Month: December 2014

Print Media Business

Shabbir Chunawalla

Newspapers were financed, for much of the 19th century, by political parties. The party controlled the editorial matter. By the end of the 20th century, there were hardly any party-affiliated newspapers left.Newspapers rely on the advertising revenue to sustain themselves. It is believed that this is better than party financing, as journalism becomes more independent. The aim is to have wider audiences for the benefit of the advertisers. This keeps the advertises happy. However, there is a tendency to adopt studied inoffensiveness, an unwillingness to speak truths not palatable to the audience. Even then the media sustained on advertising are more independent than the paty-financed media. Many advertisers support a media, and so no individual advertiser wields total power. Advertisers throw themselves to the background, and we can occasionally forget that they are there. Of late, there is concern about news that is paid for, which borders almost on advertising.

The media business is, however, not a thriving business. Media companies have reported losses. Media companies tie up with large corporates but still by themselves they are medium and small enterprises.Though the whole industry remains scattered and small, big players have slowly appeared to build new businesses. News Corporation-Star India of Rupert Murdoch, TimeWarner- Turner India, Walt Disney-Walt Disney India group and Sony-Multiscreen Media are the MNC players.

Media dependence on advertising has kept it small and will have to find new sources of sustenance to make it big. The consolidation of media interests (especially news) in the hands of a few has also been discussed. It is also to be seen whether the entry of non-media businesses will affect the media. In India, there is already cross-media ownership e.g.  a media company can operate a news channel, a newspaper, radio station and web platforms. There is a demand for an independent media regulator.

 

The Tintins and Other Comics

Shabbir Chunawalla

The Tintins read in the childhood seemed brighter. The colours were deeper and richer. The recent prints are somehow dull, even the Dutch versions. Every reprint is slightly more off-colour than the earlier ones. It is on account of the computer prints. The colours must be rescanned and done on computer.

In Europe, comics still are a serious business, though elsewhere they are re-marketed as graphic novels. At the beginning of the previous century, comics were big as there was no TV, movies or radio. The comic artists were held in high esteem. People used to buy the newspapers often based on the comic strips they carried. It was in the US first that the value of the comic artist declined as other media emerged on the scene. In Europe, however, comics managed to hold onto their status, and were a part of cultural mainstream.

Male Models

Shabbir Chunawalla

There is a decline in male modelling. The number of fashion shows using male models are fewer. The fashion designers have their own personal choice. Male models must have a height between 5′ 11.5″ and 6’2″. He should ideally be buff and lean. Many male models in India over exercise. They become too bulky for the designer garments. A new model gets Rs. 5000-8000 per day for ad films. An established model for ramp show charges Rs. 25000 to Rs. 30000 per show. However, the shelf life of a male model is very short — two to four years. Male models do not have as many opportunities as their female counterparts. There are problems of high cost of living in the cities, inappropriate demands by the designers, the required networking in social circuits, and image maintaining efforts. Reputed fashion weeks use female models and tend to pick only a handful of male models. There are alternative careers now available — vjaying, anchoring, rjaying which give a steady source of income. Male models can just have a fling with modelling. They do not have a relationship with it.

What is a Brand ?

Shabbir Chunawalla

The question seems to be stupid. We all know what a brand is. But if we quote a few definitions, there will be confusion.

A brand, by definition, is a short-hand description of a package of value, on which consumers can rely to be consistently the same or better over a period of time. A brand distinguishes a product or service from competitive offerings.

A brand is associated with a familiar logo. Whenever we come across this logo, we think of the brand and the whole value package it represents and the promises it carries. This is the way it is supposed to work.

A brand starts as a product and a name. But much can be built on that name.

Account Planners in Advertising

Shabbir Chunawalla

These are the people who bring the consumers and the brand together. They do the research and strategic thinking. This is not as simple as it sounds. Here we have to synthesize multiple inputs from culture, politics, history, mythology and everyday behaviour. The inputs come by spending time with the consumers. They are distilled into brand communication. However, these are the days of digital communications which are interactive. Do theses make account planners irrelevant? These days we have to engage the consumers. Planners work away from other functions like creatives and client servicing . Such isolation may not survive for long.  Prior to the arrival of planners, the accounts and creative people did it all on their own. Planners came as specialists. Specialisation creates its own problems. The issues become complex. Planning is to advertising what consulting is to business. Planning is useless if it remains in the hard disk. It must be able to push the creative product to the next level. The trend now is the advent of independent agencies which fuse planning into other mainstream functions. They do cutting edge planning and cutting edge thinking.

A Comic Book on Anant Pai

Shabbir Chunawalla

A comic book on the life of Anant Pai has been released by ACK. It is a 32-page book. The company researched for six months and wrote it. It has been illustrated by Dilip Kadam who worked for Pai for over 35 years. The book features scenes from his childhood, his career switch from a chemical engineer to a writer and story teller and his life time contribution to the Amar Chitra Katha family. The books title is Anant Pai – Master Storyteller.

The Sun’s Sunday Edition

Shabbir Chunawalla

The Sun was a Monday-through-Saturday newspaper for more than 40 years. It has become a seven-day-a-week operation now. It was published on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012 for the first time. The Sun on Sunnday is the best answer to their critics. It is a classic Rupert Murdoch mounting a counter-attack at a moment of vulnerability. It may fill the void created by the closing of the News of the World. Though the company News Corp. is sustained by non-newspaper business, and is more a sports and entertainment company, it is drawn into newspaper business by Murdoch’s fondness for them.

Satellite TV Channel Economics

Shabbir Chunawalla

Just by taking one illustration of Indian TV channel, we shall try to understand the economics of running a satellite channel.

In the year 2000, human resources accounted for 5 per cent of Zee TV’s total cost. In 2009, they account for 9 per cent, but the cost is still lower than that in other channels. Programming cost is worked out on the basis of thumb-rule. It should be one third of the advertising revenue it can generate. If the advertising revenue is Rs 100, the programming cost should be Rs 33. Another 33 per cent is for other expenses. The EBITDA ( earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation ) is 33 per cent. Therefore, after paying taxes, 15-20 per cent is saved for the channel. Thus for a 20-lac programme, one has to earn Rs.60 lac in advertising.In Zee TV, the serials made are 30-40 per cent cheaper than the serials on the other channels.

Original Comic (Book) Art : Valuable Business

Shabbir Chunawalla

All over the world, there are art collectors. Some of them are comic art collectors. Comic art in original is a very valuable investment. A comic book’s original sketch work, after it has been scanned for reproduction, is returned to the artist. Companies such as Marvel and DC Comics only own the rights of reproduction, not the originals themselves. The artists hire representatives who sell this art for them. The comic art market is driven by nostalgia. The comic book readers grow up and long   for books read by them in their younger age. Even some moder artists command a good price. It is difficult to assess the value of any piece or panel. It is a matter of personal sentiment and nostalgia. A comic book converted into a movie enhances its value. Some artists rarely sell their work.  Scarcity makes their work highly valuable. A deviation in style on the part of the artist increases the value of his work. So also the work enhances in value when an artist switches from one character to another. The Europeans revere their comic artists because their output  consists of only 48 pages per year. As against this, American artists produce 22 pages per month. Public transactions are just the tip of the ice-berg. Comic art comes on over-sized sheets of hard paper usually in black and white. They could be sketched for cover, for a regular multi-panelled page or for a splash page with a single, giant panel. As they are roughs when drawn, there are erasure marks and correction fluid marks. There are marginal comments.

Chronology : Indian Comic Books

Shabbir Chunawalla

1940s : Indian comics started in the 40s some sity years ago. Chandamama published a series of comic books in five languages since 1947.

1967 : Amar Chitra Katha (ACK ) was launched by Anant Pai.

1970s : Chacha Chaudhary was created by Pran.

1980s : Tinkle, the first comic magazine was launched by Pai. Raj comics introduced characters such as Nagraj, Super Commando, Dhruva and Parmanu later.