FILM PROMOTION : AN INDIAN CONTEXT

A MINOR PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OFCALICUT IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTSIN

FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH

MARCH 2011-2014DEPARTMENT OF FUNCTIONAL ENGLISH

CHRIST COLLEGE, IRINJALAKUDA

SUBMITTED BY,

ARUN MADHUSUDHANAN (CCALAFER 12)

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project work entitled “Film

Promotion : An Indian Context” is a bonafied work done by

us in partial fulfillment of requirement for the award of

degree, bachelor of arts in Functional English, under the

supervision of professor C.V Francis, Department of

Functional English ,Christ college, Irinjalakuda .I

further declare that the work reported in this project

has not been submitted and will not be submitted ,either

in part/ full, for the award of any other Degree/Diploma

in this institute or any institute or university.

Place:Irinjalakuda

Date:

ARUN MADHUSUDHANAN

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project work titled “Film

Promotion : An Indian Context” submitted to University of

Calicut in partial fulfillment of the requirements for

the award of bachelor degree of arts in Functional

English, is a record of the original work done by Arun

Madhusudhanan under my supervision and guidance during a

period from July 2013 to March 2014 (5/6th

semester).During their tenure with me I found them

sincere and hard working. I wish them a great success in

the future.

C.V Francis

Department of Functional English

Christ College,Irinjalakuda

                                                          

                                                    

Prof. Sathyan Joseph Kolengadan

Lecturer, Selection grade

Head of the Department of Functional English

Christ College, Irinjalakuda.

Place:Irinjalakuda

Date:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost I bow down before the Almighty for his

inspiration and help in completing this minor project in

time.

I would also like to express our sincere thanks to Prof.

C. V. Francis, Department of English, Christ college,

Irinjalakuda, my supervising teacher, for his outstanding

support and valuable guidance.

I thank Prof. Sathyan Joseph Kolengadan, the Head of the

Department of English, for his support and encouragement.

I also recall with gratitude the other members of the

faculty.

A special word of thanks to my dear friends who shared

their time in helping me to find more points on the topic

and for giving us necessary materials related to the

project.

Arun Madhusudhanan

Place : Irinjalakuda

Date :

OBJECTIVE

To study and explain the process of film promotion

To analyze the process of film promotion and explain

it in the Indian context

To study the latest trends of film promotion in the

Indian film industry.  

Film Promotion is an art. An art, which is the reason for

the film industry’s unprecedented success. A good film is

an advertisement all by itself. But how far can the reach

and the viewership of the film go? Film production was,

is and will always be a very costly affair. Not everyone

can make a full-fledged film that will run in multiple

theatres, be selected for prestigious awards. Even if one

has the skill to do so, money is a very important factor

in the film industry. Therefore, production houses and

distributors spend a large amount of money in the

production of a film. To make sure that this large amount

returns back to them with a profit, they arrange

campaigns and promote their film.

There are many film promotion strategies and techniques.

The list is ever expanding due to novelties emerging

every day. The goal is to grab the attention of the

audience and anything is fine; be it an attractive poster

of a famous star in an action still or a famous actress

involved in a scandal. As long as the film gains profit

anything goes in this particular field.

This project analyses in detail the latest trends in Film

promotion. The arrival of the internet, the new media and

the social networking websites has changed the film

promotion practice. People can make films now and the

marketing could be completely done with little or no

costs using social networking websites. Adding novelties

such as games and interactive websites also help promote

the films.

This project also explains some early film promotion

practices that had been carried out in India and shows an

evolutionary development.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 4

OBJECTIVE 5

1. INTRODUCTION 8

1.1 Film Promotion, a definition

1.2 Campaign

1.3 Some Global statistics

1.4 Why Promote?

2. FILM PROMOTION 13

2.1 The Art of film Promotion.

3. FILM PROMOTION TECHNIQUES

173.2 Trailers

3.3 TV Ads

3.4 Posters

3.4.1 Types of film posters

3.5 Press junket.

3.6 Product placement

3.6 Extended Placement Promotion

3.7 Audio Launch

3.8 Radio Promotion

3.9 Film Promotion in News Paper & magazines

3.10 Websites, Internet, Digital Media.

3.11 Merchandising

3.12 Conventional Media

3.13 Direct marketing

3.14 Street and Guerilla Marketing

3.15 Partnerships

3.16 Events

3.17 Novelties & other techniques

4.FILM MARKETING STRATEGY

30

5. FILM PROMOTION IN INDIA

39

5.1 How it all began

5.2 India now

5.3 Posters and magazines

5.4 Television & RADIO

5.5 Alternate channels

5.6 Product placement

5.7 Multiplexes

5.8 Internet, Social Media & Bollywood

6. CONCLUSION 47

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

49

1.INTRODUCTION

You're out doing some shopping in the mall. Sitting

at a traffic light, you see a bus drive by with a huge ad

for the latest ‘Shah Rukh Khan’ movie, something about

him being a superhero. You saw something last night on TV

about the crazy special effects they used to make the

film. You think, maybe your child would like to see it.

At the mall, it seems like that ‘Ra.One’ is everywhere.

They're selling stuffed ‘Ra.One’ and also some plastic

toys and the children everywhere are so excited to see

it. They all want one. Back at home, you turn on the TV

and every commercial break has a different trailer for

the ‘Ra.One’ movie. You go online to check the latest

headlines and there's a big interactive banner ad

featuring the Super hero at the top of the ‘The HINDU

Times’ Web site. Literally everywhere you look, someone

or something is reminding you that the ‘Ra.One’ movie

opens on 26 October 2011.

Box Office India estimated that the final total

investment for the film was 175 crore. It was universally

accepted that ‘Ra.One’ was the most expensive Bollywood

film as of that time; certain sources labelled Ra.One as

the most expensive Indian film ever. Although the movie

industry takes in billions of dollars a year, very few

Bollywood movies actually make a profit. That's because

it costs a tremendous amount to make a major studio

movie. The budget of an average Bollywood movie of course

depends on the movie and who is making it. For example,

an average low-budget movie, with a good cast which

generally does not include stars, takes almost Rs 2 to 5

crores. At the same time, movies made by big banners may

easily go upto 20 to 50 crores. For example, the average

budget of top 10 grossing movies of 2010 was 40.5 crores

with the minimum being 17 crores and the maximum being 60

crores.

1.1 Film Promotion, a definition

Wikipedia defines film promotion: "Film promotion is

the practice of promotion specifically in the film

industry, and usually occurs in coordination with the

process of film distribution or movie marketing. Film

promotion generally includes press releases, advertising

campaigns, merchandising and media, and interviews with

the key people involved with the making of the film, like

actors and directors. As with all business it is an

important part of any release because of the inherent

high financial risk; film studios will invest in

expensive marketing campaigns to maximize revenue early

in the release cycle. Marketing budgets tend to equal

about half the production budget. Publicity is generally

handled by the distributor and exhibitors."

Every major studio and movie distribution company has an

internal department devoted to promotion. The promotions

department is responsible for designing and implementing

an effective, cohesive advertising campaign across

several different media platforms, including theatrical

movie trailers, newspapers, magazines, television, radio,

the Internet and billboards. The movie business is

cyclical and seasonal by nature. Major studio releases

are clustered during the Holidays, long holiday weekends

like Diwali, Holi, Memorial Day and Labor Day. With so

many high profile movies fighting for the same audience,

movie marketer’s job is to figure out how to make their

films stand out from the pack.

In recent years, the general tactic has been to "go big."

For expensive, blockbuster movies, the marketing campaign

alone can cost as much as half of the total production

budget. So if a film costs 8 crore to make, the

distributor might spend 4 crore on advertising and

promotion. The hope, of course, is that all of this

marketing money will pay off in ticket sales. One of the

most important indicators of the success of a movie

marketing campaign is the gross box office sales from the

first weekend of a movie's release. Opening weekend sales

are a direct reflection of how much buzz and excitement

has been generated by the promotional campaign.

Even if the movie is not a big box office hit, strong

opening weekend numbers can be enough to break even or

earn a small profit for the studio. It's not uncommon for

large Bollywood movies to make over 40 percent of their

gross profits in the first week of release. Once the word

spreads that the movie isn't worth the money, some

blockbusters experience huge drops from the first weekend

to the second. Such was the fate of this Ranbir Kapoor's

‘Besharam’ that it couldn't even triple it's opening day

collections (Rs 21 crores) when it came to calculating

the lifetime score (Rs 60 crores).

1.2 Campaign

An overview every movie is different and the

promotions department must figure out what type of

campaign will be the most effective at reaching the

target audience. This requires researching the tastes and

media-consuming trends of the target audience. Based on

this research, the movie marketers decide how much of

their budget to spend on each different media outlet.

The theatrical trailer is often the first chance to

promote a movie to its target audience. Starting up to a

year before the release of a major studio movie,

distributors run movie trailers that are meticulously

edited and audience-tested. The idea is to give

moviegoers a taste of the laughs, special effects and

plot twists of the studio's upcoming releases, while

leaving them wanting more. It's an art form that's

usually handled by special trailer production houses.

About the same time that the first trailers hit the

theaters, the movie studio will unveil an official Web

site for the film. Typical movie Web sites allow visitors

to view multiple versions of the trailer, watch behind-

the-scenes interviews and mini-documentaries, read plot

synopses, download cell-phone ringtones and desktop

wallpaper, play games and chat in forums and even pre-

order tickets. The official movie Website is only the

beginning of a much larger Internet marketing campaign.

As the release date of the film draws closer, movie

marketers try to get early favorable press coverage in

newspapers, magazines and on entertainment TV shows. The

main movie publicity tactic is something called a press

junket. At a press junket, journalists, entertainment

reporters and movie critics are flown out to a special

location for a day or weekend of interviews with the

stars and creators of the film. The actors, directors and

screenwriters sit in separate rooms and the reporters are

brought in one by one to ask their questions.

Weeks before the movie opens nationwide, the promotions

department starts an all-out publicity blitz. The idea is

to bombard the public with so many images and promos for

the movie that it becomes a "can't miss" event. Movie

marketers will plaster the sides of buses with huge ads,

place billboards all around the city, run tons of teaser

trailers on TV, place full-page ads in major newspapers

and magazines, and the movie's stars will show up on all

of the major talk shows. The Internet is proving to be a

prime spot for these publicity blitzes. Promoters can

place rich, interactive ads on the Web sites most

trafficked by their target audience. They can also

release behind-the-scenes clips, bloopers and other viral

videos on video-sharing sites like YouTube. Or they can

release different media clips and let the fans create

their own trailers.

Another popular strategy is to use highly visible product

tie-ins and corporate partnerships. One final movie

marketing strategy is the publicity stunt, an

orchestrated media event where someone does something

incredibly silly, dangerous or spectacular to draw

further attention to the opening of the movie.

1.3 Some Global statistics

According to the Motion Picture Association of

America (MPAA), here's how its member studios decided to

allocate their marketing budget in 2007 for the American

Film Industry:

Newspapers: 10.1 percent

Network TV: 21.6 percent

Spot TV (purchasing commercial "spots" from

individual TV stations): 13.9 percent

Internet: 4.4 percent

Theatrical trailers: 4.2 percent

Other media (includes cable TV, radio, magazines,

billboards): 24 percent

Other non-media (market research,

promotion/publicity, creative services): 21.8

percent

MPAA also surveys the Global market and the global box

office numbers. They are as follows.

Global box office for all films released in each

country around the world reached $34.7 billion in

2012, up 6% over 2011’s total, due to an increase in

international box office ($23.9 billion) and

U.S./Canada box office ($10.8 billion). All

international regions with the exception of Europe

experienced growth in 2012.

Chinese box office ($2.7 billion) grew by 36% in

2012 to become the largest international market,

surpassing Japan.

International box office is up 32% over five years

ago, driven by growth in various international

markets, including China, Russia and Brazil. Over

two-thirds of the world’s nearly 130,000 cinema

screens are now digital.

The Indian motion picture and television industry is

one of the largest and fastest growing sectors,

contributing c. USD 8.1 billion (c. INR 50,000 Cr.)

to the country’s economy, equating to 0.5% of GDP,

in 2013, according to a new report launched on March

12. The sector also supports a significant 1.8

million (18.8 lac) jobs.

Sanjay Gupta, COO, Star India, said, “The media &

entertainment sector in India has significant headroom

for growth – unshackled, it can contribute as much as

0.5% to India’s annual GDP growth.”

Ravi Kottarakara, President, Film Federation of India

FFI, said, “India is the largest producer of films in the

world, with 1602 films released in 2012, however up to

90% of those films do not release in cinemas, due to the

inadequate number of screens in the country. The Indian

film and TV industry supports 1.8 million jobs which

include talented artists, technicians, directors and

daily wage workers whose livelihoods depend on the

profitability of this industry, however piracy continues

to create a negative impact on the profitably of our

industry. This report is a timely reminder that while the

Indian motion picture and television industry accounts

for 0.5% of the GDP of India, the Government needs to

address key industry growth drivers and challenges which

include infrastructure development, facilitating faster

clearances for foreign and Indian film productions and

building a robust regulatory environment to deter

piracy.”

1.4 Why Promote?

Marketing is an essential part of a movie’s success in

theaters. Without proper marketing development, a movie

with fantastic plotlines, characters, actors, sets, and

special effects may fail to attract an audience. With

declining DVD sales, studios look to make back all of

their money and more during theatrical runs. But with

movie theater attendance down to its lowest in sixteen

years, many studios are trying to cut back on budgets.

Although blockbuster box office receipts are always

desirable, some are re-focusing their efforts to secure

large profit margins. Low-budget movies have much to

gain. By determining the most effective methods to

increase attendance and profits, studios will be able to

have more successes and reduce the fear of losing money

on a project, keeping them in business and the

entertainment industry alive.

CHAPTER 1

FILM PROMOTION

“In a world where money spent on the budget of film

often sees 50% going on promotion as opposed to what you

actually see on screen, the idea that we have a world

where the consumers can exercise authority is absurd.

This industry is like any other. Of course it has to sell

things, but it doesn't rely on waiting, listening,

responding, to what audience want and then delivering

that to them. It relies on knowing which part of the

world and the media will need its product and will pay

for them.” -- Toby miller (social scientist)

Film promotion is the practice of promotion specifically

in the film industry, and usually occurs in coordination

with the process of film distribution. Film promotion

generally includes press releases, advertising campaigns,

merchandising and media, and interviews with the key

people involved with the making of the film, like actors

and directors. As with all business it is an important

part of any release because of the inherent high

financial risk; film studios will invest in expensive

marketing campaigns to maximize revenue early in the

release cycle. Marketing budgets tend to equal about half

the production budget. Publicity is generally handled by

the distributor and exhibitors.

Film marketing, in line with the marketing management

processes in other industries, begins at the new product

development stage and continues throughout the formation

of the project ideas, through production and into

distribution and exhibition. At key stages in the product

life cycle, various actors are involved in numerous

marketing activities, from marketing an idea or a script

to a production company to the nal fi marketing of the lmfi

in cinemas, on DVD and through other exhibition outlets

such as VOD (video on demand), cable television and

terrestrial television.

Cinema attendance worldwide has increased rapidly in

recent years and this growth in attendance has seen a

parallel increase in the utilization of cinema as an

advertising medium In addition to the increasing reach of

cinema, some researchers have argued that cinema

possesses a number of advantages which make it a more

attractive medium than has hitherto been recognized.

2.1 The Art of film Promotion.

Why film is the most influential art form after

literature:

“Film matters for the same reason all art matters –

because it embodies and conveys the values and

beliefs of the culture within which and for which it

is made. Popular art forms, such as film, are of

special importance because they speak to the most

central of those values and beliefs.” - David

Fincher (Director)

Because film is us. We as a society use the filmic

form to tell stories about who we are and our

society; they are a record of what makes us human

and what concerns us in the everyday. Even with the

influence of new media technologies that have

changed the way we now watch films (not in the

cinema but at home and online) films are still very

much part of the media landscape. The film form,

narrative and styles with which we are so familiar,

from Hollywood blockbusters to the avant-garde,

shape our own personal narratives. Film offers us a

language to speak to each other across national,

class, economic and racial lines – film is a

phenomenon that allows us to understand cultures and

people.

Because it matters for the same reason all art

matters – because it embodies and conveys the values

and beliefs of the culture within which and for

which it is made. Popular art forms, such as film,

are of special importance because they speak to the

most central of those values and beliefs.

Because matter because they can provide compelling

and creative artistic and entertainment experiences

for audiences. Some films are just fleeting

entertainment but others are magnificent, wondrous,

thought provoking works of art. In the age of the

laptop and mobile smartphone, ‘film’ is everywhere

but cinematic film is still, at its best,

extraordinary.

Film matters because it has the power to connect us

to a world outside of our own, even if the only

travelling we do is from our sofa. We can glimpse

cultural differences and engage with all kinds of

diverse attitudes to life when we broaden our

viewing horizons beyond the mainstream. Themes

explored in film, also speak a universal language

that anyone can understand regardless of background,

education or race, which makes it a truly democratic

art form.

Film is a medium watched by all regardless of age,

sex, caste, culture, religion, country and

educational levels.   

So, it is only fair to say that Film promotion is an art

that is vital to any production, small or large, big time

productions or small time filmmakers. Film promotion is

an art that is nearly as vital as the actual making and

filming of a production. When done right film promotion

allows you to reach audiences you would never have

thought was possible. Thus, it helps build a fan base and

have a higher potential for success. Film promotion is

even more important when it comes to small scale film

makers who may not acquire any press at all without some

effective promoting and marketing. While the idea of film

promotion may seem costly; the art of film promotion is

ultimately necessary to be competitive in our modern time

where everyone has access to the tools of success.

CHAPTER 2

FILM PROMOTION TECHNIQUES

Cinema from its earlier days has used various

marketing strategies to advertise the release of films.

Earlier, distributors employed marketing teams to create

press books which would carry information about the cast

and the production crew, plot synopses, stories about the

making of the film, background information, still

photographs from the film and from behind the camera, and

details of the availability of posters or other

promotional aids such as lobby cards or ‘standees’. They

would also carry interactive crosswords and puzzles for

the audience. Other techniques consist of, TV

advertisements, billboards, trailers, print and media

advertisements etc.

With the advent of social media there is now tons of free

and simple ways to promote your film and other

productions. There are the obvious social mediums such as

Twitter, Facebook, and Google + which are effective when

used correctly.

3.2 Trailers

Trailers are considered to be film advertisements which

are released weeks or months before a certain film will

be released for public viewing. It is also made from

different sequences of the film which has been chosen

properly. They are generally made in order to make the

public be aware of what they should expect from the film

and make them curious to see it. However, the sequence

that the trailers have is not in sequence which will

apply in the film itself. Another thing about the movie

trailers is that what you actually see in the trailers

itself is that it can be seen in the original movie. Some

of the movie trailers have some sophisticated special

effects in some scenes which was not planned to be

utilized in the original film itself. This method is

actually effective because it actually in increases the

hype of the audience which makes the film itself a

blockbuster in the end.

Trailers usually have company productions, names of the

cast and likewise the crews, and the distributors. One

can likewise see the trailers as the output of the

thorough market research which has been done in different

areas. Trailers these days are one of the vital things to

make a movie be in public and there are some agencies

which specializes in creating trailers for new movies

which are called trailer houses.

Most trailers have a three-act structure similar to a

full feature-length film. They start with a beginning

(act 1) that lays out the premise of the story. The

middle (act 2) drives the story further and usually ends

with a dramatic climax. Act 3 usually features a strong

piece of "signature music" (either a recognizable song or

a powerful, sweeping orchestral piece). This last act

often consists of a visual montage of powerful and

emotional moments of the film and may also contain a cast

run if there are noteworthy stars that could help sell

the movie.

Music helps set the tone and mood of the trailer. Usually

the music used in the trailer is not from the film itself

(the film score may not have been composed yet). The

music used in the trailer may be:

Music from the score of other movies.

Popular or well-known music, often chosen for its

tone, appropriateness of a lyric or lack thereof, or

recognizability.

"Library" music previously composed specifically to

be used in advertising by an independent composer.

There are many trailer music library companies which

produce trailer music.

Specially composed music

Voice-over narration is sometimes used to briefly

set up the premise of the film and provide

explanation when necessary. Since the trailer is a

highly condensed format, voice-over is a useful tool

to enhance the audience's understanding of the plot.

A cast run is a list of the stars that appear in the

movie. If the director or producer is well-known or has

made other popular movies, they often warrant a mention

as well.

Most trailers conclude with a billing block, which is a

list of the principal cast and crew. It is the same list

that appears on posters and print publicity materials,

and also usually appears on-screen at the beginning (or

end) of the movie. Studio production logos are usually

featured near the beginning of the trailer. Until the

late 1970s, they were put only at the end of the trailer.

Often there will be logos for both the production company

and distributor of the film.Many trailers are mixed in

Dolby Digital or any other multichannel sound mix. Scenes

including sound effects and music that are enhanced by

stereophonic sound are therefore the focus point of many

modern trailers.

Teaser: Is known as a short clip that consists of a

series of vague events that happen within the actual

film, it usually includes at least one of the main events

that happens in the film but lasts seconds. A teaser

trailer for an upcoming film or similar is normally

released long in advance of the product. Film teasers are

usually only made for big-budget and popularly themed

films. Their purpose is to tell the audience about a

film's content vaguely and to simply let them know that

the film is releasing in the near future; it is also to

add hype to the upcoming release. Teaser trailers are

often made while the film is still being edited and in

the middle of production as a result they may feature

scenes or alternate versions of scenes that are not in

the final finished film. They usually contain no

dialogue. Teaser and Trailer are two kinds of footage of

a movie that shows difference between them when it comes

to the duration, nature and characteristics. It is

important to know that a teaser is shorter than a

trailer. In other words, it can be said that a trailer

runs approximately for three minutes. On the other hand,

a teaser should run for a maximum of one minute only.

This is the main difference between teaser and trailer.

3.3 TV Ads

(Television advertisements are simply the movie trailer.

Therefore, the cost is only for the air time. This is

often the bulk of the cost of publicity for a motion

picture.) Television and radio- Movie trailers on

televisions are considered as first line of costs for the

big budget films. Regional films trailers are launched on

regional TV channels. E.g. Trailer of Marathi movie

‘Dunitadari’ on Zee Marathi. Recently, film promoters

have also started to advertise the film via daily soaps

or reality shows. E.g. Recently, Amitabh Bachchan

recently attended the grand finale of Indian Idol Junior

for the promotion of his upcoming movie ‘Satyagraha’.

Interviews with the cast and crew of films, short

question answer sessions, entertainment programs etc. are

organized on radio. On ground activation events are also

covered live on local radio channels to create buzz about

the movie. Along with this extended promotions through

behind the scene footage, documentaries, talk shows etc.

are also covered on radio and TV.

3.4 Posters

The goal of a poster essentially is to "sell" the movie

to make you want to see it. The poster may have the movie

title in a big and bold font. Images of the movie's

attractive actors are usually featured. In addition, the

actors' names are probably included somewhere on the

poster to remind you that the movie has big-name stars.

Designs, colors, and fonts are used to appropriately

reflect the mood and tone of the film. And the poster

probably includes a catchy sentence or slogan that piques

your interest and makes the plot seem intriguing.

The visual elements on a movie poster can convey powerful

messages. The best posters may make you anxiously

anticipate an upcoming release. The worst ones may not

have a persuasive effect at all. By analyzing movie

posters, you can gain a better understanding of the

elements that effectively grab the attention of movie-

goers and sell the movie's story even before viewers see

it for themselves.

Film posters are distributed inside of cinemas and also

out of them on buses, telephone boxes large billboards to

raise awareness to large target audiences. Smaller

advertisements are also used to support these posters and

promote the film such as press boxes, websites, flyers

etc. The "billing block" is the "list of names that adorn

the bottom portion of the official poster (or 'one

sheet', as it is called in the movie industry) of the

movie". Film posters are displayed inside and on the

outside of movie theaters, and elsewhere on the street or

in shops. The same images appear in the film exhibitor's

press book and may also be used on websites, DVD (and

historically VHS) packaging, flyers, advertisements in

newspapers and magazines, etc.

3.4.1 Types of film posters

Lobby cards : Lobby cards are similar to posters but

smaller, usually 11 in × 14 in (28 cm × 36 cm), also 8 in

× 10 in (20 cm × 25 cm) before 1930. Lobby cards are

collected and their value depends on their age, quality,

and popularity. Typically issued in sets of eight, each

featuring a different scene from the film. In unusual

circumstances, some releases were promoted with larger

(12 cards) or smaller sets (6 cards).

Teaser poster: A teaser poster or advance poster is an

early promotional film poster, containing a basic image

or design without revealing too much information such as

the plot, theme, and characters. The purpose is to incite

awareness and generate hype for the film. A tagline may

be included. There are some instances when teaser posters

are issued long in advance before the film goes into

production (teasers for cancelled projects are

historically informative), although they are issued

during the film development. Notable styles for teaser

poster include:

Bearing only a symbol associated with the film, or

simply just the title.

A main character, looking away from the screen but

looking at something in the distance.

Character posters: For a film with an ensemble cast there

may be a set of character posters, each featuring an

individual character from the film. Usually it contains

the name of the actor or the name of the character

played. It may also include a tagline that reflects the

quality of the character.

Standee: standee is a large self-standing display

promoting a movie, product or event. They are typically

made of cardboard, and may range from large self-standing

posters to three-dimensional devices with moving parts

and lights. Standees are typically displayed in theater

lobbies or music stores in advance of film or music

releases. While standees have previously been available

only in large quantities, recent advances in digital

photography and print-on-demand technology have made them

widely available to the public. Several companies now

offer these items as party decorations, gag gifts and

memorial items for the deceased. Standees can now be

purchased as one-off custom products, bringing them to

the average consumer as well as large corporations and

venues. As the release date of the film draws closer,

movie marketers try to get early favorable press coverage

in newspapers, magazines and on entertainment TV shows. OOH- Creative Banners: are used to remind the audience

about the release date of upcoming films. These banners

not only include bill boards but also include ads on bus

shelters, bus benches, in flight, aerials, in-store,

hotels, schools, taxis, auto rickshaws etc. to recall the

consumer about the movie.

3.5 Press junket.

A press junket is material used in a public awareness

campaign aimed at promoting a product such as a feature

film. It takes various forms such as press releases,

media advertising campaigns, merchandising and media

interviews with the producers and stars of the film. The

film distributors and publicist are usually given this

task. Press-junket is the promotion of a product, i.e. a

feature film. As such the distributors and the publicists

generally handle this. This can take the form of press

releases (popular press and magazines), TV and Radio

campaigns, chat shows, web-releases and viral

advertising, merchandising and product campaigns to

promote a feature or product. Recent Blog pages and ‘chat

room’ forums have proved popular. The most common tool is

interviews with the makers and stars of a film. The

Marathon run of booking a suitable space and inviting a

stream of people from the advertising world to interview

the Director, Producers and talent to promote the

feature/product is what many regard as the pinnacle of a

press junket. This is often a countywide or even

worldwide campaign for larger productions and is one of

the most exhausting but important parts of releasing a

feature and thus a large percentage of a film's budget is

designated to the task.

3.6 Product placement

Product placement is an investment for brands trying to

reach a niche audience, and there are strong reasons for

investors to expect that film product placement will

increase consumer awareness of a particular brand. A big-

budget feature film that has expectations of grossing

millions may attract many commercial interests; however,

the film studio must also analyze if a product fits with

the image of the film. A high-profile star may draw more

attention to a product, and therefore, in many cases,

this becomes a separate point of negotiation within his

or her contract. Product placement works best when it is

made inherent and important to a film’s plot what is

worse is that often in such situations, marketers demand

that the film show zoom-ins and close-ups of their

product and logo. These don’t fit into the visual

narrative of the film and the result is an embarrassingly

obvious and therefore counterproductive plug for the

brand, putting the viewer off.

3.6 Extended Placement Promotion

Extended Placement Promotion is a type of promotion where

one full episode of a TV program is allotted for a movie

promotion i.e. movies stars or action figures are invited

to the shows. These TV programs can be an entertainment

news program,

Network news program, talk shows and all type of reality

shows programs that attract major crowd are mainly

targeted in this type of promotion. The most important is

that, huge amount is paid to these reality shows for one

complete episode and this also helps these shows to

prosper.

The film industry opted for this type of promotion to

create awareness among viewers about this upcoming movie.

They target realty shows because these shows attract

majorly youth crowd of the nation and to some extent

crowd between 35-50 age group. Audience can come to know

somewhat interesting things about the movie which they

can’t imagine by seeing the promo. To make them know

about the action figures. Now a days, mostly viewers

don’t visit to movie talkies because major time movies

become available on internet as soon as they are released

and also they don’t pay attention to trailers between

movies, so this type of promotion is must to be done. In

INDIA, TRAI is going to declare a policy that an

advertisement can be shown after every 15 minutes. This

will help “extended placement” promotion to boom. Most

importantly, even though viewer is attracted towards a

particular reality show, but as soon as there is an

advertisement they switch to different program.

3.7 Audio Launch

A promotion technique especially in Indian films, where

the audio tracks of the films often accompanied by a

video is released before the official release of a film.

Indian films are special for their musical element.

Songs, audio tracks etc. are part of our film culture.

Until recently almost all Indian films had 3-4 songs in a

single film. These audio tracks along with a video is

released on the audio launch program where the press, the

crew, actors etc. are invited. After the audio launch the

Audio can be specially brought from the audio shops even

before the release of the film. These audio tracks will

be uploaded on to media sharing websites such as YouTube,

Sound cloud or purchased in the form of cds or on the

internet (apple ITunes).Films like ‘Meesha Madhavan’ and

‘Yeh Jawani hai Deewani’ were already popular due to the

success and the popularity of the music. Nowadays

Independent artists like ‘YO YO Honey Singh’ and Atif

Aslam officially signs up for the promotion of the film

by adding a track of theirs into the film which ads as a

promotion to the film as well as their own image. E.g.

the band ‘Avial’ surged into popularity in the Malayalam

film industry after releasing a track in the film Salt

and pepper. The "chammak Challo" sung by ‘Akon’.

3.8 Radio Promotion

Currently, a large number of movie producers are opting

for radio as an active means of promotion. Radio has been

largely recognized as a personal medium because of the

personal touch and connect it forms with the masses.

Recently, movies like ‘Rowdy Rathore’, ‘Teri Meri

Kahaani’ and ‘Bol Bachchan’ have exploited the medium for

promotion. What is the future of this trend, how is radio

increasingly becoming the hotspot for movie promotions.

Radio has a penetration of 30% and reaches out to almost

135 million listeners across the country. This reach

advantage makes radio an inseparable part of movie or

television show launches. Specifically for films, music

can get popular much before the movie release.  Radio

plays a significant role in both familiarizing &

popularizing the song. Hence, radio play outs is an

extremely critical component as it’s the single biggest

source of listening to music in the country today. Almost

every film gets promoted in one form the other depending

on the stars, but approximately there is around 20 – 25%

films spend on radio. Both Bollywood and regional movies

are promoted on radio. Emphasizing on the way the

promotions are executed a majority of movies look at

spending on radio or they essentially look at building

partnerships with radio stations. Radio promotions help

them to reach the audiences in a better manner and most

importantly it helps to create publicity for the movie.

Radio stations do a lot of engagement based contests for

movies, wherein celebrities visit radio stations,

interact with listeners and many a times listeners also

get to meet the stars personally. What is interesting to

note, is that this also helps radio stations provide

exclusive content to their listeners. Radio promotions

provide a direct access to the kind of audiences who will

ultimately go and watch the movie. This is precisely why

most of the producers today go in for promotions on radio

stations because of the direct access that the medium

provides. It is the best possible medium to talk about

either the music or the movie or the content. The same is

applicable to television shows because listeners

ultimately become television viewers and movie goers.

3.9 Film Promotion in News Paper & magazines

Newspaper Ads are almost always created by the

distributor. Publicity tours are paid for by the

distributor and the actor's contract usually specifies

the amount of pay that the actor will receive for doing

the tour. This is particularly useful for film festivals

where the movie has won an award.

Newspapers have been a major advertising media since its

development in the ancient Chinese history. There are

many forms of newspaper promotion according to the time

of release of a film. There is a separate set of

promotion technique before the release and after the

release. The promotion techniques include Poster

advertisements. Interviews. Profile previews. Upcoming

celebrity news, rumors, look back into prequels. Etc.

Poster advertisements are paid advertisements in the

newspaper, magazines, Weekly newspapers etc. that the

studio finances as advertisement to the film. Sometimes

these posters are way before even the production of the

films so as to receive. Like the upcoming movie with a

multiple start casting.

Interviews with the stars and crew; prior to, and after

the release happens often in weekly newspapers, tabloid

news and mostly in magazines. This helps to gain an

overview of the film and add insight to why we should

watch the film directly from the stars or the filmmakers.

Along with this there are the profile previews and look

backs into the earlier versions of the film if it has

any. So, as to understand the status of the film and how

much to expect from it by evaluating the skills and

expertise of the directors and the stars. E.g. the New

Aashiq abu film Gangster got many fans before the release

of the film due to the earlier hits of the director.

Celebrity news and rumours usually happen without the

intent of the crew, but news that are sniffed out by the

paparazzi that sometimes add to the overall promotion of

the film.

Reviews usually happen after the release of the film in

separate columns for film and movie news usually on

weekends. The reviews rate the film and provide a basic

overview of which movies are good to watch and which

should be avoided. Mostly there are multiple reviews of

the films released at that point of time.

3.10 Websites, Internet, Digital Media.

Digital media is the fastest, most innovative and most

recent way for film promotions. Before movie trailers

reach theatres, they are launched on YouTube and social

media. Facebook apps have created interactive sessions

between audience and movie promoters. Long before the

shooting of the movie starts, the news of upcoming movie,

its name, cast selection, shoot locations etc. reach to

the audience through internet and social media. Social

media like Facebook, twitter etc. have helped film

promoters to create a huge fan base before releasing the

movie. Interacting is made possible by games using

Facebook apps and exact number of followers and tweets

give larger reach of consumers despite region boundaries.

Social media is an exponential way of communication where

messages spread faster and hence many film marketing

agencies have taken it really seriously. With the advance

technical changes in the digital arena, website has taken

the place of old press release book where all the

information about the movie is available. Recently, with

the techniques and 3D images, creating an attractive

website is a core part of film marketing. Regional films

have also started to make attractive websites to get the

attention of urban consumers. Considering the growing

mobile penetration in Indian consumers, use of mobiles in

film promotion is obvious. Many mobile games and apps are

created targeting the movie going audience who are mobile

consumers.

3.11 Merchandising

The major studios realize that not only can the sale of

movie-related products generate substantial revenue, but

the presales of merchandising rights can sometimes

contribute to a film's production budget, as in the case

of Lord of the Rings, when 10 percent of the budget for

the trilogy was apparently raised by selling rights to

video games, toys, and merchandise companies. In

addition, these products can be useful in promoting films

and thus movie-based merchandise is often part of the

massive, coordinated promotional campaigns often started

months before a film's release. Typically, 40 percent of

movie merchandise is sold before a film is released.

Although movie-related merchandise often is common,

products based on films are sometimes considered risky

for merchandisers, as they ultimately may not be

successful and often have short life-spans. Licensees may

have to take further risks initially by sinking money

into a film that is not completed (or sometimes not even

started). On the other hand, a studio may need to change

a release date, especially to coincide with the lucrative

Christmas season or to avoid other competing films.

In addition, studios and licensees have been cautious

after some significant losses in the past. Licensing is

all about wanting a piece of something. You've got to

have the time and place for that property to be nurtured

evidently; the success of the merchandise is tied

directly to the success of the film. Marketing and

merchandising is never the major driving force behind a

film. If a film's no good, no one will buy the product It

might be noted as well, that many, if not most, movies do

not translate well into merchandise and thus have limited

merchandising potential.

Thus, for many films, licensing represents a potential

source of income to film companies and merchandisers. The

potential merchandising bonanza represents sizable

profits as sales of merchandise licensed from movies

continue to grow.

Since the dawn of the film industry, producers and

studios have sought new and innovative methods to draw

people into theaters to see their projects. As filmmaking

has evolved, so has the means to promote the movie-going

experience to prospective ticket buyers. An effective

film promotion campaign combines numerous methods to

attract an audience.

3.12 Conventional Media

For more than a century, film producers have promoted

their wares through the media available at the time.

Colorful posters for "Gone With the Wind" and "The Wizard

of Oz" showed images of what the film would look like to

potential viewers. TV commercials for the 1979 "Superman"

film made viewers believe a man could fly. In 1998,

movie-goers bought tickets to films such as "Monsters,

Inc." and "Meet Joe Black" just to see the trailers for

"Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace."

3.13 Direct marketing

Personal level promotions of the films are done here in

direct marketing category. e.g. Promotion of Hindi movie

‘Tezz’ during the bus travel by cast and crew. The same

story was heard of was about one of the Marathi movies

where promotion crew began talking in the bus about the

movie in rural Maharashtra. This phenomenon does not only

exist in Bollywood. ‘American Pie’ cast reunited on an

open top bus to promote the comeback movie in the UK in

2012.

3.14 Street and Guerilla Marketing

Guerilla marketing was used by Disney for the promotion

of film ‘Oz’. Hot air balloons soared over New York City

landmarks to promote movie “Chronicle”.  In India,

Guerilla marketing is hardly used for film promotions. On

Ground Activations- Film promoters also conduct on ground

activations in malls and theatres to generate buzz among

the audience. They conduct games, quizzes in the stores

and create aspirations to meet the actors of upcoming

movie.

3.15 Partnerships

Brands have been doing film partnership for some time in

film industry. Brands pay for the production of TV

commercials with movie actors or music rights or product

placements in the film. Partnership with brands for movie

promotions is the great idea to create buzz without

investing large amount of money into it. I still remember

‘Hey Ya’ ad of Asian paints with ‘Farhan Akhtar’ and

‘Deepika Padukone’. It was the best example of subtle

product placement in the movie and creation of TV

commercial simultaneously. Aston martin and James bond

film advertising are examples of such co-advertising.

Some movie promoters also partner with food chains and

provide discount coupons for food combinations.

3.16 Events

Various events are arranged to personally communicate to

target audience like tours to different colleges and

schools to create buzz. E.g. recently cast and crew of

‘Shudh Desi’ Romance visited MICA for its promotion.

Flash mobs are arranged by independent filmmakers in the

crowded places like railway stations, malls, schools,

colleges etc. to create buzz about the movie.

3.17 Novelties & other techniques

Production and paid broadcast of behind-the-scenes

documentary-style shows, the type of which are

mainly produced for HBO, Showtime, and Starz

Online digital film screeners: These digital film

screeners have the benefit of letting you send

individual copies of your film or a promo to the

press, sales agents, distributors etc. Using them

it’s simple to send individually controlled copies

of your film to various recipients with different

expiry dates. Along with the security of individual

expiry dates, you can see reports of who viewed your

film and track their viewing of the film.

Cross-promotion of original book or novelization,

including special printings or new cover jackets

("Now a major motion picture.")

Theatrical promotions are the central part of any

film marketing plan as they actually target

moviegoers directly. It is observed as theatrical

promotions create most conversions towards the

decision of watching the films.

Below the line promotions are useful when marketing

budget is low and focus is on niche audience with

whom it’s easy to deliver personal message.

CHAPTER 6

FILM MARKETING STRATEGY

The film marketing strategy for any good film can be best

described based on the 6 Ps of marketing, namely:

Product: The base for a well-defined film marketing

strategy starts with the film itself. A well-researched

script with a well-woven screenplay is where the core of

the film-marketing strategy for a film should be

invested. It is not about who sees the film only, it is

also about catering to a definitive audience who watches

your film in theatres, and more often than not, more than

once. While other elements of marketing focus on

attracting these audiences it is this aspect of marketing

i.e. ‘the product’ that aims at satisfying these

audiences.

Placement: It is true that an audience will be satisfied

only when they are attracted to go into the theatre to

watch the film. It is ‘placement’ that accounts for

attracting the audience into crowding the theatre.

‘Placement’ as a term is used to describe the modus-

operandi of placing the communication and promotion

strategy of the film on to media and non-media platforms

available in the industry today. There is a complete

media-mix that should be put into place usually 15% to

25% of the production cost of the film is invested into

the marketing of the film in Bollywood. But then there

are films like ‘Lagaan’, ‘Boom’, ‘Out of Control’, ‘Khel’

and others who have spent as much as 40% of their

production cost on marketing. But only ‘Lagaan’ out of

all these films became a superhit and needles to point

out that that had a lot to do with the central theme of

the film. Today it makes perfect sense to collaborate

with one or more media partners in order to ensure

maximum focused publicity of your film through certain

guided platforms.

Positioning: The entire media, marketing and

communication strategy of the film depends on the

positioning of the film. Positioning is that particular

slot in the mind of the audience that the film positions

itself in. This kind of positioning has a lot to do with

how well defined your target-audience is. The time-

consuming and highly complex ordeal of pin-pointing the

target- audience is something that a good film marketer

should take care of in the conceptualization stage. The

film by and large should appeal to the sensibilities of

all kinds of audience but prominently should be

positioned for a well-defined audience. Based on the

projected associations with your target-audience you must

formulate the ‘positioning elements’. These ‘positioning

elements’ should highlight and reflect in all the

promotions for the film.

People: The positioning of the film has a lot to do with

the personification of the film. Personification finally

is the key to creating a brand out of the film. ‘Lagaan’

is brand India and ‘Cricket’ .It is the central

characters (not the actors) of the film that should

enable the making of a brand out of your film. There

should be a well-defined promotion plan that has to be

put-into place for promoting the people of the film (both

on-screen and the technical team). The build-up should be

such that without over-exposing the team there should be

enough flurry of activity that will catapult the

audiences into the character of the film even before they

see the film.

Public Relations: Besides the advertising and promotion

of the film there should be a strategic focus on public

relations for the film, both media and non-media public

relations play an important role in the success of the

film.

Partners Brands and Bollywood: There is evidence of

shortened attention spans and a greater effort to break

through the clutter of multitudinous brands and media

vehicles. The best way to deliver the message is to catch

the customer off-guard when the rational defenses are

down. The best way to do so is to use the emotional gate

rather than the rational gate. The rational gate examines

the advantages, benefits, features and seeks value for

money; the emotional gate is all about trust, love,

identification and belief. It has been noticed that films

operate at the emotional level. These aspects have been

leveraged by brands such as Coke, Pepsi, Lux, Airtel,

Hyundai, Bagpiper, Lux wherein movies and brands flash

discreet (and sometimes indiscreet) messages at their

target audiences.

Then there is also the need to examine synergies between

the brands and films. The successful integration of

product placement within the film’s storyline has a long

history: the first example being the yellow ‘Rajdoot’

bike used in Raj Kapoor’s ‘Bobby’. However, at this point

it might be crucial to point out that what is important

is that there is complete transparency in the agreement

that the film-marketer and brand-marketer get themselves

into. Rakesh and Hrithik Roshan of ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ with

Killer Jeans and Emami.

Every Bollywood film has phases in which all marketing

content is released. This is standard for every film.

Some films might skip a few of the below phases but

mostly, this is what is followed in the industry:

1. Finding a Distributor

Probably 99% of all the motion picture which are

distributed uses a distributor. If a filmmaker cannot

find a distributor, the movie will probably never be

distributed. Probably 40% of all movies made never find a

distributor. The distributor uses the economics of volume

to market motion pictures as cheaply as possible. Even

so, the successful motion picture will cost 33% of the

final gross just for marketing and distribution.

In "star driven" film industry like that of ours, a good

film star will do the work of getting a comfortably

generous Producer.

If a film is already produced then a campaign or film

festivals screening can attract distributors

2. Delivery of the Film to the Distributor

After the film is complete it is delivered to a

distributor. Before approaching the distributor the

filmmakers are supposed to arrange for them a collection

of "finished products" required to release a film also

known as deliverables.

Deliverables can be divided into three categories:

Print materials: The actual film in the form of

negatives and/or video transfer. Used to create

prints for release to theaters, plus versions for

different media, trailers, etc. Digital technologies

are making this a changeable process

Publicity materials: Still images, press releases,

synopses, profiles of main actors & crew, etc. This

can also include production information, especially

if there is a good story to tell about how the film

was made.

Legal documentation: Paperwork required proving all

the appropriate rights to make and distribute the

film. This can include release forms and contracts

for cast and crew, music licenses,

resource/environmental consent and "Chain of Title"

(a record of ownership for different aspects of the

film).

3 Developing the Campaign

To sell a motion picture (with its huge advertising

budget), a campaign must be created to introduce the

movie to the public. A campaign is planned with two basic

questions

"What is this movie about?"

"Who will want to see this movie?" KYU (Know your

Customers)

Segmentation and Targeting After segmenting the

market generally by gender, age and region,

portraying the image of common moviegoer would be

helpful to decide the target market.  Targeted

segment should be identifiable, measurable and it

should be accessible for marketing communication and

distribution.  E.g. ‘Inkaar’ was targeting audiences

only from metros and cosmopolitan cities. Target

audience can be categorized as core audience and

wider audience. E.g. the core target audience of

movie ‘Gippy’ was school going teenagers but it must

have attracted their families too.

Positioning which genre does movie belong to? The

marketability of the film with regards to the

consumer’s lifestyle, social networks, media

consumption, behavioral pattern etc. has to be

considered while positioning the movie to target

audience.

Marketing plan to make effective, creative,

economically viable and yet successful marketing

promotions, planning the most important work of

promoters and distributors as generally most of the

audiences know which movie they want to watch before

going to the movie. The marketing plan includes

objectives, timeline, budgets and promotional

activities. Promotional activities start much

earlier than the release of the movie. E.g. Shahrukh

Khan released the teaser trailer of his film

‘Ra.One’ during 2011 Cricket World Cup, 9 months

before the film’s release. Promotional activities

can be divided in pre-launch, Launch and post-launch

plans. Theatrical exposure is done 4-8 weeks ahead

of the film release to generate positive interest in

the movie genre and topic. The marketing budget

depends on the national or regional release of the

film.

4. Teaser

This is the very first time that a movie’s content is

released to the world. This is normally a teaser for the

film’s marketing, meant to generate buzz and excitement

for the fans.

5.5 First Look

This is normally an image which will eventually become

the Key Art Image of the film. This image will be the

truest representation of the film and will normally tell

you what the film is about and the lead roles. It will

also contain the logos of the production house involved

and credits.

.6. Theatrical Trailer Release

This is the phase where the main trailer of the film

releases. For TV viewing, production houses cut the

theatrical trailer into various lengths of 30 seconds, 60

seconds, 90 seconds and 120 seconds. On the internet

however, the 120 second trailer is directly uploaded.

.7 Music Launch

A film’s music launch is one of the main events in its

build-up to the release. This event ensures a lot of

publicity for the film and your social media plan needs

to ensure that there is enough activity planned for this

phase. You can run a contest, live-tweet from the event

to give fans access to behind-the-scenes content, like

candid images of the cast and short videos. Video-

streaming the event on the website is another

possibility. From this stage on, a movie’s song are

released for playing on TV and Radio.

.8 Promotional tours

To publicize a movie, its cast, director and producer

conduct a citywide tour of the important cities in India.

Apart from the obvious Tier-I cities like Delhi, Mumbai,

and Kolkata, of-late city tours are also conducted in

smaller cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and

Lucknow. Candid photos, guessing the details of the

location and much more can be done online to keep the

buzz going for a film.

.9 Producer/Director’s Interview

After the city tours are done, there is a quiet lull

before the movie releases. To compensate for this,

interviews of the Producer & Director are generally

released. These could talk of the challenges in making

the film, the fun that was had, some quirky moments

during the shoot and some behind the scenes incidents

that have not been spoken of before. These interviews can

then be released to online properties and media partners

to further stoke fan interest.

.10. Movie Premiere

A movie premiere is a special event. It is the very first

time that the film is being shown to a select group of

masses. This is the last chance to create buzz around a

film. Marketers can take a Vox Populi from the audience

present there and can also quote famous journalists and

film reviews. Earlier contest winners can be invited to

watch the film too.

. 11 Marketing the Movie to Exhibitors

The distributor interests the theater owners to exhibit

the movie in their theaters.

. 12.Movie Release

Most people believe that the release weekend begins from

Friday onwards, however they are incorrect. The weekend

in Dubai starts on Thursday and therefore, most Bollywood

movies that are slated to release worldwide, are first

released in Dubai and then in rest of the world. This is

when the chatter around your film increases dramatically

and you need to reply to all the positive and negative

comments around the movie across websites and social

media. International fans are usually asking for the list

of theatres where the movie is playing in their region,

so make sure you have a comprehensive list already put-up

on all your Social Media properties.

. 13 Marketing the Movie to Tape Distributors

The film's distributor does not normally sell the tape or

disk of the movie directly to the Mom & Pop video store.

Rather, the distributor must get a specialized

distributor to put this in their catalog.

.14 Publicity

There are many ways to publicize a motion picture or a

television drama. The most common are a movie trailer and

a behind-the-scenes documentary. The movie trailer is the

least expensive and the behind-the-scenes movie can be

very time consuming if not expensive. Publicity is done

by both the production company and by the distributor.

The still photographs (called appropriately, "stills")

and the behind-the-scenes documentary are paid for by the

production company. But the movie trailer and movie

posters are normally paid for by the distributor. Some

production companies in search of a distributor will

create their own trailers and posters but once the movie

is picked up by a distributor and the advertising

campaign is determined, the distributor might still hire

one of the many companies which produce trailers for most

motion pictures today. In most cases, the distributor

pays the production company a small fee up front for the

right to distribute the movie. Then the production

company receives a royalty after sales reach a certain

amount. Therefore, it is beneficial for the production

company to help in the publicity. Also, the cost of the

distributor's advertising can often be charged against

the income due the production company. So is it better

for the production company to do as much of this as they

can. But once the distributor creates a marketing

campaign, they don't want the production company creating

a different image for the movie. And worst of all, all of

the rights to most of the publicity material created by

the production company is now owned by the film's

distributor so the production company can no longer use

this material in many cases.

In conclusion, marketers just have to remember that

movies are not common “products”. They deserve best

marketing plans to showcase their qualities to the right

audience.

With limited budgets for advertising, marketers are

increasingly relying on the internet and a small team of

social media managers that create a strategy for the

movie content to be released in a staged manner right

until the point of release. This ensures that fans are

continually fed information about a film via various

online touch-points and the buzz for a film reaches a

crescendo by the time a movie is set to release.

CHAPTER 6

FILM PROMOTION IN INDIA

6.1 How it all began

Motion pictures came to India in 1896, when the Lumiere

Brothers' Cinematographe unveiled six soundless short

films in Bombay. This was just one year after the Lumiere

brothers (inventors of cinematography) had set up their

company in Paris.

The first Indian on record to make a movie was

‘Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatwadekar’ . He made one short

film on a wrestling match at the Hanging Gardens in

Bombay, and another on the playfulness of monkeys. Both

these shorts were made in 1897 and were publicly

exhibited for the first time in 1899 using Edison's

projecting kinetoscope inside a tent which the filmmaker

had himself erected.

India's first feature film named "King Harishchandra" –

was released in 1913. It was made by Dhundiraj Govind

Phalke (nickname: Dadasaheb Phalke, 1817-1944). This was

a silent movie.

By 1920, film making had almost taken the shape of an

industry.

The first talkie made in India was "Alam Ara" (produced

by Imperial Film Company) released in 1931.

Until the 1960s, film-making companies, many of whom

owned studios, dominated the film industry. Artistes and

technicians were either their employees or were

contracted on long-term basis. Since the 1960s, however,

most performers went the freelance way, resulting in the

star system and huge escalations in film production

costs. Financing deals in the industry also started

becoming murkier and murkier since then.

Until the late 1990s, it was not even recognized as an

industry. Even though it has since been recognized as an

industry, banks and other financial institutions continue

to avoid the industry due to the enormous risks involved

in the business. Two banks, Canara Bank and Indian Bank,

have reportedly lost heavily by financing films. However,

the prospects of bank financing and risk insurance are

becoming brighter, albeit at a slow rate. As a result,

the financing of films in India often remains shrouded in

mystery.

(There are exceptions, however. India's most celebrated

film-maker, the late Satyajit Ray, is known to have

pawned his wife's jewellery to part-finance his first

film).

Star System: The financing pattern, centered on

distributors, is suspected to have changed since the

1960s when the studio system collapsed and 'freelance'

performers emerged. This gave rise to the 'star system'

in which actors and actresses ceased to have long-term

contractual obligations towards any studio or film

production firm (such as the now defunct Bombay Talkies,

New Theatres and Prabhat Studios). Rather, they began to

operate as freelancers commanding fees in proportion to

the box office performance of their recent films. This

increased costs of film production since the more

successful actors and actresses hogged major proportions

of the producers' budget.

6.2 India NOW

Now, India has the world's biggest movie industry in

terms of the number of movies produced (around 800 movies

annually, mostly in the Hindi language. Tamil, Telugu,

Bengali and Malayalam are the languages in which most of

the non-Hindi films are made).

Today, the technology of filmmaking in India is perhaps

the best among all developing countries though the films

themselves remain mostly repetitive in storyline and

content. Superior movies, in thematic and creative terms,

are made in many developing countries with less

sophisticated technologies.

According to unofficial estimates available in January

2001, the Indian film industry has an annual turnover of

Rs. 60 billion (approximately US$1.33 billion). It

employs more than 6 million people, most of whom are

contract workers as opposed to regular employees.

The above statistics cannot however be used to calculate

the movie industry's share in the GDP or employment

generation. This is because a vast proportion of the

turnover takes place outside the legal economy.

Film production thus became a risky business and the

relationship with usurious money-lenders strengthened

over the years.

As at the start of 2001, a reasonable budget film in

Hindi could cost US$1.75 million. A low budget Hindi film

can be made for even as low as Rs. 15 million.

A big budget Hindi movie can cost in excess of US$30

million. The 'bigness' of the budget is attributable

mainly to the high fees paid to 'stars', celebrated music

directors, high-end technologies and expensive travel

costs to shoot in exotic locations worldwide.

At the time of writing, it is believed that 'stars' like

Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan are paid Rs. 20 million

(US$440,000) per film. In contrast, script writers and

film editors remain poorly paid. In an interview, India's

so-called 'superstar' Amitabh Bachchan attributed the

lack of strong storylines to the poor money paid to

writers. The film industry is currently losing

unestimated volumes of revenue due to competition from

local cable operators who illegally beam newly released

movies into the drawing rooms of their subscribers.

However, the entertainment industry in India is slated to

increase to a whopping Rs 250 billion by the end of 2005.

The elation is, in part, perhaps due to current trends in

the average cinema-goer life. The viewers’ overt

fascination with home viewing of movies on pirated VCDs

and DVDs is almost breathing its last, thanks partly due

to the burgeoning trend of multiplexes. Apart from

multiplexes ruling the roost, the market share of cinema

as a medium has shot up due to improved infrastructure in

the existing theatres. Audiences are returning to

theatres, more so in the big cities. In turn, investors

in Bollywood are either getting set to or already raking

up.

However, there is another more valid reason for Bollywood

to cheer. As is apparent to most Bollywood aficionados,

the latest trends in the industry include

corporatization, multinational studios, enhanced

production values due to higher production costs, films

making a sustained impact in the international arena,

increased investments in promotions as well as marketing

entertainment properties, and more and more brands

jumping onto the entertainment bandwagon.

The time is ripe for Indian Cinema to become an organized

industry where films are products that need to be

converted into competitive brands through good marketing.

6.3 Posters and magazines

Post-independence Indian film industry gained a momentum

and historians call the period of 1950s as the golden age

of Indian cinema. Movies like ‘Awara’, Mother India,

‘Pyaasa’, ‘Kaagaz ke Phool’ were released in the 1950’s.

The movies mainly relied on hand painted posters which

were used for Out of home publicity like billboards and

wall posters. These were a few simple marketing campaigns

used by producers to draw the attention of the movie-

goers. In those days the concept of PR (Public Relations)

did not existed and actors did not gave interviews to the

media, nor did they attend parties and thus the movies at

that time did not generate any hype or buzz. The 1970’s

saw the advent of radio where slots were sold for

commercial advertisement. Film festivals, premieres and

awards were covered by the media. The International film

festival of India became an annual event in 1974. This

became a huge grand affair to gain space in newspapers

and film magazines. VCR’s came in the market in 1970s

which provided an alternate source of entertainment from

the sole channel Doordarshan. This lead to increase in

the number of movie watchers who could see movies at home

rather than theatres.

6.4 Television & RADIO

Early 1990s opened the doors for cable and satellite

television in India post the Gulf War, no longer the

viewers were confined to only one channel ‘Doordarshan’.

Satellite channels like Zee TV and Sony changed exposed

viewers to new content. Mix genre movies like romantic,

thriller, action and comedy were released and the viewers

were spoilt for choices. The promos and songs of the

movie started playing on the TV channels and created

necessary hype prerelease. Technology evolution helped to

replace painted posters by modern digital ones. What is

great and unique about Bollywood is that though

television was and is its biggest competitor it looked at

it as a medium to reach its target audience. Today all

movie makers use reality shows like ‘Indian Idol’, ‘Sa re

ga ma pa’, and ‘Big Boss’ to promote their films. ‘Shah

Rukh Khan’ the producer of Ra-One visited each and every

reality show to promote his movie.

6.5 Alternate channels

Another new trend which is emerging today is advertising

and media are looking at a new medium to position their

product to the target audience. That led to product

placement in movies which was experimented where the

products were prominently displayed by the actors in the

movie. At home setting the attention span of the audience

is low, it’s the same while watching television where

viewers skip the advertisement. With digitization this

has become all the more easier as TV shows can be

recorded on the DTH and ads can forwarded. This is where

the role of product placement plays an important role in

movies where the message can be easily slipped in the

narration of the movie. The audience is extremely

receptive at a movie theatre; it also becomes more

effective when the movie star is endorsing the brand

itself e.g. Shahrukh Khan using a Santro car in the movie

‘Chalte Chalte’ or Aamir Khan wearing Van Heusen clothes

in the movie ‘Ghajini’.

6.6 Product placement

Though it is widely believed that the practice of using

movies to promote brands is a recent phenomenon, this

trend can be traced way back to the 1955 Raj Kapoor movie

‘Shree 420’, in which when the protagonist enters Bombay

for the first time, a large Coca-Cola banner is visible

right above his head. There are other instances as well.

In ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi’ (1958), the story revolves

around three brothers who own an auto repair shop.

Several scenes in the film feature a poster depicting

Mobil brake-fluid along with at least one mention of it

by one of the primary characters. In An Evening in Paris

(1967), the hero and heroine of the movie carry a Coke

bottle everywhere they go, and an entire crate of Coke is

clearly visible in one of the scenes. Oh! And how can one

not mention the legendary association between the super-

hit ‘Bobby’ (1975) and Rajdoot Motorcycles. The

motorcycle brand also became famous as the ‘Bobby’

motorcycle for quite a while, thus riding on the goodwill

garnered by the movie and its lead characters. The

practice of placing products in Bollywood films really

took off in the 1990s. Yash Chopra’s ‘Dil To Pagal Hai’

(1997) featured several brands such as Pepsi, Levis, and

Killer Jeans. However, it was Subhash Ghai’s ‘Taal’

(1999) that became very famous (or rather infamous) for

being a tad too blatant with product placements. This

Aishwarya Rai - Akshaye Khanna starrer had an entire 10-

second song segment around a Coke bottle. The lack of

subtlety raised many an eyebrow. ‘Ghai’ carried forward

this trend of not-so-subtle product placements in his

next movie, ‘Yaadein’ (2001), though this time round he

took it to an altogether different level. In the movie,

Coke had the mouth-freshener brand, Pass Pass, for

company. Not only did he go for repeated Coke banners in

the background, he also had Jackie Shroff flaunt a key

chain with the Coke logo. This key chain was twiddled in

front of the camera in every other frame Jacky was in. To

add to our woes, everyone kept offering one another Pass

Pass throughout the film. Some other movies that come to

mind when one thinks of extremely blatant product

placements are Rakesh Roshan ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ (2003), Yash

Chopra’s ‘Ta Ra Rum Pum’ (2007) and Farhan Akhtar’s

‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ (2011). ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ had

Rekha trying to push Bournvita down a callow Hrithik’s

throat while it also promoted Coke and Hero Honda. ‘Ta Ra

Rum Pum,’ which revolved around the life of a car-racer

(Saif Ali Khan) pimped auto brands from Castrol to

Goodyear to Chevrolet, while ZNMD made its share by

selling Mountain Dew, Land Rover Discovery 4 and Spanish

Tourism. We can also add ‘Krrish’ (2006), ‘Don’ (2006)

and many more to this list. Also, ‘Dabangg 2; has added

another twist to the tale, what with Chulbul Pandey not

only using a certain mobile phone brand and a riding a

certain motorbike but also dancing with a raunchy Kareena

Kapoor to tell you that you've got to stick it Faavicol

se!

6.7 Multiplexes

Over the last decade phenomenal improvements were made in

the theater infrastructure in India. Multiplex culture

which started in India in 2002 has improved box -office

collection by 3 times. The large number of screens in

multiplexes has provided an excellent opportunity for

small movie makers to reach to their target audience. An

example of one such small budget film is Aamir Khan

Production’s ‘Peepli Live’ which was made with a budget

of 10 crores but grossed nearly 30 crores at the box

office.

Pre-Release Revenue Earning Model Today’s Filmmaker’s

have become very smart and they have developed new

revenue earning models. Most of the films today recover

their cost before release only by selling various Rights

of the movie which include

Theatrical Rights

Satellite Rights or Broadcasting Rights

Music Rights

The movie ‘Ra-One’ was also a pioneer in making full use

of this strategy and earned 132 crores before its release

which is the highest pre-release revenue earned by any

Hindi film leaving way behind its close competitor ‘3

idiots’ which managed a pre-release revenue figure of 85

crores. The worldwide distribution rights of Ra-One were

acquired by Eros Entertainment for 77 crores. The

broadcasting rights of the movie were sold to Star India

for 35 crores and the Music Rights of the movie were

bought by T-Series for 10 crores. SRK has truly taught us

how to market a movie and he is the only film personality

in India who can give a tough fight to any marketing

professor in the world

6.8 Internet, Social Media & Bollywood

A combination that has done wonders over the last few

years. We have seen Bollywood actors, actresses,

directors and even producers having an account in social

media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Besides this, many

Bollywood celebrities have grown a keen interest in

blogging as well. Even superstars like Amitabh Bachchan,

Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor

maintain accounts in Twitter to keep in touch with the

world and with their fans. Whether it’s the promotion of

a movie or publishing digital posters or hosting contests

related to a movie to be released, Bollywood stars,

producers and directors know the marketing strategy

through Social Media quite well. A recent trend among

Bollywood film-makers is that they ask for public opinion

on their movie through the social media and consider that

opinion as final judgment. This trend has been followed

by directors like Mahesh Bhatt and Prakash Jha. These two

directors got help from the audience regarding the

selection of the movie posters for their film's ‘Murder

2’ and ‘Aarakshan’ respectively. We have also seen that

Shirish Kunder literally made his Twitter followers

decide the cast and crew of his movie Joker’s. Starting

from the actress opposite Shreyas Talpade, the lyricist

and even the music director, all have been collectively

decided by Kunder's Twitter followers. Amitabh Bachchan's

blog is extremely famous and has a large number of

readers. He has used this medium to interact with his

die-hard fans and this has made him within the reach of

the ordinary. Social media has even taken over the need

for reading magazines related to Bollywood gossip. Right

from the conception of a film, we have seen celebrities

who are part of that movie, continuously posting

something or the other about the status of the movie.

This has made the audience aware even about the minute

developments taking place in a film's sets and that also

from the mouth of their favorite stars themselves.

Building hype and creating a buzz around a movie release

has been, and will remain the order of the day while

movies are made. However, pre-release promotions are

becoming more and more interactive and social. In a bid

to position ‘Dhoom 3’ differently, 99Games Online Pvt.

Ltd and Yash Raj Films Pvt. Ltd. launched the official

game for the ‘Dhoom 3’ movie on the Windows Phone. Join

the Chase a campaign hosted on a dedicated Facebook app

is another recent endeavor. What is common to both

endeavors is the spirit of reality and involvement. The

prizes on offer are something that make people sit up and

take notice, because the 1000 CC BMW bike from the film

is the grand prize for the Facebook based contest, while

participants are kept engaged with mini contests and the

opportunity to win points at every stage. The 3D racing

game is available exclusively on the Windows phone with

state of the art graphics. Micro blogging site Twitter

was the social media platform Bullet Raja used to host an

inter-city competition challenging fans from various

cities to show their love for ‘Bullett Raja’. As a result

of this initiative, the number of Twitter followers for

Bullet Raja rose to 1,227 by the end of the contest.

#wewantbulletraja trended on the 29th and 30th of

September, 2013 and a 40% increase in the number of

followers was seen within just two days of the contest.

Upcoming film ‘JAI HO’ is already making waves on social

media, way before its release.

CONCLUSION

Film making is a costly affair. It’s the most influential

art form of this era. For some, it is not just art; it is

business, entertainment; and also for some it is a path

to stardom. But the era is changing. There are many ways

an individual or a group of people can connect to the

world. The reach of a single individual into the whole

wide world is the longest ever. Conventional methods are

slowly degrading and almost all the main film promotion

is done with the help of the internet.

Ever since the term: Independent filmmaking emerged the

film promotion techniques started taking a new turn.

Independent filmmaking is a new movement in film making

where filmmakers experiment and use latest and cheapest

technology to create films that are primarily art and

then entertainment.

In Independent filmmaking there is no room for large

expenditures. “The less the money spent the better the

work of art” is the motto of this movement of filmmaking

and hence filmmakers now come up with innovative ways to

connect and reach the people keeping in mind the low

budget.

A drawback to all this new technology and innovative

technique is their influencing nature. Industry big shots

and stars can make any movie, include a larger than life

film promotion and star with a big fan base and there you

go! The biggest blockbuster. Anyone can make a movie.

All you need is good film promotion. ‘Dhoom 3’, the top

grosser of Indian cinema is a critical disaster. ‘Jilla’

with all its promotion turned out to be a flop with no

basic story structure. And yet they managed to make a

heavy profit. The art is missing here. The idea of a

researched, through script, Expert direction, quality

cinematography, parallel cinema etc is slowly degrading.

In comparison to the Hollywood film industry big budget

films with big budget film promotion, with big stars are

the same films that are sent to various awards like the

Oscars. ‘The wolf of wall street’ by legendary filmmaker

Martin Scorsese, was nominated for the academy award. It

was entertaining, a lot of money was spent on its

production and the same amount for promotion. But the art

remained. There was quality filmmaking. The script was

well researched and thoroughly gripping.

In India we have almost similar resources brilliant,

creative and skilled cinematographers, Post production

unit like Reliance media, skilled actors music composers

like the Academy award winning A.R Rahman. And yet we

fail to deliver quality in our big budget films. We donot

invest ourselves into thinking different we tend to

follow the paths of the Hollywood industry and thereby

losing our own identity.