The Story Must Be Sold

Films are marketed to consumers as well as creators of other products and services. Actors, more often than not, are the deliverables in such cases. So a star selling tickets at movie theatres (Emraan Hashmi to promote Raja Natwarlal) or running announcements at railway stations (Salman Khan’s voice was used during Ek Tha Tiger promotions) isn’t uncommon now.

Says Ajay Chandwani, director, Percept, “Film marketing is fairly similar to marketing a consumer product — you create hype around a single idea and see it through in all media. There is hysteria surrounding celebrated stars which film marketing exploits. Selling star value means understanding the crux of their appeal. The personality cult is unique to film marketing.”

That film marketing involved a combination of activities — building visibility through theatrical trailers, interviews and merchandising — is something 93 per cent of the respondents agreed with. A majority of survey respondents — 81 per cent — felt that good marketing could bolster the prospects of an average film and 89 per cent thought that a good film could meet with tragic consequences if the marketing was weak. Chennai Express was voted as the film with the best marketing strategy.

However, only 28 per cent of those surveyed felt that 40-50 per cent of a film’s budget should be allocated to marketing while a whopping 65 per cent thought that market spend should be pegged at 30 to 40 per cent. They were also of the opinion that a high marketing spend results in a lower Return on Investment (33 per cent) and as an extension of that logic, 73 per cent felt that big tent-pole films were more suitable for allocating a big marketing spread.

As many as 23 per cent opined that a big budget tentpole film with stars is more likely to succeed. Reinforcing the blockbuster strategy, pursued by Hollywood studios, 50 per cent opined that fewer small films would fetch the big profits that a big film would and therefore marketing overkill on a small film was more fraught with risks. However, a significant 19 per cent felt that content-driven films with smaller budgets, if well marketed, could equal big films in earnings (Kahaani and The Lunchbox are examples).

Appearances on television shows (30 per cent), product endorsements (23 per cent) and print coverage, interviews in magazines, etc (18 per cent) were the top most effective marketing tools for film stars outside of the films they act in. Fifty two per cent of the respondents echoed movie moghul Shah Rukh Khan’s sentiments that imagination and innovation is a necessity in business, especially the movie business.

Predictably, Khan notched 41 per cent votes as the actor with the smartest marketing plan in showbiz (all India) and his company Red Chillies Entertainment topped the list too. Vidya Balan aced the survey for actresses, while Viacom 18 Motion Pictures was the studio number one in the marketing game.

Thadani too agreed that Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan were the two stars with top-of-the-mind recall for their strategies, despite the difference in their approach. As things stand, with aggressive marketing campaigns already underway, both Happy New Year and PK could sail into the Rs 300 plus crore bracket, predicts Thadani.