Disney to purchase TV assets in India

Walt Disney said Tuesday that it would buy an Indian maker of television programs and a children's channel for $44.5 million as it vies competes against Time Warner for local advertising revenue.

Walt Disney said it would buy 14.9 percent of UTV Software Communications for $14 million and pay $30.5 million for Hungama, a Hindi-language channel that is owned by UTV.

The acquisitions, the biggest in the Indian media industry, require regulatory approvals.
Walt Disney is expanding in India as economic growth spurs spending by consumers. Time Warner runs the Cartoon Network channel, while Walt Disney runs the Toon Disney and the Disney Channel in India.

More wines nose their way into TV shows and movies

Product placement subtly boosts profile

Next time your favorite leading man pours a pinot or syrah, take note. You may be looking at a product placement.

Whether it's as a background set decoration or a starring role in a white tablecloth dinner, winemakers are increasingly finding ways to send viewers an advertising message on a bottle.

"Product placement is here, and it's here to stay," says Jenny Turnbull, a Los Angeles agent who has made getting screen time for California wines a key part of her business.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE ONLINE

TV ads on the cheap for small biz

If you can't get Paris Hilton, this do-it-yourself commercial tool helps your business put quality ads on TV.

Just because you're a small fry doesn't mean you can't compete with the big fish.
Findley's meat market in suburban Atlanta had always relied on newspaper ads, direct mailings and quick radio spots to reach consumers. But after discovering Spot Runner's do-it-yourself commercial tool for small businesses, the butcher shop ran a commercial on local cable TV ahead of Easter and again before Mother's Day. (Click here to watch the commercial.)

The commercials cost Findley's $349 and $499 and the shop spent about $2,100 in March and $1,100 in May to air the spots on ESPN, Food TV, Fox News Channel and Fox Sports.
"We found out that it was very affordable and they help you work with a small budget," said Findley's owner Dolores Barr.

READ THE ARTICLE AT CNNMONEY.COM

Latino marketing goes mainstream

Prime-time ads break new ground by recognizing the rise of Hispanic consumers

Think back for a moment to this year's Super Bowl -- to one commercial that wasn't racy or provocative. In fact, the lack of controversy surrounding this ad is precisely why many advertisers and marketers are still talking about it.

The spot in question promoted a new Toyota Camry Hybrid and featured a father cruising on sun-dappled byways, his son strapped in the back seat. Typical car ad, right? Only the father was a Latino with a discernible accent. Their conversation played on the word hybrid: the son represented a blend of US and Hispanic cultures, the car represented a blend of fuels.

A touching idea, but five years ago, advertising executives say, it would have been unthinkable to blatantly target Hispanics in a mainstream, general market venue such as the Super Bowl. In just 30 seconds, Toyota leapt past two sticking points in corporate marketing departments across the country. The automaker rejected the prevailing wisdom that the only way to connect with Hispanics is in Spanish and through Spanish TV, radio, or print media. Toyota also discredited concerns that prime-time advertising aimed at Hispanics would rankle a non-Hispanic audience; the carmaker says it never heard from any disgruntled viewers.

The Toyota ad ``is a milestone in our industry, to say the least," says Alex Lopez Negrete, former chairman of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies and chief executive of Lopez Negrete Communications in Houston.

READ THE ARTICLE ONLINE

Minority groups carving big niche in media market

When La Vision, a daily Hispanic newspaper based in Norcross, began publishing five years ago, it printed 1,000 copies a week.

Now it prints 60,000 a week, and owner Victoria Chacon projects it will begin distributing 100,000 copies by the end of the year. The exponential growth of La Vision reflects the explosion of ethnic media in Gwinnett County and the Atlanta area. “There’s a newspaper that pops up every month,” said Frank Vera, general sales manager for two Doraville radio stations.

That may be hyperbole, but there’s some truth to that statement. Gwinnett is home to several Hispanic newspapers and radio stations, as well as a Korean television channel. On top of that, numerous Chinese and Korean newspapers and other Hispanic media outlets are distributed and broadcast throughout the county.

READ THE ARTICLE ONLINE