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Tag: film marketing

  • Film marketing: Ensuring a solid opening

    Film marketing: Ensuring a solid opening

    MUMBAI: Today, the first day first show is the mantra for any producer, as BR Films’ Ravi Chopra puts it. That decides whether the movie is a hit or a miss at the box office (BO). Earlier, only press ads and outdoor hoardings were used to push the films. But the times they are a-changin’. Strategic marketing can rescript a movie’s fate at the BO.

    The changing face of film marketing and marketing innovations was discussed in a 2005 Ficci Frames session “Marketing of films: Make Money – First Day First Show”. Moderated by P9 Integrated CEO Sanjay Bhutiani, the session had speakers like Reliance Infocomm Marketing head Kaushik Roy, PVR Cinemas Marketing & Communications VP Tushar Dhingra, McDonald’s & Rutter publicist Jonathan Rutter, Yashraj Films senior marketing executive Tarun Tripathi and BR Films’ Ravi Chopra.

    Opening the session, Bhutiani said films deserve great marketing as the consumer has multiple choices for entertainment. “Other channels of entertainment are also competing with films. Today’s audiences are smarter, better informed and more knowledgeable. And we have a very fragmented consumer profile who have different media habits,” he pointed out.

    Bhutiani criticised Indian film producers’ habit of spending almost 80 per cent of their marketing budget on TV. He stressed the need to tap other media to target different audiences. “Understanding the consumer and media habit is very important. For Bollywood, where the rate of failure is high, a multifaceted approach is the need of the hour,” he said.

    Speaking about the need for a multi-media approach, Bhutiani explained the importance of unconventional media tools like internet and theatres. Internet, with its power of instant communication, has decided the fate of many movies, he said. “Hulk’s box office collections dropped by 70 per cent just because of the negative reviews it generated on the web.” Bhutiani also spoke about the importance of PR activities. Sighting the example of the successful PR campaign Mel Gibson had for his controversial movie The Passion of the Christ, Bhutiani said if properly used, even negative PR can save a movie.

    Reliance’s Roy spoke about the role played by mobile phones in film marketing. Narrating the Reliance experience, he said non-intrusive marketing holds the key. “We have created R World where messages are non-intrusive, active and engage consumers in a relationship through conversation,” he said.

    Roy said contests and dynamic updates of the R World have been generating repeat look ups. “This way, a buzz about the theme of the movie marketed is ensured. Also, the extensive database we have helps us in consumer-oriented marketing,” he said. Roy, explained the tactics used in promoting movies like Veer Zaara and Swades through R World. “Automated calls from Veer Zaara stars Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta to consumers’ mobile phones really set the ground for SMS contests that followed,” he said. On a futuristic note, Roy said innovations like M Ticket (mobile ticket), M Auction (mobile auction) and M Coupons (mobile coupons) could be used to exploit the potential of mobile movie marketing.

    McDonald’s & Rutter’s Rutter narrated the various publicity strategies his firm employs in marketing movies. He also spoke about the choice of medium and the difficulties involved in it.

    Tripathi presented the Hum Tum case study and explained how the 360-degree campaign was planned phase-wise. He identified the key elements that worked well for the campaign as: decent product, planning, uncluttered communication, 360-degree marketing, innovations, win-win situation and pan-India marketing. Speaking about the evolving trends in film marketing, Tripathi listed the important steps as identifying the consumer, filling niches, bombarding the marketplace and single channel to multi-channel distribution.

    PVR’s Dhingra spoke about the significance of exhibition marketing. Narrating the various innovations used by PVR to promote the release of Spiderman and Gaayab, he explained how even exhibitors can play a crucial role in movie-marketing and thereby promote himself along with the film. He also stressed the scope of cross promotion with other brands while marketing movies.

    Concluding the session, Chopra said advanced planning was really crucial in movie marketing. To drive home the point, he pointed out that the marketing strategies for his 2006 January release Babul was already in the planning stage.

  • Madison forays into in-film advt, film marketing

    MUMBAI: Sam Balsara’s Madison Communications has announced its entry into the field of in-film advertising and marketing of films and music.

    For the same, Madison has acquired a new firm operating called TeamWorks fp&e. The new company with an authorised share capital of Rs 10 million will operate under the name of Madison Teamworks FP&e (MATES).
     
     

    TeamWorks FP&e, which was the brainchild of Darshana Goradia (ex-Sony TV) and Sooraj Bhalla (executive producer of the film Sharaarat), already has business in hand of over Rs 30 million and has 14 clients like LML, Frito Lays, Reebok, Castrol, etc.

    TeamWorks FP&e is currently working on several films including AB Corp’s Virudh, Creative Eye’s Aabra-ka-Daabra, Entertainment One’s Waqt and various films from Ram Gopal Varma’s – The Factory.
     
     

    Says Balsara, “We and our clients are constantly looking for new ways to reach the consumer in an impact full manner and with least cost. The high cost of conventional media accompanied by the growing clutter has made in-film advertising an exciting and viable opportunity. On the other hand producers who are also constantly under pressure of making more lavish productions and then finding ways and means of meeting such expenditure are now more open to commercial exploitation of their properties. In keeping with the Madison philosophy, we will offer a highly specialised expert service in this area in a completely transparent manner, which should be welcome by both clients and film producers.”

    He further added, “Between Madison, Darshana and Sooraj, I believe we have what it takes to make a successful foray in this area: An understanding of brands and their requirements, client trust and confidence, creative abilities to weave brand stories into film plots, an understanding of producers’ concerns and beliefs, a knowledge of what is happening in the film market and finally selling skills. Over the last few months we have had several discussions with Darshana and Sooraj and I was extremely impressed with their entrepreneurial spirit and with what they had achieved in a short time with very little resources.”
     
    TeamWorks FP&e has successfully managed to get Shahrukh Khan to wear Levis jeans with Reebok shoes and have a cup of coffee at Café Coffee Day or bite a pizza at Pizza Hut. All this happened in the film Main Hoon Naa, where the mentioned advertisers experienced the medium called cinema through the relevant in-film advertising.

    Consider another example of their work, in a film called Kyun Ho Gaya Naa, where Vivek Oberoi is shown as a rally enthusiast and hence his introduction in the film is wearing an Overall with Lancer, Castrol, Ceat and Cafe Coffee Day logos. The extensive rally sequence saw Oberoi zooming ahead in an interestingly designed Mitsubishi Lancer Car, with a pit-stop where the Ceat Radials were changed and Castrol GTX Magnatec was poured into the winners car with close shots of the product pack and the logos.

    MATES is planning on rendering its services in the area of film promotions and marketing as well. Says Goradia, who will head MATES as CEO, “I am sure that advertiser spends in this area are going to grow by leaps and bounds in the near future and our joint venture with Madison enables us to operate on a wider canvas and with adequate resources to get a good share of this market. Madison is like a dream come true, not only because of its enormous size and reputation but also because of its liberated entrepreneurial ideology. I have dealt with Madison Media when I was with Sony and know the organisation and have got to respect it for its objective and professional outlook with a focus on deliveries.”

    Bhalla, who will be director – content, says, “I believe the new venture will turn under-utilised resources of content into profit for a large number of producers and they should welcome our move. Also, we will be now in capacity to inculcate a corporate and professional culture in the fraternity, which is much needed. On the whole, the marriage with Madison will facilitate entry into untapped areas and markets, quicker and at less cost.”

    MATES will be the seventh specialised unit of Madison; other units being Creative, Media, Outdoor, Rural, PR and Retail.