Crest (Madison Media), said: “Be it Chhota Bheem or Doraemon, both are exceedingly popular in the kids genre. Even for the top slot there is a tussle between both the shows. The popularity works well for the advertisers as well as the channel. However, if one were to look at superior production quality then Chhota Bheem scores over Doraemon as the latter seems dated.”

     

    While Doraemon might seem dated, there is no lacking in its popularity. The show runs on Disney as well as Hungama almost round the clock. Same is the case with Pogo, where Chhota Bheem and its repeats are shown numerous times during the day. Mr Desai, talking about this strategy said: “Normally, most shows face the issue of fatigue over a period of time. But in the cases of popular shows like Chhota Bheem, this factor is not applicable. When any show is launched there is a novelty factor which draws in new audiences. Thereafter, the true test of success begins. If kids like the show, they will tune in to watch their favourite episode over and over again. Over a period of time, kids tune-in to pre-empt the dialogues or even sing along with the theme song, making them feel like a part of the toon world. Also, the non-sequential flow of episodes helps to steer clear of boredom.”

     

    “Being a pioneer in the kids’ genre, we have done in-depth studies analysing the viewing patterns of kids between the ages of 4-14 years so as to effectively target our core TG. Basis these studies we decide the schedule for our channels. The second factor taken into consideration is to ensure that the scheduling of both our channels (Cartoon Network and Pogo) complement each other and don’t eat into each others share. We also consider the competition and other TV genres scheduling while lining up our shows,” he added.

     

    Some of the other popular shows on Kids channel include Kumbh Karan on Pogo, Roll No 21 on Cartoon Network, the Suite Life of Karan and Kabir on Disney, Art Attack again on Disney, Ninja Hattori on Nick, Oggy and the Cockroaches on Nick, Mr Bean the Animated Series on Pogo and Tom and Jerry Show on Cartoon Network.

     

    However, the success of Bheem lies in the fact that it’s an indigenous animated series created by Green Gold Animation Pvt. Ltd, based in Hyderabad. As Mr Desai of Pogo pointed that what stands out about the series is the strong story and characters. Although it is based in the mythical and timeless village of ‘Dholakpur’, the characters are very relevant to the mannerisms of kids today. Thus, kids relate to the characters and aspire to be like them be it a superhero or a best friend. “Yes, we did anticipate the show to do well but we all have been happily surprised at how phenomenally well it is doing,” said Mr Desai.

     

    With the success of Chhota Bheem, came its movies that Pogo co-produced, the recent one being Chhota Bheem and the curse of Damyaan which was released last Friday.

     

    Source: TAM Media Research, TG: CS 4-14 yrs, Market: All India, Period: Week 16 to 19 (Apr 15 to May 12), 2012 *Note : The analysis excludes Feature films aired on Kids channels

     

    Some of these movies were aired in 2011 on Pogo and the channel has a more aggressive strategy for them in 2012, wherein they will showcase one new movie every alternate month. In March, Pogo aired ‘Chhota Bheem: Dholakpur to Kathmandu’ and in May premiered ‘Chhota Bheem aur Hanuman’.

     

    Also seeing the popularity of other supporting characters in the show, like Bheem’s best friend Raju, Pogo  create a successful spin-off movie on him called ‘Mighty Raju’ in 2011. Sequels to Mighty Raju will also be seen in 2012. Its online success can be gauged from the fact that on www.pogo.tv, there are 700+ games on the site out of which Chhota Bheem enjoys a majority.

     

  • Jet Airways joins as Airline Partner to take 30 kids and their families to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort

    Disney Channel launches “Jet Set Go” summer initiative

    By A Correspondent

     

    Disney Channel has begun its one-of-a-kind initiative “Jet Set Go” this week. It is partnering with Jet Airways to give kids and their families a unique opportunity to win a magical all-expenses paid trip to the ‘happiest place on Earth’- Hong Kong Disneyland. The on-air contest will run throughout the month of May on Disney Channel and will give 30 kids and their families an opportunity to go toDisneyland.

     

    In celebration of “Jet Set Go”, Disney Channel is wrapping a Jet Airways aircraft in Disney favourite characters – Mickey and friends – to be unveiled on the May 9 in a special ceremony in Mumbai. “The aircraft wrap is a unique way to quite literally take one’s brand to the sky,” said Mr. Manish Dureja, vice president, Marketing at Jet Airways. “Disney’s focus on kids and families is aligned with our focus in catering to the needs of children and families in flight.”

     

    The children can enter by watching Disney Channel during the month of May and spotting the animated Jet Airways aircraft which will appear until May 28. Children can accumulate points each time they spot the aircraft by dialing a toll-free number flashing on the screen, absolutely free of cost, and leaving a missed call. Those who spot the plane the maximum number of times per day earn the maximum points and at the end of each day, the highest scorer will be announced as the winner on Disney Channel.

     

    “At the heart of Disney DNA is our passion for telling the world’s best stories and providing unique experiences for kids and families. We are pleased to work with Jet Airways and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort to bring our fans this fabulous opportunity to experience Disney magic first-hand,” said Vijay Subramaniam, business head, Walt Disney Television International,India.

     

    One winner will be picked each day, over the period of 30 days with the winners and their families going onto Hong Kong Disneyland Resort for a unique two day Disney experience. “Since opening in 2005, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort has welcomed more than 31 million guests from around the globe. It is the perfect destination for our Indian guests and we are thrilled to be collaborating with the Disney Channel on this campaign. We look forward to welcoming the winning families in July to enjoy all the magical experiences at Hong Kong Disneyland. We hope that they take home with them a lifetime’s worth of memories”, said Wendy Chu, Director of Marketing, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.

     

    Disney ChannelIndiaoffers an unparalleled blend of quality Disney entertainment and distinctive, originally produced programs that kids love and families trust and enjoy. This includes Disney’s movies and series, sitcoms, family dramas and live action adventure stories. The channel’s multi-genre programming is designed to meet the under-served needs ofIndia’s preschool, kids and family audiences.

     

  • Design Stack will handle the entire gamut of off-air publicity and promotional campaigns for the network’s three channels

    Disney appoints Design Stack as creative agency

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mumbai based design and communication studio, Design Stack, has been appointed as the creative agency for the Disney Network. Design Stack will handle the entire gamut of off-air publicity and promotional campaigns for the network’s three channels – Disney Channel, Disney XD and Hungama TV.

     

    In early 2011, Design Stack had handled the creative duties for the immensely successful project – Disney Channel’s Shooting Stars: The country’s biggest nationwide, talent hunt by a kid’s channel.

     

    “The Disney Network’s continued success with kids and families is testament to how our stories and characters work at multiple levels and we are committed to further increasing the visibility of our brands and creating a deeper and richer connect with the viewers. We felt the time was right to appoint a creative agency that understands our brand values and can help bring them alive visually in our campaigns. The team at Design Stack brings an immense amount of enthusiasm and creative excellence to the table and we look forward to their contributions on our upcoming projects”, said Bikram Duggal, Director Marketing, Walt Disney Television International India.

     

    “We’ve all grown up with Disney as a part of our childhood and it’s a thrill to be associated with such an iconic brand, especially at a time when they are building a strong local presence in India,” said Priyanka Bhasin, Partner, Design Stack

     

    “The Disney Channel is very particular about maintaining consistency of their brand. It is exciting collaborating with their team of sharp marketing strategists and visual communication design specialists, who have high standards when it comes to messaging and design. In a sense, it’s a fitting partnership,” added Anoop Patnaik, Partner, Design Stack

     

    Design Stack, founded in 2004 by Priyanka Bhasin and Anoop Patnaik (graduates from the National Institute of Design), is a branding and strategic design studio located in Mumbai. Over the years, the firm has built up a diverse range of clients – from retailers like Westside and youthful, experimental brands like Chimp to corporate entities like Asian Paints, Cox & Kings, Standard Chartered Bank, Times of India, Sahara Housing & Infrastructure, to name a few. The studio was also awarded The International Design Award, LA,Californiafor Asian Paints Colour Spectra Pro – Packaging Design and Chimp Retail Branding.