AgTalk | India has a vibrant growing ad industry: Warner Bros's Lewis

As children, we all have had our favourite animation / cartoon characters, most popular being Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck etc. If you think you’re childhood is lost, think again! The Warner Bros. clip library consisting of shows such as The Big Bang, and hundreds of thousands of hours of animation of endearing characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Road Runner and very recently they have open doors for the Indian marketeers. Being the single largest in the world clip library in the world, the library has over 7000 films in its bank.

Adgully caught up with Preston Kevin Lewis, MD, Warner Bros. Consumer Products – Australia, New Zealand and India to know more on this. Lewis directs all licensing operations, including marketing, promotions, publicity, retail and sales, leveraging iconic brands such as Looney Tunes, Scooby Doo, Harry Potter, DC Superheroes (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc) and Tom & Jerry. He is a member of the Warner Bros. Entertainment Australia Board of Directors. In our conversation he discussed how a marketer can tap the full potential of the market using the extensive Warner Bros. clip library and more. He also gave insights on various initiatives on working directly with local advertising and marketing agencies in India to leverage WB’s first-in-class portfolio of film, television and animation titles for advertising and commercial uses.

Adgully (AG): What according to you is the state of advertising Industry in India?

Preston Kevin Lewis (PL): India has a vibrant, growing advertising industry that is filled with opportunity.

AG: Why according to you did it take so long for your doors to open for the Indian market. Also, do you think the Indian market was not mature enough earlier for something like this?

PL: The Warner Bros. Consumer Products licensing business has been in the Indian marketplace for many years now across many product categories and retail channels. Commercial Clip Licensing is simply another way for our partners (in this case, advertising agencies) to leverage our world class library to communicate powerful and exciting brand associations to their clients - and in turn, their customers.

AG: What is commercial clip licensing and how can advertising agencies leverage it for creative campaigns?

PL: For Warner Bros. Consumer Products, our commercial clip licensing leverages Warner Bros.’ vast library of iconic film, television and animation properties to help communicate brand messages to consumers through TV, print, online (etc.) advertising campaigns. The resource can be leveraged in several different ways – you can take a pre-existing clip or image from a film or television show, use an original character in a completely different context, create a new animation inspired by an old favourite, or recreate an iconic scene, quote or dance sequence – commercial clip licensing is flexible and leaves much room for creative license.

AG: Give us some insights on the various initiatives on working directly with local advertising and marketing agencies in India to leverage WB’s first-in-class portfolio of film, television and animation titles for advertising and commercial uses.

PL: Warner Bros.’ films, television shows and animated properties are known the world over. Here in India, we offer advertisers our unique way to cut through the advertising clutter – in a cost effective and time efficient way – by associating their brand to our properties which already have such a deep resonance with consumers.

AG: How can a marketer tap the full potential of the market using the extensive Warner Bros. clip library?

PL: The beauty of the Warner Bros. Clip Library and our commercial clip licensing business is the ease of engagement. We have a local support team through Warner Bros. Consumer Products’ India-based licensing representative Dream Theatre, who keeps the process simple and time-efficient, in offering the Warner Bros. clip library, the largest entertainment library in the world, to leverage from an asset standpoint and cost-effective solutions.

AG: What is your take on the importance of making a connection with the consumers and how is it different from a decade ago?

PL: The advertising clutter is more intense and competitive today than it was a decade ago, yet budgets have gotten tighter and time constraints even more challenging. Warner Bros. Consumer Products India, in collaboration with our licensing representatives in India, is offering solutions/tools that can help advertising agencies better navigate through today’s challenges – and commercial clip licensing is one way.

AG: Share some global statistics with success related to commercial clip licensing.

PL: Warner Bros. Consumer Products Australia and New Zealand worked with Australian advertising agency, The Bridge, in late 2012 when they were developing a campaign for Bulla Creamy Classics ice cream.  The desired associations for the brand related to comfort, relaxation and coming home – some of the best feelings in the world. The Wizard of Oz brand had already established these very associations, which is where we came in.
The campaign resulted in the largest increase in (non-discounted) sales ever recorded by Bulla, including increased sales of more than 20,000 units in the first week alone. Advertising recall was higher than any previously tracked TVC by Bulla and 14 percentage points higher than other competitive brands in Australia. Brand equity measures also increased dramatically, with the number of people ‘recommending the brand’ tripling in size.

AG: What would be the key target areas/markets in India? How much will be your focus towards regional language?

PL: We are engaging with the entire Indian advertising industry and our Warner Bros. library offers solutions for all consumer demographics and an opportunity to provide any language alternatives as directed by our licensing representatives and their clients.

Prior to his current role, Lewis was VP, International Licensing at WBCP based in Burbank, California.

In advance of rejoining Time Warner in 2006, Lewis worked across a range of roles within a variety of entertainment companies, including Disney Consumer Products, where he was the Director of Global Franchise Management. While at Disney, he alternately worked in retail development within the Fast Moving Consumer Goods division, pitched and drove brand development plans for Disney’s animated theatrical releases and managed the franchise development for the global Winnie The Pooh business. Prior to this, Lewis has worked in a similar capacity for MTV Program Enterprises, leading development, negotiation, and implementation of domestic marketing and retail activity for MTV’s consumer products business.

Lewis began his career at Time Warner’s HBO Home Video division, developing sales and marketing plans for select HBO rental and sell-through video titles including the Spawn trilogy. He has a passion for the entertainment industry, for building and leading teams, for developing and executing strategic plans, and for driving revenue and profit growth.

He is a member of the Warner Bros. Entertainment Australia Board of Directors and has a BA from Yale University. He resides in Melbourne, Australia with his wife Cari and three children, Carson, Faith and Jackson.

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