MUMBAI, April 2013: The superhero series ?Krrish? is surely among the top of the list of successful Bollywood film franchises with global appeal. This Diwali, fans will look forward to the release of Krrish 3. To also leverage the popularity of the Film Kraft Production, four animated film sequels are being planned along with Cartoon Network and Toonz Animation.

This further opens up merchandising opportunities for Mumbai?s brand management and licensing enterprise Dream Theatre Pvt Ltd which has bagged the official licensing and merchandising rights for both the movie and the series in India.

With Krrish 3, Dream Theatre?s portfolio, which includes global phenomenon such as Angry Birds, DreamWorks, Power Rangers, Warner Bros, WWE, gets a local flavor.

Dream Theatre will be working in partnership with Hrithik Roshan?s talent management agency Carving Dreams on these two projects to ensure that the brand extensions are consistent with brand Krrish.

Beginning with Koi Mil Gaya in 2003 and Krrish (2006), the sci-fi property about the adventures of ?Krishna? (Krrish) and his special powers has caught the attention of children and young adults across the country.

With Kid Krrish, the first of the four animated sequels premiering on July 14, 2013 on Cartoon Network and the Hrithik Roshan starrer Krrish 3 gearing up for a mega release in Diwali, the stage is set for a spiked demand for the superhero-branded merchandise.

Mr. Jiggy George, CEO and Founder, Dream Theatre Pvt. Ltd. offered, "It?s a proud occasion for us to tie up with Mr. RakeshRoshan?s creation of Krrish: India?s most successful superhero franchise. We are excited to partner on both the movie and the animation series and the latter, will allow to extend the excitement for the brand. We at Dream Theatre have a successful track-record with managing International superhero and boy action genre and we are excited to extend this learning now on Krrish."

"With Krrish 3 and Kid Krrish we have extended our portfolio to become the Marketing Consultants of the much awaited film of the year and it indeed was a pleasure to bring together Dream Theatre Pvt. Ltd and Filmkraft Productions to create Unique and Innovative merchandise for brand Krrish. I am positive that this association will take the entire concept of merchandising to the next level by bringing some exciting products in the market", states Mr. Afsar Zaidi, CEO, Carving Dreams.

Director of the film series and Chairman of Filmkraft Productions, Mr. Rakesh Roshan too is elated at this association. ""It will be a decade this year since the franchise began with Koi?Mil Gaya and it is quite momentous for its hero to be seen again in a new avatar in Krrish 3 this Diwali. The folks at Dream Theatre are more than capable to take brand Krrish forward, with unique merchandising concepts which will help keep the superhero alive in the hearts and minds of young fans."

MUMBAI - Global tastes are diverse and nowhere are that more prevalent than in the kitchens and dining rooms of urban Indian families. Indians are increasingly becoming global citizen and trotting the globe, they have good exposure to global cuisine, and it is no surprise that 57 per cent people are open to trying out food from different regions or cultures, according to the latest findings of a study conducted by Ipsos InnoQuest, a division of global research firm Ipsos.

Indian consumers indicated a wide array of interests, reflective of increased accessibility to food options from all over the world which are well stocked in large departmental stores that can be easily cooked at home as well as a broader acceptance of different types of food.

"We live in a world of greater food choice, with a heavier emphasis on health, freshness and variety. But that also means that consumers are more willing to experiment with different types of foods, including some that might be considered unique or foreign to their traditional family meals," says Biswarup Banerjee, Head of Marketing Communication, Ipsos in India.

"Ipsos‘ most recent study on ‘unique food consumption interest‘ found that urban Indian consumers are most interested in foods from different regions and cultures as well as restaurant brands that are available in the grocery store." added Banerjee.

With increasing urbanisation and women going to work in nuclear family; paucity of time is a big challenge to cook full course meal at home. Forty five per cent urban Indians now prefer to buy restaurant brands that are available in the grocery stores and 39 per cent prefer to buy ‘Do-it-yourself food kits‘, which are simple to cook.

Traditional Indian food is also very popular among Indians, especially home cooked regional food. Thus 39 per cent Indians like to savour traditional dishes (Retro‘ or ‘Vintage‘ foods) that reminds them of earlier times, like the foods they grew up with.

Only three in ten (31%) urban Indian prefer to consume Artisanal Foods (packaged foods which have a handmade quality) as it is not a concept that has yet caught up in India. This is primarily because normally most of the Indian dishes cooked at home by an Indian mother or cooks are typically handmade.

The Global Picture:
Marginally less than half (45%) Global consumers expressed a keen interest in foods from different regions or cultures, 44 per cent stated an interest in artisanal foods and 41 per cent expressed a desire for retro or vintage foods.

Do-it-yourself food kits and restaurant brands found in grocery stores met with lukewarm response, with 36 per cent and 23 per cent of global consumers expressing interest, respectively. And, despite the current trend of celebrity chefs putting their names on products from canned soup to pasta sauces to marinades, only 17 per cent of global consumers showed an interest in food products by famous chefs.

Not surprisingly, different at-home dining options find their hot spots in different markets. Foods from different regions or cultures draw the most interest from consumers in the UK, Australia and Germany (70%, 61% and 60% respectively), while artisanal foods gain the most attention from consumers in Italy, Poland and Sweden (70%, 69% and 69% respectively). For products associated with famous chefs, they are bound to get more traction in India, China and Singapore (37%, 29% and 29% respectively) where a larger percentage of respondents indicated an interest in such products.

"The varying levels of interest in packaged food options indicate that what may be exotic in one part of the world, may be rather pedestrian in another," says Banerjee. "For food marketers looking to develop new ideas and launch products in new markets, it is essential that they identify the size of the opportunity early on, taking into consideration local tastes, eating patterns and customs."

MUMBAI, May 13 2013 : Indian food is known for its masaledar taste. The typical Indian consumer looks for the same taste in food of any cuisine. Building on the ‘Indian‘ mindset, McDonald‘s has added a new variant to its Indian menu card - The Masala Grill burger, billed as ‘Pakka Indian.‘ The new Masala Grill is a tasty burst of Indian flavors. The TV commercials highlight typical Indian behavior when it comes to bargains, installments and the like; humorously relating them to the burger‘s Indian flavor.

The launch was actively supported by a 360 degree holistic marketing campaign with a mix of TVCs, print, outdoor and in-store promotions. Milestone Brandcom extended the OOH campaign across 300+ touch points in 4 cities. The campaign continued for a period of 3 weeks. Large format touch points like billboards, gantries, wall wraps & unipoles. Extended presence was built using bus shelters across all major junctions & arterial routes.

Rameet Arora, Senior Director, Marketing & Menu Management at McDonalds India - HRPL said, "The campaign acknowledges and celebrates the colourful life that Indians typically lead. Right from our inherent habit of looking for value in every bargain to our competitive spirit, it captures the elements that make us truly Indian. The communication has been crafted to create an instant connect between the product and the consumers. It attempts to actively engage customers to reach out to what they believe is Pakka Indian."

The communication objective was to create an instant connect between the ‘Indian-ness‘ of the burger with the consumers. To distinguish the campaign on OOH & interact with consumers more effectively, Milestone Brandcom took the communication message from OOH onto Activations.

To draw more attention to these spicy delights, Ronald McDonald‘s look was spiced up to appear more ‘Indian.‘ Ronald across all the McDonald‘s outlets in India was seen wearing a Pagdi (turban). A Pagdi is synonymous to the Indian culture & heritage. An instant hit with the youngsters & customers, Ronald completely stole the show & the employees of the McDonald‘s stores requested they too be given this Pagdi! Along with Ronald, the employees & delivery boys for McDonald‘s wore this Pagdi. The Pagdi was customized across various regions to appeal to the religious diversity. Stalls were set up across all Major McDonald‘s outlets & promoters took interviews of consumers asking them if they were aware of these new spicy delights & what were their views on Ronald‘s new avatar. Many customers fascinated with the Pagdi even went ahead and took photos for a memory. Their feedback was then captured & posted live onto Facebook for them to share with their friends, tagging McDonalds India. A picture that got more than 10 liked would be rewarded with a free Masala Grill

The love for ‘masaledar‘ food has been inherited by us Indians since generations. The necessity for herbs & spices is clearly seen in an Indian kitchen. In the past, the traditional Indian home-maker would use a ‘mortar and a pestle‘ to grind spices. Taking this activity on-ground to connect with the ‘Pakka Indian‘ in all of us; Mc Donald‘s decided to add some spice to an otherwise monotonous day at Kalyan Mall. A circular platform with 3 mortar & pestle‘s was set up in the central atrium. A group of ladies dressed in traditional Indian attire were seen grinding spices on this podium & inviting people to pound spices & interact along with them. To make it more exciting, arrangements for on the spot clicking & printing of pictures complemented the activity making it an ‘Pakka Indian‘ experience to cherish!

Commenting on the campaign, Hanoz Patel, Founder Member & Managing Partner, Milestone Brandcom said, "We are honored to be associated with brand McDonald‘s. We have executed great work together in the past. The objective for the Pakka Indian campaign was to maximize impact of the new launch. In order to create buzz & interactions amongst the customers, it was essential for us to take an unconventional approach. We carried the message of ‘masaledar‘ across engaging innovations at relevant audience-centric touch points"

MUMBAI, 22nd May, 2012 : A large number of people use social media to share their shopping experiences. These experiences, in the form of conversations on social media, are read by millions and have an impact in influencing their decision for the next purchase. So it is necessary that these are tracked consistently and meticulously since these discussions have the power to influence consumer?s purchase decisions.

A social media study conducted by Social Wavelength reveals that Twitter is the number one medium for people to share thoughts and opinions about their shopping experiences. This study was carried out by monitoring the entire universe of conversations happening on social networks such as Twitter , Facebook as well blogs and other community sites and forums, during the period of one month. This research was carried out by Social Wavelength using Radian6.

Radian6, a part of SalesForce.com, is an enterprise level social media listening tool which can help in online reputation management, customer relationships management, identifying sales opportunities, understanding consumer brand sentiment as well as for market research. Social Wavelength is India?s largest social media agency and specialises in social media communication as well as market research by understanding social conversations.

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MUMBAI : The BCCI has read in media reports that Sahara has purported to terminate its franchise agreement and to pull out of IPL, the 2014 season onwards. The BCCI has had no direct communication from its franchisee, Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, in this regard.

The BCCI can however confirm that, in order to satisfy the balance of the 2013 franchise fee of ` 120 crore, which was overdue and owing to BCCI since 3 April 2013, it has encashed part of the bank guarantee put in place by Sahara Adventure Sports Limited.

The IPL Governing Council met with representatives of the franchisee on 21 February 2013 and received assurances that the franchisee would settle all obligations as they fell due. Once the 3 April 2013 due date had passed, the Governing Council had two letters sent to Sahara Adventure Sports Limited ? one on 12 April 2013 and the second on 24 April 2013 ? requesting settlement of the overdue amount. No payment was made and no response was received to the second letter and so, in order to protect its interests, the BCCI was forced to encash the guarantee.

While it is true that the arbitration has not progressed, the BCCI cannot be held responsible since every one of the eminent retired judges suggested by the BCCI was not found acceptable by the franchisee. In order to break this impasse, a letter was sent to Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, proposing that as the claimant to the arbitration, it should approach the court to appoint an arbitrator so that the process could move forward. Again, no response was received to this suggestion.

The BCCI has at all times acted in accordance with its franchise agreement with Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, and is not able to enter into a private negotiation on the quantum of the franchise fee which was offered by Sahara Adventure Sports Limited in its response to the Invitation to Tender floated by the BCCI in March 2010.

MUMBAI : The BCCI has read in media reports that Sahara has purported to terminate its franchise agreement and to pull out of IPL, the 2014 season onwards. The BCCI has had no direct communication from its franchisee, Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, in this regard.

The BCCI can however confirm that, in order to satisfy the balance of the 2013 franchise fee of ` 120 crore, which was overdue and owing to BCCI since 3 April 2013, it has encashed part of the bank guarantee put in place by Sahara Adventure Sports Limited.

The IPL Governing Council met with representatives of the franchisee on 21 February 2013 and received assurances that the franchisee would settle all obligations as they fell due. Once the 3 April 2013 due date had passed, the Governing Council had two letters sent to Sahara Adventure Sports Limited ? one on 12 April 2013 and the second on 24 April 2013 ? requesting settlement of the overdue amount. No payment was made and no response was received to the second letter and so, in order to protect its interests, the BCCI was forced to encash the guarantee.

While it is true that the arbitration has not progressed, the BCCI cannot be held responsible since every one of the eminent retired judges suggested by the BCCI was not found acceptable by the franchisee. In order to break this impasse, a letter was sent to Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, proposing that as the claimant to the arbitration, it should approach the court to appoint an arbitrator so that the process could move forward. Again, no response was received to this suggestion.

The BCCI has at all times acted in accordance with its franchise agreement with Sahara Adventure Sports Limited, and is not able to enter into a private negotiation on the quantum of the franchise fee which was offered by Sahara Adventure Sports Limited in its response to the Invitation to Tender floated by the BCCI in March 2010.