Cartoon Network - The Indian Experience

Details

Themes: Brand Management
Period : 1999-2002
Organization : Cartoon Network
Pub Date : 2002
Countries : India
Industry : Media and Entertainment

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Case Code : BSTR035
Case Length : 10 Pages
Price: Rs. 300;

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"We own the kids time band."

- Hema Govindan, Vice-President (Marketing and Public Relations), Turner Entertainment Networks (Asia), in January 2002.

Cartoon Network - The Indian Experience: Cartoon Crazy Kids (and Parents)

In March 2001, leading satellite television (TV) channel, Cartoon Network, held a cricket tournament titled 'Toon Cricket 2001,' in Mumbai, India. In the tournament, famous cricket players were to play against famous cartoon characters such as Scooby Doo, Tom, Jerry, Fred Flintstone, Dee Dee, and Johnny Bravo. The tournament was a promotional exercise, aimed at increasing the popularity of the channel and its cartoon characters. The match was scheduled to begin at 2.30p.m, but the 35,000 plus capacity stadium was almost full by 1.30 p.m. with children and their parents.

By 2.30 p.m. the stadium was overflowing and many were waiting outside trying to enter the stadium, leading to a stampede. As the organizers kept trying to manage the crowds, they had to delay the match till 4.00 p.m. When the organizers announced the start of the match, children and their parents went wild with excitement and broke the barricades to meet their favorite cartoon characters. When pleadings and requests failed to control the crowd, the organizers had to threaten the children with the cancellation of the match to send them back to their seats.

Even then, when the match began, a ring of people stayed on the field, surrounding the pitch, obstructing the view of the people who returned to the stands. The organizers and the security people were helpless, as they did not want to physically force the children off the field. By 5 p.m. many disappointed people left the stadium saying, "We can't see anything, what's the point?" Observers remarked that judging by the number of people who were there in the first place, the stadium was still probably full, even when half the crowd had left.

The crowd eventually settled down and the second half of the match went well. The cartoon characters entertained and delighted the crowds with their antics. This overwhelming response to the tournament was beyond even Cartoon Network's expectations. A stunned looking Cartoon Network official said, "I've never seen so many kids!" Though it was not the first time Cartoon Network had organized such a promotional event, they had never seen a response like this, where cartoon crazy children and their parents had gone so 'completely berserk.' Even the organizers were amazed at the popularity of Cartoon Network's characters.

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