Marketers are creating advertising campaigns targeted towards Indian Americans in response to the success of "Slumdog Millionaire" and growing awareness of Bollywood culture in the US. State Farm is sponsoring a Bollywood karaoke contest with the prize being a trip to India to sing in a Bollywood film. IFC is developing a special marketing plan to promote their new mini-series "Bollywood Hero". These campaigns aim to take advantage of increased interest in Bollywood but also must be careful to respect cultural customs when targeting this audience.

1. wednesday, May 20, 2009 ~ vol. ccliii no. 117
Marketers Tie Ads to Bollywood
ADVERTISING
Success of ‘Slumdog’ Spawns Campaigns Aimed at Indian Americans
By Emily StEEl
H
oping to ridE the buzz of
Oscar winner “Slumdog
Millionaire” and grow-
ing U.S. awareness of Bollywood,
some marketers are planning pro-
motions specifically targeted at
Indian Americans.
Insurer State Farm in June is
sponsoring a karaoke contest in
which consumers can upload vid-
eos to a Web site where viewers
vote on two finalists. The prize:
a trip to India to sing in a Bolly-
wood film.
IFC, part of Cablevision’s
Rainbow Media Holdings, is de-
veloping a special marketing plan
to promote its new mini-series
“Bollywood Hero,” starring co-
median Chris Kattan, which will
debut this summer.
“’Slumdog Millionaire’ really
made a lot of this content very ac-
cessible,” says Paramdeep Singh,
IFC
managing director and co-founder IFC will target the South Asian community when it promotes ‘Bollywood Hero,’ set to debut this summer.
of Saavn, a joint venture of digi-
tal media firm [212]Media and sal and News Corp. Saavn is now tain cultures or featuring specific to this audience, he notes.
South Asian mobile entertainment looking to package its content as ethnic groups in their ads, notes State Farm started tailoring
company Hungama Mobile that marketing sponsorships. Valentin Polyakov, vice president its marketing to the South Asian
specializes in creating campaigns Marketing executives say the of media services at GlobalWorks audience in 2005 through ads in
tailored to Indians. Saavn is work- South Asian population in the Group, an independent New York targeted magazines. The insurer
ing with State Farm and IFC on U.S., which includes Indian, Paki- ad agency that specializes in mul- has continued to ratchet up its
their campaigns. (“Slumdog Mil- stani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and ticultural marketing. marketing to the community ever
lionaire” is distributed by Fox Nepali communities, is a desirable Burger King generated a dose since, sponsoring cricket matches
Searchlight, a unit of News Corp., one. The group is relatively affluent of controversy this winter when it through TV print and online, as
,
which owns Wall Street Journal and highly educated, according to launched an ad campaign asking well as grass-roots promotions.
publisher Dow Jones & Co.) U.S. Census Bureau data. farmers in the Transylvania region Its Bollywood karaoke contest
Saavn, based in New York But numbering more than two of Romania and other remote ar- will be promoted with other on-
with offices in Mumbai, London, million, Indian Americans remain eas to try its Whopper alongside line ads and by sponsoring events
Los Angeles and Toronto, is the a small slice of the overall U.S. McDonald’s Big Mac. The cam- in a number of cities across the
world’s largest digital distributor population. And though Slumdog paign, called “Whopper Virgins,” country, including New York and
of Bollywood content, owning brought Bollywood into the spot- was criticized by bloggers and Los Angeles.
digital rights to hundreds of mov- light, it may have trouble staying other pundits as lacking taste and The contest is similar to a
ies and thousands of music tracks, there. India’s movie industry has being potentially exploitative. promotion Verizon launched last
music videos and ringtones. The been hit by the recession, with a Marketers can reach out to the summer. To promote the South
company distributes its content lack of financing this year drasti- Indian-American audience through Asian content it was offering on
on its own Web site and a range of cally scaling back movie produc- targeted newspapers, India-based its FiOS TV service, the company
media properties including Time ers’ ability to finish and market Web portals with U.S. editions and put together an online “Bollypop
Warner Cable, Verizon Wireless, their films. 24-hour Bollywood subscription Dance Contest.”Winners received
Apple’s iTunes and Hulu, the on- Marketers also need to be TV networks, Mr. Polyakov says. a trip to India and appeared in a
line video joint venture between mindful of cultural history and The proliferation of digital con- dance sequence in a movie to be
General Electric’s NBC Univer- customs when targeting ads to cer- tent has made it easier to target ads released in October.