Amar Chitra Katha:

How should I start? As in my childhood while reading & enjoying this

comic books, never thought of that one day I would be writing & sharing

my views on very Famous AMAR CHITRA KATHA which retell stories

from the great Indian epics, mythology, history, folklore, and fables in a

comic book format. I strongly feel every Indian child from 1967 till today

would have at one point in his childhood read these comics. Such is the

fan following that the adults who grew up in late 1970s and 80’s still read

the comics in their free time.

Introduction:

Amar Chitra Katha, the flagship brand was founded in 1967 and is a

household name in India. This illustrated series comprises the best

stories from the great epics, mythology, history and folktales. It has

more than 400 comics in 20 languages (English is the primary language),

that have sold 100 million copies to date, making it a cultural phenomenon.

The comic series was started by Anant Pai in an attempt to teach Indian

children about their cultural heritage. He was shocked that Indian

students could answer questions on Greek and Roman mythology, but were

ignorant of their own history, mythology and folklore. The above is an oft-

told story of how ACK was founded beginning with 'Uncle Pai', in Mumbai

in 1967.

In year 2007, Amar Chitra Katha has been acquired by ACK Media which

is India’s leading entertainment and education company for young

audiences.

Amar Chitra Katha (Immortal Picture Stories)

Branding:

The brand Amar Chitra Katha is known to bring to life Indian mythological

and historical stories and have served as a preferred medium of

introducing children to the richness of South Asian culture. Much of my

generation since its launch in 1967, have grown up spending endless hours

reading the tales of brave kings, queens, demi Gods and religious

characters at the same time imbibing values of morality, wisdom, kindness

etc. Mr Anant Pai (uncle Pai), a newspaper executive is the one who built

the whole empire.

Entertainment + education + reading habits.

“Amar Chitra Katha is one of India’s most cherished brands that has

created and preserved values and belief systems for generations of

Indians.

Amar Chitra Katha are a glorious tribute to India’s rich cultural heritage.

The books have beenan integral part of my children’s early years, as they

have been for many other families across India. Comics are a great way

of reaching out to children, inculcating reading habits and driving there

quest to learn about our more roots

(Narayan Murthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys)

The Icons of Amar Chitra Katha ideologue the idea of ‘ideal’. ACK, in its

branding might come across as visual literature of history for children.

Positioning of Amar Chitra Katha:

Positioning: Indian credible root to routes

Perception: Credible & acceptable source of Indian mythology & history

Value Proposition:

Emotional: Quintessential Indian history & glory

Functional: Authentic, Insightful, easy to read, sober

Economical: VFM, Sets

Brand Personality: Indian history, user friendly, story telling

Brand Extension:

The ever favorite children’s comic brand Amar Chitra Katha is going

digital, a trend the iconic brand cannot afford stay away from it was a big

news in a market. The comic book series which sells more than 100 million

copies every year in 20 different languages is reviving its past glory by

selling content on the web, television, tablets and through various other

channels like audio books and games.

Its move to the digital world, was inevitable as the country’s Internet

population grew. E-commerce website

(http://www.amarchitrakatha.com/in/) came into an existence where all

their products were made available globally making shipping free in India.

Mergers & Acquision

In 2007, entrepreneurs Samir Patil and Shripal Morakhia acquired and

incorporated Amar Chitra Katha and its sister brands like Tinkle and

Karadi Tales, besides bringing together the publication and the

distribution business (India Book House) under a single corporate entity

called ACK Media. Thereafter, they sold a majority stake to Future

Ventures (66% stake holder) and also brought in the PE investor Elephant

Capital (26% stake holder).

ACK digital media tie-ups

• Turner TV- Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha

• Vodafone Essar mobile- audio books, comics, ringtones &

wallpapers

• Synqua mobile games- Bheema, Arjuna, Suppandi

• iRemedi- ACK comics on iPhone & iPod, global audience

• Amar Chitra Katha Pvt. Ltd. have launched 'ACK Comics' , their

official digital comic appthrough which readers can access the

timeless tales. Previously available on Windows 8, ACK comics is now

available on iOS and Android platforms.

• Deals with flipkart, amazon, snapdeal, firstcry.com & many more

to sell ACK products online also through there website.

The Digital readers can digitally access the entire Amar Chitra Katha

collection.

ACKcomics app have crossed 100,000+ downloads after been launched

& has been listed as one of the best app on iTunes app store.

ACK model

Through its digital presence ACK would be able to cater to the new

generation of Indians. It will also be a perfect vehicle to globalize

Indian values and beliefs that make Indian culture so unique and so

fascinating.”

It Also made a statement saying : Amar Chitra Katha are

expecting 25 per cent revenue from the digital section in

the next five years. This clearly shows the potential it has to grow

and capture the market share.

The report shows that to acquire that 25% of revenue from digital

section, the company is planning to put 85% of its investment in the

digital section.

Implementations:

Brand

e-commerce website

Ground Activities

As far as my knowledge & observation is

concerned I would just like give some of my

suggestions/recommendations for ACK.

Starting off with Branding part with changing

times ACK is one of those rare brands which have

continuously succeeded, not by publicity but by

word of mouth from satisfied consumers," ACK

should continue its investment in branding and

marketing which helps ACK retain its leadership

and also build its mindshare in new segments.

SOCIAL Media is one of the best way to go with

it, social media communication is critical as it

helps us directly reach out to and connect with

our community of readers. Regular conversations

will help to get regular feedback and a better

understanding of their expectations. With the

support of the community, ACK are also better

able to amplify their message and have more

people learn about what we do.

On the other hand, brands are able to engage

with the audiences with greater success and

effectiveness than most other brands. Thus the

relationship between the more ‘interesting’

publishing brands (like Amar Chitra Katha and

National Geographic) and Social Media is

symbiotic.

Logo: It the symbol which communicates the

major part of the Brand. So here with changing

times I just feel that the ACK logo should be

updated with adding some or the other animations

to it (I would not recommend to completely

change it)I

e-commerce website: AMAR CHITRA KATHA

With its launched in yr 2008, ACK the publisher created a new online

store that offers all the titles with shipping worldwide. The titles are

divided in following categories

1. Fables & Folktales (e.g. Panchatantra)

2. Mythology (e.g. The Ramayana)

3. The Epics (e.g. The Mahabharata)

4. Humour & wit (e.g. Birbal)

5. Biographies (e.g. Mahatma Gandhi)

6. Literary Classics

7. 3 in 1 Titles

8. 5 in 1 Titles

9. Special Issues

The website allows us to shop according our choices/different

department there is not much of clutter & COD facility is also available so

here it has covered mostly all the points but as ACK is catering is young

children I feel the website should add more animation effects to it which

would be very much attractive.

Ground Activities:

I know that ACK is more into social media presence as very frequently I

am across the ads on the social media sites. Even Mr Manas Mohan, CEO,

Amar Chitra Katha made a statement that 25% of our marketing budget

is now earmarked for social media platforms that are good signs of Below

the line activities. Here again I would like give some suggestions which I

feel that would leverage ACK

1. On the facebook page we need to make sure that we constantly

keep the ACK page updating with some or the other information &

also try to keep engaging our audiences in some or the other way.

Eg: It could be like creating an online activity with an offline

benefit: Engaging more no. of audiences to download our app an

participate in an quiz (based history & mythology) & whatever the

results of the quiz would be automatically updated on our fb page.

2. Continue the story on social media Storytelling is supposed to be an

art; one that brands have been adopting in their communication

strategy for quite a while. What brands can start looking at, is

creating a strong story line using traditional media and directing it

to social media platforms.

3. Organise an small events in an malls where kids can play & in a mean

time communicate with the parents this is one of the best way of

communicating on 1 on 1 basis & also very effective.

4. Tie-up with the institutes where we can conduct the seminars with

children as well as the parents.

5. Sell merchandise products like bobbleheads, which helps in creating

brand awareness.

6. Writing an blogs is very trendy and effective way in engaging our

audiences so I feel ACK should also consider this point.

This were some of the suggestions from myside.“We called it Amar

Chitra Katha also because the “picture story” is an ancient form

of storytelling. Some of the earliest stories from the prehistoric era

were recorded in pictures—tales of exciting hunts and discovery. I

believe that we can instill good values in children throughstories, show

them a good path. If these stories are illustrated, then there’s

nothing better. That was ACK’s thought.” Thank you.

Chintan Desai- MBA (Marketing, Digital Marketing, Advertising)

Universal Business School

chintan.desai@ubs.org.in

+91 9769456876