 "Star Wars")
Funskool, ICICI Bank, Amazon India, HP, Duracell, Hamley's, these are some of the brands making Disney India's Christmas a truly merry one this year. The company has roped in as many as 50 brand associations for the seventh Star Wars movie. What is more, the five top brands account for more than Rs 25 crore in media visibility for the movie and all brand associations would contribute to more than Rs 30 crore of visibility.
"While Star Wars is a huge franchise globally, in India, we treated it as the launch of the franchise. So we started our campaign last year itself. We went to various Comic Cons (comic book conventions) and created awareness about the film. As a result, there was sustained visibility around the film, which has helped us get so many different brands on board. We have brands across categories and merchandise across price points for Star Wars - The Force Awakens," says Siddharth Roy Kapur, managing director, Disney India.
Disney has also worked out innovative deals with its brand partners. Amazon India, for example, will be shipping merchandise in Star Wars branded packaging in the week preceding the release of the film (the movie releases in India on December 25) while HP has released a limited edition range of laptops and tablets. Samir Kumar, vice president, category management, Amazon.in says, "We wanted to give customers something special to add on to the excitement. We have created limited edition Star Wars packaging, a first-of-its-kind e-commerce innovation in India."
Disney has also tied up ICICI Bank Expressions Debit Card programme so that consumers can customise their cards, choosing any of the 16 designs of Star Wars characters from the original trilogy as well as Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Jack & Jones, the apparel brand, has created a new Star Wars collection that features classic iconography. It has T-shirts with the images of major characters such as the legendary Jedi master Yoda, the most feared bounty hunter Boba Fett with new graphic interpretations. The collection is available across all 61 Jack & Jones stores across India. "The Star Wars franchise is iconic. We understand that the consumer landscape in India has evolved and our target audience is highly influenced by cult movies. This association is definitely one of our key highlights and perfectly reflects the brand's intention of creating offerings integrated with popular culture." Vineet Gautam, country head, Jack & Jones India.
While these are the key brands associating with the movie, there are other smaller brands from various categories that have come on board as well. Serve Well, a tableware brand has launched Star Wars range of tableware while publisher Scholastic has pop-up books with the Star Wars theme. While the wide range of brand associations does not come as a surprise given the popularity of the franchise, it has taken more than a year of negotiations and planning at Disney India. As Kapur says Disney India treated the movie not as part of a franchise but as an entirely new property. So while it leveraged the fan following that the franchise has, it did not follow the path that previous releases in the franchise had taken and that seems to have paid off handsomely.
STAR-STYDDED GALAXY
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50 brands associated with the movie, five top brands account for nearly Rs 25 crore of sponsorships
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A number of small brand tie-ups used to create a buzz across digital media, television and print
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Funskool is selling a special line of toys
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Amazon.in has special packaging for all orders
- ICICI Bank has customisation options for cards
