Movie Marketing The brand Bollywood

Gone are the days when the marketing of movies are limited to Films Mahurat followed by
music lunch and then the premier. The film industry had a simple mantra of signing a superstar,
adds some masala to the story line and waits for the success of the movie. Time has changed;
Movie marketing has become more innovative and scientific. The surrounding a film starts from
the story board and it is continued till the movie is screened. The whole thing is well planned
with all the ingredient of marketing mix to create the initial buzz. Now the question arises, why
producers are so much interested in well planned marketing strategy? The prime reason can be
attributed to the small shelf life of the films. No more we have films like DDLJ or Sholey which
will run for years. It is the very first weekend that decided the fate of films now. Lets discuss
some of the marketing strategy followed by the film industry to create the buzz in market.

Now the marketing and publicity of cinema was not limited to illustrious film posters, giant
billboards and some gossip or rumors. Movie marketing now involves thoughtful
merchandising, television advertisements, pre-release media hype, etc. So, all the marketing
rules of STP and 4Ps are being put to practice in Bollywood these days.
Segmentation:
Now viewership segmentation is done by identifying target groups and devising promotional
strategies exclusively for each segment. Bi lingual or even tri lingual trailers and promos are
released on the same day. Films are released in multiple languages. A good example of this
strategy is the movie RA ONE. The movie got released in Tamil and Telugu language along with
Hindi. So the contribution from south region almost got doubled. Segmentation can be seen in
Mani Ratnams Raavan, which was shot and released in Hindi & Tamil and as Ravanan in the
Telugu-dubbed version. The much hyped Tamil film, Endhiran was christened as Robot in
Hindi and released in theatres the same day. The songs and dialogues are also modified to suit
the taste of Hindi speaking audience.



Targeting and Positioning:
Targeting and positioning can be evidenced in promos of films like Once Upon a Time in
Mumbai. When the film was released, several multiplexes had unique design kiosks. Audiences
were encouraged to enter a retro zone for a 70s style fashion makeover. The posters in metros
were sophisticated and stylish, whereas the same were flashy in small towns and villages. The
characters in the film had a 70s look to them, so the hired agency P9 developed a unique
design solution to connect with contemporary audience. It worked on the retro 70s theme and
tried out contemporary colour palette to help the audience relate to the film.
Online marketing
Om Shanti Om launched a website with story details and cast and crew information. In addition,
there were several wallpapers and screensavers to be downloaded and quite a few trailers to
be seen. Various other viral websites were also launched.
The fan page of movies is also created so that the buzz around the movie can be maintained till
the movie gets released. Star cast of films also did interact with fans in Facebook pages.
Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, used the eye blaster technology which saw Imran coming right up to
you on your screen to interact with the user on his desktop, walks on the website, looks
around, knocks on the screen and then walks into the advertisement and even jigs to the tune
of the song Kabhi Kabhi Aditi Zindagi.
It was really an innovative web marketing strategy, which was used for the first time in
Bollywood.
Movie Merchandising
Producers are looking for new revenue sources apart from theatrical revenue. Cocktail,
featuring Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, had partnered with Myntra.com to sell the
merchandise of the film. The website offered casual, sporty and funky clothes, similar to those
worn by the star cast in the film. E-commerce site, Getthelook.in, also launched a line of
apparels replicating the styles of Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra from the movie Teri Meri
Kahaani. Earlier, Shah Rukh Khan had partnered with Homeshop18, where the original
merchandise of RA.One was put on for sales. The e-commerce site, Firstcry.com, had also
launched the merchandise of the movie Krrish3 which includes toys, masks and other apparels
.
Real to reel:
Taking a cue from the advertising industry, Bollywood stars are now seen adopting more
innovative marketing strategies to promote their films. To promote Ken Ghoshs Chance Pe
Dance, which was based on the life of a struggling actor, Shahid Kapoor and Genelia DSouza
spent a night together inside a car. Amitabh Bachchan who was cast as a media magnate in
Rann was seen reading news on a TV channel. The films director Ram Gopal Verma,
distributed a ten-page daily newspaper Rann Times till the release of the film. Aamir khan who
was casted in the movie 3 idiot roamed around different cities in disguise to promote the film.
A prize was announced for whoever located him. The media went into frenzy and we saw Aamir
in different looks all over the country. The makers of The Dirty Picture highlighted Vidya Balan
and her Red Saree (already made famous in the promos of Dirty Picture) at every promotional
event possible. They lived up to the expectation of the famous dialogue Entertainment,
Entertainment and Entertainment.



As the gamut of marketing practices for movies is amplifying, it is fascinating to note that the
field has become increasingly interesting, innovative and challenging. This industry will increase
the penchant for new movies and newer marketing practices. Its time now for everyone in
Bollywood to sit up and take marketing more seriously as marketing creates magic!