REEL WORLD, REAL MONEY…

The Indian film industry is one of the biggest and highest revenue generating industries in India. The industry is even bigger than Hollywood, as over 800 films are made every year, with approximately 15 million people in India going to theaters every single day to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars. Ever since its inception, advertising in movies has evolved in leaps and bounces, and now it is a full-fledged business which requires management, planning and plotting and most of all understanding of the audience. Over a period of decades, the Indian movie industry has churned out movies, some of them even generating revenues of over Rs100 crores.

Product placement in films refers to the practice of including a brand name product, package or any other trademark merchandise within a motion picture for increasing the memorability of the brand and for instant recognition at the point of purchase. Product placements are commercial insertions within a particular media program intended to enhance the visibility of a brand. These insertions are not meant to be commercial break ups rather an integral part of the medium so that the visibility of the brand increases. Attempts are made for the viewer to read the product or the brand as a quality of the characters using and approving it. Researchers have shown that viewers like product placements (unless there are too many) because they enhance realism, aid in character development, create historical subtext, and provide a sense of familiarity. For marketers, the availability of a captive audience with greater reach than traditional advertisements, and the advantage of showing brands in their natural environment provide motivation for product placements. Brand placements are frequently been used in Hollywood films and have subtly, of late entered in to Indian films.

Well this form of advertising has two aspects to it. Firstly, what’s in their for the movie makers? And secondly, why are marketers and advertisers so interested in this form. Answering the first question, film producers these days do not have the leverage of time i.e the period for which a movie is screened in theatres. No matter how big the star cast of the movie is, it is bound to last in the multiplexes for a maximum of 3 weeks. Needless to say, with a depleting collection at the box office with every passing day. Hence the endeavor of a film maker is to achieve its breakeven as soon as possible. Advertising of brands in a movie provides the film producers an opportunity to earn their investment back even before the release of the movie. Of course it is also complimented by other revenue generating means like television broadcasting rights, music rights, distribution rights, video games and merchandising. A recent example being the blockbuster movie – Ra.One. The movie’s revenue through brands were approximately around INR 52 crores, television broadcasting rights were sold at INR 40 crores and the music and distribution rights were sold at INR 92 crores. When taken into consideration the budget of the movie which was approx. INR 175 crores, the revenue generated from advertising of brands in the movie was close to 30% of the investment. And it’s a vast return considering the fact that the movie hadn’t even released.

The other aspect of advertising in films is why does it interests the brand builders so much. Well this medium of advertising has a minimal distraction for the audience as compared to

other mediums like print, television or outdoor. Audience in the theatre gives their complete attention to the screen for approx. 3 hours. The advertisers leverage on this attention span to subtly incorporate their products into the viewer’s mind. This form of advertising also has a mass appeal. Depending on the movie and the products advertised in it, it appeals to both the literate and the illiterate people. Also the motion picture allows the advertisers to demonstrate the product along with its benefits. And the fact that it usually comes from the star celebrities in the movie, people do get hooked on to it. A movie also enables the marketing honchos to promote their product in the absence of their competitors, thus capturing a major part of their customer’s mind share.

But even this medium has its flip side to it. The biggest worry is its subtleness. As much as it is important for such an advertising to be subtle, there is also a possibility of the products or the brands to go unnoticed. Also it is essential that the product is well blend into the story and then served to customers. It must seem like the dog is waging its tail rather than the other way round. It’s vital as it doesn’t take time for the consumers to alienate themselves. A good example for such form of advertising would be the promotion of brands in Bond movies. From Sony Erricson, Omega to Aston Martin, the brands have remained associated with the character for years together.

The high recall, recognition and positive attitude suggest that brand managers seriously look at product placements in movies as a new vehicle for reaching to customers. However, a number of issues need to be kept in mind. Relevance of product to the situation needs to be created: this is possible by incorporating the placement planning at a script level, as practiced by Hollywood. Respondents expressed concern about the lack of good creative execution. The manager also needs to guard against clutter in scenes: other competing products in the product category should not be incorporated. Well the success of a product placement depends on the success of the movie. But still I believe the growing need for uncluttered advertising and the very existence of film viewing people in this country makes this medium one of the most sought after means in the times to come.