by Suman Gupta
- Facilitated the convergence of custodians, marketers, influencers, and creators in the kids’ entertainment space
- Sparked fresh conversations with insightful fireside chats, enlightening exhibitions, and engaging discussions
- Featured speakers from marquee kids-focused brands including Lego, KidZania, The Laughing Cow, Mad Over Donuts, Byju’s, Sony YAY, amongst others
Mumbai, 6th April, 2023:http://IWMBuzz.com, a leading entertainment platform, hosted the 4th edition of its highly anticipated India Kids Summit at KidZania, Mumbai. The summit brought together representatives and speakers from leading players in the kids’ content and Entertainment space.
Attendees also had the opportunity to interface with leaders from the media space, including Sonali Bhattacharya (Viacom 18), Sapna Arora (Dentsu India), and Soumini Paul (Hungama Digital Media), among others.
The summit delved into current and future trends in the kids’ entertainment space and featured engaging and insightful discussions, debates, and fireside chats. Exciting topics of discussion included ‘Looking Ahead: Advertisement Spending In Kids Genre And What Are Brands Betting On’, ‘Marketing Trends To Look Out For In 2023’, ‘Data and Digital: Innovations and Tools For Future Growth’, and the Importance Of Experiential Marketing In times of Metaverse Buzz. The event emphasized the seriousness of the kids’ entertainment business and experiential learning in today’s world.
The event had its keynote speaker, Steen Kokkenborg, General Manager of Lego India, throwing light on the significance of kids’ business for the Lego Group. “Kids learn through role play and that leads to their social development. We are the closest to kids, after their parents, as many children spend time playing legos. This delivers learning through fun and play. With kids getting smarter, we as a company are constantly innovating to give more and help kids grow,” he said.
The Summit took off on an active, interactive note with a panel discussion on Physical Experiential Marketing VS Metaverse. Talking about the tech explosion in the games space for children happening through blockchain, AI or metaverse, Sonali Bhattacharya, Head of Marketing, Kids TV Network, Viacom18 shared, “We are at the cusp of this merging revolution where physical experiences blend with virtual activations. Children are early adopters and they embrace is head-on. However, one cannot take away the element of physical play from them. Play element is key to their social development and if we all were immersed in just virtual space, enriching Summits like this won’t exist and we would be losing out on a lot.”
Take the virtual space a notch higher and then you have influencers bridging the gap between children/ parents and brands. Just like how any booming industry brings along influencer marketing, the kids’ entertainment industry is marching forward in this segment too. While there are emerging trends to look out for, Chhavi Mittal, a mom influencer and Founder, Being Woman, said, “When a brand approaches me and while planning the project the product’s messaging to children or parents, I look at what value is it adding to the children and how I can put across the messaging that connects the child, mother and the brand.”
In the fast-evolving tech age, a child, along with their parents, is constantly bombarded with content and zillion products tempting them. That is where values play a major role, highlights Nityanand Charan Das, Leadership & Mindfulness Coach from ISKCON “When it comes to learning through various forms, there is material learning but we also have to start creating a strong spiritual foundation from the age of 5. This will enable them to develop endurance, resilience and several other values which will help them manifest their dreams,” he concluded.
Rahul Dhamdhere, Chief Marketing Officer, KidZania, said, “KidZania is an entire nation, specifically designed-created for children. The concept goes way back to the 1990s. Today we are present in 22 countries with 28 KidZanias worldwide. Children are our future generation and how we shape their personalities is crucial. We are very happy and excited to have been a part of this summit, interacting with a myriad of speakers and brands. The discussions on key topics ensured a huge success.”
Covering the Kids’ Edutainment sector holistically, the 4th edition of India Kids Summit provided an overall good platform for brands to share their key messages and services for the Kids as a segment.
