Bollywood Trade News Network

Mudra Videotec, a pioneering force in the Indian entertainment marketing arena (behind the success of path-breaking TV serials like BUNIYAD and RAJNI) is now being re-launched to specialize in the areas of Branded Entertainment and Entertainment Marketing. It would be an independent entity within the Mudra Media and Content Services Group, which includes OMS (Optimum Media Solutions), one of India's leading independent media agencies, and Tantr, a specialist content production capability.

Mudra Videotec will be an independent entity headquartered in Mumbai, and will be headed by Jairaj Padmanabhan. Jairaj, a senior communications specialist, moves within the Mudra Media and Content Services Group from OMS, where he was Regional Director for the last one and half years. Another key member is Pritamjit Das who has recently joined Mudra Videotec as Business Manager. He has rich experience in Entertainment Marketing with stints in Epigram and Lintertainment.

Announcing the re-launch of Mudra Videotec, Madhukar Kamath, MD and CEO of the Mudra Group, said, "In a time of media clutter and fragmentation, brands are looking at content and entertainment to build connections with customers. The entertainment space is incredibly exciting and offers lots of opportunity for creative and imaginative solutions for brands. We are reinventing one of the country's pioneering content creation and marketing brands because we believe that it is of great relevance to marketers in today's environment."

Added Chandradeep Mitra, President of Mudra Media and Content, "Mudra Videotec would operate in the growing area of Convergence between Branding and Entertainment. Mudra Videotec would be present in two broad domains. On one hand, it would offer multiple communication solutions to marketers of brands leveraging various entertainment platforms. This would include a gamut of services like Co-promotions of brands with films, Merchandising, Brand Placements in films and TV serials, and conceiving, producing and airing Advertiser Funded Programs (AFPs). On the other hand, it would offer branding and media solutions to Entertainment and Content creators. This would consist of providing Media and Branding Solutions along with Marketing Consultancy to content creators."

Jairaj has over 15 years of media, marketing, creative and production experience across organizations like OandM, Lintas, Homeland Networks and OMS. He has also written for TV serials (Hey Yehi Toh Hain Wohh) and written and directed a feature film (U BOMSI N ME).

To bring specialized knowledge and expertise about Branded Entertainment in the Indian context, Mudra Videotec is investing in research and tools for measurement. It has already completed a study on consumer attitudes towards brand integration within entertainment platforms. In association with OMS, it is in the process of completing a 4-city consumer study on current multiplex viewing habits. Both are first-of-its-kind studies in the Indian context. Mudra Videotec will also be shortly launching its proprietary tool for valuation of brand associations with films, and a strategic toolkit for identifying and creating Advertisers Funded Programmes (AFP) opportunities.

In the past, Mudra Videotec has had considerable experience and success in television programming with hugely successful programmes like Buniyad, Udaan, Rajni, Manoranjan, Ados Pados and sponsored telefilms like Janam amongst others. It was also instrumental in bringing the hugely successful Australian series Bodyline on Indian television. It was a pioneer in bringing sponsored serials and telefilms to viewers and has had an enviable track record of innovations in media.