Mumbai-based Phonethics is one firm which is tapping into the new opportunity. It has developed around 20 characters and is licensing them to various brands.
MUMBAI: With 112 millions blogs on the Net, what will corporates do to make their brands stand out? Use cartoon characters.
Mumbai-based Phonethics is one firm which is tapping into the new opportunity. It has developed around 20 characters and is licensing them to various brands.
Brands, in turn, have started using the characters, which would help them get mention in blogs, social media and YouTube.
For example, when Sony introduced Chaalbaz No.1, it used Mian Fekoo, a character based on a street poet, from Phonethics.
Content in the form of videos, experiences and ideas were then posted on a blog, where nearly 25,000 hits were generated.
Kiruba Shankar, founder and CEO of Chennai-based Business Blogging, said there is too much brand confusion on the Net and using a mascot is certainly a novel way to get noticed.
Eustace Fernandes, the art director behind the Amul Girl, said, “The very idea that it is an illustration and not just another model draws eyeballs.”
It is this drive for differentiation on the Web that is resulting in the creation of specialised content creation companies like Phonethics.
Saurabh Gupta, founder and CEO, Phonethics, said, “People are able to find content easier with the help of such visual characters. At least 20 companies have shown interest in our characters.”
The company’s characters comprise those taken from different parts of the country. So, the likes of Mian Fekoo, Farmao Jaan, Mr. Madhuri and Bhakt Harvakt have certain unique traits and mannerisms. Phonethics is now planning to create around 150 such characters.
Companies decide on the characters after seeing the brand fit.
The companies serviced by the start-up include Tata Motors, Sony Entertainment Television and Nokia. Nokia is also planning to have a similar strategy for the launch of N82 and has roped in the company to design a character.
So, will this remain an online trend or will these brands start using them in other media as well? Says Gupta, “It has a natural fit on the Net, but clients are ready to use them across platforms.”
Shankar sees another tangent in which the trend can develop. He feels that once these characters are owned by brands, it would give them the flexibility to develop games.
n_john@dnaindia.net
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