"The media company has set up an international advisory board as it plans to capitalize on the global visibility its films are bringing to its characters"

Bangalore: “Marvel Entertainment Inc sees its international business as its biggest driver over the next five years, with rapid growth expected particularly in India and China,” a top executive said.

The media company, which started making its own films last year with ‘Iron Man’ and ‘The Incredible Hulk’, said that it had set up an international advisory board as it plans to capitalize on the global visibility its films are bringing to its characters.

With the board, Marvel aims to decentralize its international expansion, work with local business leaders and establish operations in markets outside the US. “If you look five years into the future, China and India, because of the population mass, are the ones that (lend themselves) to the fastest growth,” said Simon Philips, president, worldwide consumer products, from London.

“Marvel realizes in order to grow locally, it needs to set up initiatives that will work locally,” Philips said.

“This is something that is part of a long-term strategy to make sure we have the best foundations in every market,” Philips said.

“The global push will diversify its revenue and make Marvel more profitable as its fixed costs will remain relatively the same,” Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter said.

“Its international business could account for about 50 percent of its revenue over the next three to four years depending on the success of its film business,” said Pachter, who noted the segment currently forms about 35 percent of its business.

‘Iron Man’ — Marvel’s first self-produced film, which was distributed by Viacom’s Paramount Pictures and had the second-biggest non-sequel box office opening in history — got more than half its box-office revenue from international markets.

“So that (international revenue) is going to be a gigantic piece of the business,” Pachter said.
But Pachter also had some doubts about how well Marvel’s characters will be accepted outside the US.
“It’s hard, culturally, to say that Spider-Man is ever going to sell in China. I don’t know,” he said.
Spider-Man, whose theatrical rights has been licensed to Sony Pictures , is Marvel’s most popular character.

Mixing local flavor

As it ships its characters across the seas, New York-based Marvel is adding a dash of local flavor to its characters, which it hopes might address such acceptance-related concerns.

Its partner, Japanese animation studio Madhouse Ltd, is recreating the Marvel universe for the Japanese market with new names, story lines and looks. Japan is another key growth market for Marvel.

Madhouse is in the process of making 48 episodes of Marvel anime, due to premiere in Japan in 2010.
“That is our test,” Marvel’s Philips said adding: “We’re watching this closely to see how it works.”
Philips did not say whether Marvel has plans to localize its characters in India or China. “We are not yet ready to comment on other character localization plans,” he said adding: “However, we anticipate making some announcements in the coming months.”

Films have been the fastest way to introduce Marvel characters outside the US. Also, the company expects revenue from its international segment to get a leg up with two self-made films scheduled for release both in 2010-2011.

“These movies provide us a tremendous awareness driver that in turn enables us to develop lots of local initiatives,” Philips said.

Beyond the US

Spearheading the company’s attempt to tap talent and expertise in markets outside the US will be its international advisory board, chaired by James Halpin, a Marvel director since March 1995 and former chief executive of CompUSA Inc.

“We’ve established this board primarily because it is a reflection of our growth internationally,” Philips said.

The company named Peter Yip, CEO of China’s CDC Corp, and Bollywood film producer Manmohan Shetty, former chairman of Adlabs Films Ltd, to the board, highlighting the importance Marvel attaches to China and India.

“They are both significant growth markets for the company and we are putting a considerable amount of attention into expanding our presence and business opportunities in those regions,” Philips said.
“Marvel plans to name members representing the Europe, Middle East and Africa and Latin American regions,” Philips said.

 Source: LiveMint

Santa Monica, CA -- Founded in 1981, the American Film Market (AFM) has become the premiere global marketplace where Hollywood's decision-makers and trendsetters come together. Unlike a film festival, the AFM is a marketplace where production and distribution deals are closed. In just eight days, more than $800 million in deals will be negotiated, on both completed films and those in the initial stages of production; making AFM the largest film and distribution market event in the world.

With the announcement of Brand-in Entertainment (BiE) as the official brand integration company of the 2009 AFM, AFM Managing Director Jonathan Wolf stated, "It's a great benefit to independent film makers to have Brand-in Entertainment as the official brand integration company of AFM 2009. They are a leading resource for secondary funding of entertainment projects."

BiE President, Rolfe Auerbach, added, "For the last two years Brand-in Entertainment has enjoyed participating as a sponsor of the AFM. We look forward to the 2009 market in our expanded role as the official brand integration company of 2009 AFM. And, we look forward to the opportunity to meet with more producers and add their projects to our already impressive list of quality films."

According to Mr. Auerbach, BiE will be holding meetings on new films throughout the AFM. BiE creates product-integration in projects and assists them through secondary funding in a variety of entertainment media including Theatrical Movies, TV Movies, TV Series (both scripted and unscripted), music videos, music tours, Broadway, web-isodes, books, graphic novels, Internet and mobile phones.

Mr. Auerbach added, "With the reality of Digital Video Recorders and today's multi-tasking consumer, I believe effective brand integration is key for the successful sponsorship and funding of entertainment projects."

Source: PRWeb

VANCOUVER: Telus has rolled out the red carpet for the world premiere of Jag Jeondeyan De Mele, a Bollywood movie in which one of Telus' smart phones, the Blackberry Curve, is integrated in the movie.

Telus has invited VIPs from the South Asian community, as well as the BC premier and the Vancouver mayor, to the opening on Monday, February 16th.

“We knew in terms of ethnic media that we would get coverage,” said Jatinder Rai, general manager of Response Advertising, Telus' South Asian agency which brokered the movie deal and has launched a PR campaign to promote Telus' involvement in the movie.

To reach the mainstream press, however, he said the PR team focused messaging on the fact that half of the movie was shot in Vancouver, stars Harbhajan Mann, an Indian actor and singer raised in BC, and that it is the first time a Canadian brand has been featured in a Bollywood movie. In the movie, the main character uses some of the features of the Blackberry Curve, including its built-in GPS.

Major outlets such as the Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Province, as well CTV, CBS, and Global TV are expected to cover the premiere. “Because of the success of other South Asian movies like Slumdog Millionaire, there's already a buzz about this movie,” said Rai. With the product placement, Telus aims to reach a portion of the country's 1.3 million South Asians.

Following its premiere Monday night, the movie opens Friday across Canada, in 13 Cineplex theatres, as well as in the US, UK, New Zealand, and Australia.

Source:  PRWeek

"The new online service aims to be a one-stop platform where marketers and content producers alike can maximize brand integration opportunities using the site’s proprietary matching engines BrandMatch™ and ProjectMatch™."

Singapore (PRnine - January 21, 2009) - Product placement and other forms of brand integration are an increasingly important method of marketing due to the growing use of TiVo and other types of on-demand entertainment. Using its proprietary BrandMatchTM and ProjectMatchTM engines, BrandPix.com aims to serve the growing Asian markets and consumer base by providing an online service where both content producers and marketers can meet to maximize optimal brand integration opportunities.

Although brand integration is an important method of marketing using many types of media, including traditional forms such as print, film, and video games as well as online media like television streams and video-on-demand, the marketing industry has yet to fully utilize the internet to maximize its growth potential.

“Many marketers and content providers are using the cold call method of sourcing for brands or integration opportunities, which is a relatively inefficient way of reaching the right people,” says

BrandPix.com founder Kalaiselvi Balakrishnan, “or, they are relying on personal or industry contacts, which is a limited subset of the potential market segment.”

BrandPix.com aims to solve this problem by placing marketers and content producers from a wide range of media in contact with one another based upon user-specified integration preferences and target demographics. In addition to identifying appropriate marketing opportunities, BrandPix.com also provides a secure and private platform where the parties can safely establish and manage project bids.

Interested parties are invited to use BrandPix service for free while it is in private beta prior to the official launch.

More information can be found by visiting http://www.brandpix.com

Source: PRNine