Using Characters as effective marketing tools

Setup in FEB 2006

To create character-led Original content

Content Format: Short form Video , Animation & Audio (15 sec – 30 min)

For commercial distribution on the wireless and emerging media

The company has its genesis in a 9 year old Advertising and corporate film production company, Ethics

Phonethics was founded by Saurabh Gupta along with an angel investor

The company is mentored by Prof. Deepak Jain (Dean – Kellogg College) and enjoys creative support and involvement from Rahul Bose (eminent Actor)

The company has two divisions:

IP products Division: Creating Character led Content

Services Division: Executing advertising/corporate assignments

Phonethics specializes in creation of Short Form content for the Web and Mobile Platforms

Content Creation abilities:

Ideating & Conceptualization – Scripting and Storyboard

Video Creation – Shoot, Edit and Produce Video Products

Animation – 2D and 3D

Audio – Music and Sound Design

Currently Phonethics has a library of 8 characters with fully evolved storylines.

Each character is representative of a particular vertical of content

The Base Content for all is Video / Animation pieces with affiliate products in the form of Ringtones, Wallpapers, etc.

PHONETHICS CHARACTER FAMILY

INDYEAH SINGH – Character Background From coolie to cool dude, his avatars are representative of the changing India. His jokes and silly antics are meant to bring a smile to your face but watch out for the interesting factoid he’s got about India. Funny yet informative, this series marries animation and Video in a unique manner to deliver power packed edutainment.

INDYEAH SINGH – Content Details First Series : Indyeah Singh in various avatars and different setups recounting interesting facts about India Coming Soon : Indyeah Singh take the viewer through the Mutiny of 1857 Content Formats : Videos & Wallpapers Content Volume : Videos: 25 Episodes between 30 – 60s each Wallpapers: 30 units

MADHURI – Character Background From childbirth to marriage, nothing is really complete without her raunchy moves and silly but effusive wishes. This character is easily identifiable by anybody who has shelled out money to the groups of transvestites that land up on every auspicious occasion in India, clapping with open hands and threatening to do the Full Monty at the drop of a …hundred rupee note!

MADHURI – Content Details First Series : Short funny greetings Coming soon : Madhuri ‘s obsession with Bollywood divas and item numbers lands her in Bombay, where she meets the women & Men of her dreams. Content Formats : Videos & Wallpapers Content Volume : Videos: 7 Episodes between 15 – 45s each Ringtones: 7 Wallpapers: 15 units

A 25 min short film

“ Ctrl+Alt+Del”, featuring

Internationally acclaimed

actor Rahul Bose

First film to premiere

on mobile phones in India,

(Reliance Communications

23/12/06)

Critical acclaim at

International film festivals

OOma TM [Video]

A detective with a difference, OOma (Uma) solves mysteries

using her intelligence, experience and of course oomph!! A

unique concept, this will be the first of its kind in the interactive

content category.

Blind date TM [Video]

A mobile journal of a single working woman in the city

looking for friendship, love and companion-ship.

Car se pyaar TM [Animation]

A love story between a city slicker

car and a rough and tough bike.

Current Products under development – (Entertainment) (3-5 minutes)

Mermaid [Video]

A beautiful mermaid takes us through the history of the Geographical World as we know it. From discovery of Americas, India, great voyages, Pirates, Sailors, Shipwrecks, Sea Lore etc… she bring all to us including great undersea visuals.

Case Studies

Brand – Indica Vista Objective – Repositioning of the Indica. Change perception from being a cab to a great option to upgrade in the small car segment Solution – ‘ Andy & Leela ’ who are Young & Ambitious , reflection of our TG Manifestation – The characters are part of a Graphic Novel, animated viral, a flash game and a comic strip generator application on Social Networks Check out all this and more on www.Changeseverything.in Interactive Microsite Viral + Flash Game Comic strip Generator

Brand – Champion Chaalbaaz No. 1 (Reality Show based on the International Format Prankstar Objective – To promote the show online, showcasing various pranks played by contestants Solution – A blog hosted by a Naughty Mian Fekoo, who narrates the best pranks ever played, showcases videos and gave tips to users. Great Pranks from the show often features as PART OF CONTENT on the blog Result – The blog received 40000 views over the month, being promoted across social media

Brand – WIN WIN Offer on the Mumbai HT Objective – Make people read HT & search for Hidden Clues in the newspaper & send an SMS to win a car every week. Targeting Mumbai city Solution – Mumbai’s Bindass Attitude was best reflected in characters ‘Bhai & Sirkit’ in an animated viral Result – The viral received 25000 views in just the first 2 weeks of the campaign

Brand – Sumo Grande Objective – To create awareness & consumer interaction around the launch of the Tata Sumo Grande in the online space. As a new variant in UV category, the USPs of the vehicle needed enunciation Solution – Character Arun Kumar, pen name for an Ex-Writer for Auto Mag – Top Gear Result – Branding activity morphed into a conversion tool as 2 cars were bought & blog received 48000 views in 30 days!!

Grande Launch covered on the blog Widgets on the blog

Brand – Tourism New Zealand Objective – To establish Tourism New Zealand as an exciting travel destination abroad to Indian Tourists Solution – Character Anil, a frequent traveller, planning a trip to New Zealand gathering and SHARING information on New Zealand and Must See spots there Result – Received a Whopping 4.5 lac views over 2 months of running

Brand – Fiesta 1.6 Sports Objective – Consumer interaction blog to promote the newly launched Ford Fiesta Sport. Detailed reviews were posted by a specialist of the vertical Solution – Established Auto Blog Talking About Torque was used to create hype around this launch Result – In the first of this 6 month activity, 2 cars were sold and 20000 views received

Brand – Gaming tournament - GAMERSADDA Objective – To establish the Gaming Tournament to the active gamer community in the online space, inviting users to register for the event Solution – Gamer ‘Jason’ was the writer of this blog, who had keen eye on all new gaming developments and launches, reviewed consoles and games and Tournaments Result – The blog received 25000 views and generated 1500 comments from users

Widgets on the blog

Brand – Gateway (Short Film Making Reality Show) Objective – To establish the Show amid film enthusiasts and generate dialogue around the developments across episodes Solution – Aspiring Film Maker Sameer Khanna took many leafs out of the Gateway book. Content ranged from Method and Process, to short video references Result – Received over 10000 Brand Interactions during 3 week campaign

Final Gateway movies covered on the blog Widgets on the blog