Bollywood Biz : The Business of Bollywood Promotions

Movie producers are increasingly taking innovative steps to promote their offerings, besides the use of social and digital media. Corporate Citizen explores the fascinating modes of movie promotions

The business of cinema has evolved along with the art of making movies. Till the 80's movies would be released on a certain date, audiences would watch them and then spread the word by word of mouth. With the 90's came the advent of television in every home, and producers adapted by releasing trailers and ads on TV. Fast forward to today, where social media and smartphone usage is rampant, movie producers are taking more and more innovative steps to promote their offerings.

Just a decade back, leading actors would sign multiple movies at one time, often having three to four releases a year. Promotions at that time were limited to making a few appearances and press conferences around the eve of the film’s release, and that was that. The money involved in cinema was also relatively modest, with movies having lean budgets, backed by indie producers.

Today’s movie budgets run into hundreds of crores, are backed by large corporate houses with the stakes too high. There are eight to ten movies that release every month, and competition is intense. Add to that the damage done by the piracy industry, and the picture becomes scary.

Promotions have gone from being an expendable luxury to a requisite necessity. The one thing Bollywood does know, though, is to adapt fast…and how! If there is an actor who understands the power of branding, it is the Baadshah of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan. And nowhere is his promotional acumen more visible than during the promotions of India’s most expensive film Ra. One. Made on a budget of Rs.160 crore, SRK left no stone unturned to promote this superhero film. Promotions started ten months in advance in January for a Diwali release. While unveiling the first look of the film, he also created a 3,600-feet long fan mail, collecting audience wishes and messages.

The fan mail would then travel to 36 cities across the world to promote Ra.One. Such was the marketing clout of SRK, that everyone from colas to watches to mobile phones and socially relevant causes, even brands that SRK has not been associated with in the past collaborated with Ra.One. SRK spend a whopping Rs.40 crore on the film’s promotions by the time it hit the theatres.

The movie was universally panned by critics and would otherwise have been a flop, but the grandiose promotions managed to get audiences into theatres, and the incessant promotions even after the release ensured the movie became a superhit, grossing Rs.240 crore worldwide.

Yash Raj Films took Dhoom 3 promotions to a whole new level, by launching the eponymously titled bike racing game Dhoom 3 on Apple and Android phones.The game was downloaded half a million times and got a lot of user engagement, which helped draw audiences to theatres enabling the movie to rake in over Rs.550 crore at the box office

Where SRK chose the promotions of excess, Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani chose to do the exact opposite – they chose secrecy. PK was probably the most closely guarded Bollywood movie, in which no one had an inkling of the movie’s plot till the day of its release. The movie had already been in the news for almost two years due to the profile of Aamir Khan and Hirani, but curiosity peaked when a motion picture was released featuring Aamir Khan in the nude with only a transistor as cover. Twitter went wild and #pk was the most trending topic of the week. Every week after that, the makers released an additional motion picture, featuring other members of the cast. Aamir Khan made many public appearances to promote the movie, but did not give even a minor clue about what the movie was about. The many public appearances by the leading cast and director, but no clue as to the movie’s story, drove the audience crazy with anticipation, and everyone thronged to the theatres the day the movie released. Marketing gurus who had earlier criticised this promotion of austerity, now couldn’t stop heaping complements once PK became the highest grossing Bollywood movie, raking over Rs.600 crore at the box office

Yash Raj Films, one of the leading film studios in India, took Dhoom 3 promotions to a whole new level, by launching the eponymously titled bike racing game Dhoom 3 on Apple and Android phones, which has been downloaded on over 5 lakh devices. The game got a lot of user engagement, and helped draw audiences to theatres enabling the movie to rake in over Rs.550 crore at the box office.

Movie promotions are not always on the mark though. The makers of the horror movie Agyaat took the promotions of their movie to a whole new creepy level by hanging a dummy of a human dead body on the hoardings of the film. The blood oozing out of the dummy was so grotesque that the onlookers complained to the police and got the dummy removed.

In an age of instant connectivity, filmmakers are pulling out all stops to connect with their audience. YouTube and twitter campaigns, fan contests, brand tie ups, and viral marketing campaigns are the tools for the ultimate battle for your wallet. So sit back, pop the popcorn and prepare to get wooed!

By Neeraj Varty