Download - Amar Chitra Katha-branding
Amar Chitra Katha:
How should I start? As in my childhood while reading & enjoying this
comic books, never thought of that one day I would be writing & sharing
my views on very Famous AMAR CHITRA KATHA which retell stories
from the great Indian epics, mythology, history, folklore, and fables in a
comic book format. I strongly feel every Indian child from 1967 till today
would have at one point in his childhood read these comics. Such is the
fan following that the adults who grew up in late 1970s and 80’s still read
the comics in their free time.
Introduction:
Amar Chitra Katha, the flagship brand was founded in 1967 and is a
household name in India. This illustrated series comprises the best
stories from the great epics, mythology, history and folktales. It has
more than 400 comics in 20 languages (English is the primary language),
that have sold 100 million copies to date, making it a cultural phenomenon.
The comic series was started by Anant Pai in an attempt to teach Indian
children about their cultural heritage. He was shocked that Indian
students could answer questions on Greek and Roman mythology, but were
ignorant of their own history, mythology and folklore. The above is an oft-
told story of how ACK was founded beginning with 'Uncle Pai', in Mumbai
in 1967.
In year 2007, Amar Chitra Katha has been acquired by ACK Media which
is India’s leading entertainment and education company for young
audiences.
Amar Chitra Katha (Immortal Picture Stories)
Branding:
The brand Amar Chitra Katha is known to bring to life Indian mythological
and historical stories and have served as a preferred medium of
introducing children to the richness of South Asian culture. Much of my
generation since its launch in 1967, have grown up spending endless hours
reading the tales of brave kings, queens, demi Gods and religious
characters at the same time imbibing values of morality, wisdom, kindness
etc. Mr Anant Pai (uncle Pai), a newspaper executive is the one who built
the whole empire.
Entertainment + education + reading habits.
“Amar Chitra Katha is one of India’s most cherished brands that has
created and preserved values and belief systems for generations of
Indians.
Amar Chitra Katha are a glorious tribute to India’s rich cultural heritage.
The books have beenan integral part of my children’s early years, as they
have been for many other families across India. Comics are a great way
of reaching out to children, inculcating reading habits and driving there
quest to learn about our more roots
(Narayan Murthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys)
The Icons of Amar Chitra Katha ideologue the idea of ‘ideal’. ACK, in its
branding might come across as visual literature of history for children.
Positioning of Amar Chitra Katha:
Positioning: Indian credible root to routes
Perception: Credible & acceptable source of Indian mythology & history
Value Proposition:
Emotional: Quintessential Indian history & glory
Functional: Authentic, Insightful, easy to read, sober
Economical: VFM, Sets
Brand Personality: Indian history, user friendly, story telling
Brand Extension:
The ever favorite children’s comic brand Amar Chitra Katha is going
digital, a trend the iconic brand cannot afford stay away from it was a big
news in a market. The comic book series which sells more than 100 million
copies every year in 20 different languages is reviving its past glory by
selling content on the web, television, tablets and through various other
channels like audio books and games.
Its move to the digital world, was inevitable as the country’s Internet
population grew. E-commerce website
(http://www.amarchitrakatha.com/in/) came into an existence where all
their products were made available globally making shipping free in India.
Mergers & Acquision
In 2007, entrepreneurs Samir Patil and Shripal Morakhia acquired and
incorporated Amar Chitra Katha and its sister brands like Tinkle and
Karadi Tales, besides bringing together the publication and the
distribution business (India Book House) under a single corporate entity
called ACK Media. Thereafter, they sold a majority stake to Future
Ventures (66% stake holder) and also brought in the PE investor Elephant
Capital (26% stake holder).
ACK digital media tie-ups
• Turner TV- Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha
• Vodafone Essar mobile- audio books, comics, ringtones &
wallpapers
• Synqua mobile games- Bheema, Arjuna, Suppandi
• iRemedi- ACK comics on iPhone & iPod, global audience
• Amar Chitra Katha Pvt. Ltd. have launched 'ACK Comics' , their
official digital comic appthrough which readers can access the
timeless tales. Previously available on Windows 8, ACK comics is now
available on iOS and Android platforms.
• Deals with flipkart, amazon, snapdeal, firstcry.com & many more
to sell ACK products online also through there website.
The Digital readers can digitally access the entire Amar Chitra Katha
collection.
ACKcomics app have crossed 100,000+ downloads after been launched
& has been listed as one of the best app on iTunes app store.
ACK model
Through its digital presence ACK would be able to cater to the new
generation of Indians. It will also be a perfect vehicle to globalize
Indian values and beliefs that make Indian culture so unique and so
fascinating.”
It Also made a statement saying : Amar Chitra Katha are
expecting 25 per cent revenue from the digital section in
the next five years. This clearly shows the potential it has to grow
and capture the market share.
The report shows that to acquire that 25% of revenue from digital
section, the company is planning to put 85% of its investment in the
digital section.
Implementations:
Brand
e-commerce website
Ground Activities
As far as my knowledge & observation is
concerned I would just like give some of my
suggestions/recommendations for ACK.
Starting off with Branding part with changing
times ACK is one of those rare brands which have
continuously succeeded, not by publicity but by
word of mouth from satisfied consumers," ACK
should continue its investment in branding and
marketing which helps ACK retain its leadership
and also build its mindshare in new segments.
SOCIAL Media is one of the best way to go with
it, social media communication is critical as it
helps us directly reach out to and connect with
our community of readers. Regular conversations
will help to get regular feedback and a better
understanding of their expectations. With the
support of the community, ACK are also better
able to amplify their message and have more
people learn about what we do.
On the other hand, brands are able to engage
with the audiences with greater success and
effectiveness than most other brands. Thus the
relationship between the more ‘interesting’
publishing brands (like Amar Chitra Katha and
National Geographic) and Social Media is
symbiotic.
Logo: It the symbol which communicates the
major part of the Brand. So here with changing
times I just feel that the ACK logo should be
updated with adding some or the other animations
to it (I would not recommend to completely
change it)I
e-commerce website: AMAR CHITRA KATHA
With its launched in yr 2008, ACK the publisher created a new online
store that offers all the titles with shipping worldwide. The titles are
divided in following categories
1. Fables & Folktales (e.g. Panchatantra)
2. Mythology (e.g. The Ramayana)
3. The Epics (e.g. The Mahabharata)
4. Humour & wit (e.g. Birbal)
5. Biographies (e.g. Mahatma Gandhi)
6. Literary Classics
7. 3 in 1 Titles
8. 5 in 1 Titles
9. Special Issues
The website allows us to shop according our choices/different
department there is not much of clutter & COD facility is also available so
here it has covered mostly all the points but as ACK is catering is young
children I feel the website should add more animation effects to it which
would be very much attractive.
Ground Activities:
I know that ACK is more into social media presence as very frequently I
am across the ads on the social media sites. Even Mr Manas Mohan, CEO,
Amar Chitra Katha made a statement that 25% of our marketing budget
is now earmarked for social media platforms that are good signs of Below
the line activities. Here again I would like give some suggestions which I
feel that would leverage ACK
1. On the facebook page we need to make sure that we constantly
keep the ACK page updating with some or the other information &
also try to keep engaging our audiences in some or the other way.
Eg: It could be like creating an online activity with an offline
benefit: Engaging more no. of audiences to download our app an
participate in an quiz (based history & mythology) & whatever the
results of the quiz would be automatically updated on our fb page.
2. Continue the story on social media Storytelling is supposed to be an
art; one that brands have been adopting in their communication
strategy for quite a while. What brands can start looking at, is
creating a strong story line using traditional media and directing it
to social media platforms.
3. Organise an small events in an malls where kids can play & in a mean
time communicate with the parents this is one of the best way of
communicating on 1 on 1 basis & also very effective.
4. Tie-up with the institutes where we can conduct the seminars with
children as well as the parents.
5. Sell merchandise products like bobbleheads, which helps in creating
brand awareness.
6. Writing an blogs is very trendy and effective way in engaging our
audiences so I feel ACK should also consider this point.
This were some of the suggestions from myside.“We called it Amar
Chitra Katha also because the “picture story” is an ancient form
of storytelling. Some of the earliest stories from the prehistoric era
were recorded in pictures—tales of exciting hunts and discovery. I
believe that we can instill good values in children throughstories, show
them a good path. If these stories are illustrated, then there’s
nothing better. That was ACK’s thought.” Thank you.
Chintan Desai- MBA (Marketing, Digital Marketing, Advertising)
Universal Business School
+91 9769456876