MUMBAI: Starcom MediaVest Group Asia’s entertainment and embedding marketing unit Starcom Entertainment has inked an alliance with Los Angeles based Pier3 Entertainment.
The alliance will enable both companies to add to each other’s expertise and allow Pier3 Entertainment’s American clients to leverage entertainment marketing opportunities in Asia, particularly in India and China.
Starcom Entertainment works closely with movie producers, TV channels and music labels, as well as entertainment talent and other stakeholders, and offers to its clients consumer connection opportunities using all forms of entertainment and multiple vehicles.
These include product placement and integration in movies, television, and music, advertiser funded programming, entertainment asset partnerships, media leverage opportunities, content syndication, licensing and merchandising, entertainment events, celebrity endorsement strategy and negotiations and celebrity outreach programs. Some of the brands that the company has worked with are Western Union, WorldSpace Satellite Radio, Singapore Tourism Board, Totalfina Elf, General Mills, ING Vysya Life, Diageo Radico in India and San Miguel, McDonald’s, United Laboratories and Western Union in Philippines.
Starcom MediaVest Group CEO Specialist Solutions, Asia Ravi Kiran said, “Entertainment and embedded marketing is rapidly emerging as one of the surest ways of connecting with today’s time starved and attention challenged consumers. We have had good experience developing this competence over the last three years in India and Philippines and many of our clients have benefited from our capability. As we prepare to roll out the solution across Asia, particularly the large and attractive Chinese market, it is good to partner with an experienced company such as Pier3 Entertainment. We are very bullish on the appetite of Asian consumers for entertainment and are sure this partnership will turn out to be productive for both the organizations and their clients.”
Pier3 Entertainment president Thomas Loversky added, “Many of our clients in the United States are now looking for entertainment marketing opportunities in India and China. For some time now, we have been looking for an Asian partner, who had the sensitive understanding of entertainment marketing as a discipline, as well as proven on-ground experience. When we spoke to Starcom Entertainment Asia, it became clear that we were meant to be partners. We are looking forward to cross leveraging Pier3 Entertainment’s decade plus experience in Hollywood and with other the American entertainment products and Starcom Entertainment’s Asian experience and relationships.”
Pier 3 Entertainment engaged the services of Turner Fox Productions CEO Elizabeth Turner to identify and facilitate the strategic partnership.
Pier3 Entertainment has been in operation since 1996 and holds enduring relationships with Hollywood. It has placed many a brand in Hollywood movies, television, music video and games, famous amongst which are its integration of AOL in You’ve Got Mail, Volkswagen and Kodak in many TV series and the promotional partnership between Da Vinci Code and Google.
