There is lack of innovation and disruption in the merchandising space: Bhavik Vora, Founder, Black White Orange Brands
Vora and Indranil Blah, CEO, Mumbai City FC, ISL were key speakers for the session on merchandising and licensing in India at BW Applause Awards

Merchandising and licensing in experiential marketing, while being an important aspect, is often ignored. Shedding light on the same, experts Bhavik Vora, Founder, Black White Orange Brands and Indranil Blah, CEO, Mumbai City FC, ISL spoke about the present challenges in the field and it's future in Indian market.
The duo was speaking at the BW Applause Awards ceremony organised by exchange4media in a session moderated by Kanika Sethi Babbar of Bespoke Events. Blah started out by saying that the sports industry in India does not primarily make use of merchandising. He said, “In specifically sports, it amounts to one per cent. Honestly, it is pretty negligible. If you look at a successful venture like IPL, merchandising won’t be more than five per cent.” While Blah gave a sports industry-centric analysis, Vora had a wider perspective on the topic as his agency has been associated with a number of successful projects in entertainment and media industry, like Baahubali and Game Of Thrones.
Vora said, “Merchandising industry in India is very nascent. There are hardly four-five agencies like us. This is because people think it's rocket science which it’s actually not. Merchandising in India is primarily seen as a kids’ domain. Everybody is looking at what Disney is doing in this sector and trying to follow them. What people are not realising is that times have changed. There is a large demographic in the country which is consuming a lot of different content like Game Of Thrones, soccer, cricket and Bollywood. Nobody is targeting them. There is lack of innovation and disruption in the space. In sports, I can’t imagine that an event like IPL, which has media rights going for Rs 60,000 crore, has the most underserviced merchandise programme. Frankly, the franchises are putting so much money in the event, but they are missing out on not monetising the teams which the EPL does brilliantly. The kind of revenue they generated out of this is unheard of.”
He further said that the kind of culture built around the franchises abroad is so aspirational that fans love to be associated with it. Blah objected to Vora’s observation and opined that many sports franchises have tried tapping into the merchandise market but they are mainly faced with the challenges of piracy and cost.
Babbar then posed a question to Blah asking him how ISL manages the balance between keeping costs of the merchandise low yet meeting the artistic, aspirational expectation of the fans. “We are at an early stage. Mumbai City is just a three-year-old property. We are trying to grow the brand. It is still page one for us. We are not looking at minting money out of it right now. It might be a controversial thing to say but when I go to Mumbai City team and I see a lot of kids wearing jerseys which are pirated, it still works for me because the brand is being integrated into the market.”
Babbar then moved on to Vora and asked him what their agency does when say a client comes to them with a Bollywood/Musical event. Do they have a style guide to go about? Vora said that the whole merchandising/licensing industry depends on fans. But it’s just a starting point, according to him. Giving an example of his agency’s handling of Baahubali in the merchandise space, he said, “Creative aspect is the most critical part of any successful merchandise. A fan would not want a jersey with 50 logos blasted on it because it is not aspirational. They are paying Rs 1000 for a T-shirt, it might as well look good on them.”
The next challenge faced by agencies, as posed by the moderator, is what other means are there to retail the merchandise apart from using the online medium? How does one encourage spectator interaction? Vora said, “With respect to IPL, the owners need to invest in brands to create a legacy. Players will come and go. They can use players like Virat Kohli to communicate to fans and endorse the merchandise.”
The panel then moved on to discussing licensing. Talking about ISL, Blah revealed that in India, licensing happens both on centralised and individual club levels. Coming back to their success story, Vora revealed how the agency got into the game with Baahubali makers very early on and for them, it was not about slapping the movie logo on T-shirts and selling. They tried to tell the story of Mahishmati, Bhallal Dheva and Baahubali through every product created by them.
The session ended on a positive note as all members of the panel agreed that good things are finally happening in the industry with regard to merchandising especially with brands like Being Human and Baahubali doing great work in the department. Both speakers reiterated that merchandising and licensing cannot be an afterthought but a well planned out process by the brands.
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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