Brand associations with movies hold huge potential, considering the large Indian captive audience for cinema. Well-strategized integration of in-film product placement and content has worked wonders for several brands, but there have been misfits too. So what does it take marketers and film-makers to get the method right, asks Priyanka Mehra
Picture this. Pierce Brosnan in his James Bond avatar steps out of his car, and is surrounded by goons. One flick of the wonder watch on his wrist, and what happens is nothing short of a miracle. The wonder watch in this case turns out to be an Omega Seamaster Quartz, now an iconic model loved and desired by man and child alike as the star accessory of the world’s most loved spy.
Brand Omega has had an association with the Bond series since 1995, with Brosnan in the role of James Bond sporting the Omega Seamaster Quartz Professional in the flick Golden Eye, and what followed is history.
The Omega-Bond association is one of the best examples of a brand becoming an integral part of a film and talking to the consumer as a character. In this case, die-hard Bond fans turned into Omega fans as well, and Omega celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the first James Bond film with the launch of two commemorative limited edition watches earlier this year.
Another example of in-film branding playing an integral role in the film is Fedex in the Tom Hanks-starrer Cast Away, where Hanks plays a Fedex employee. The brand also enjoys a distinct recall of Julia Roberts running into a Fedex van in Runaway Bride. Similarly, RayBan in Top Gun and Mission Impossible seemingly earned more mileage than the films themselves.
In-film branding is a thriving industry globally, with brands recognizing the potential of the right marriage of content and communication. Realizing this, companies such as Ford have actually set up offices in Hollywood.
Back home, in-film branding rides on the popular notion that two things that sell in India are cricket and Bollywood. Films in India reach out to a huge audience, hence any relevant product placement or association with films enables brands to reach out to a large captive audience. “Brands cannot invest in all 10 mediums available today and scream out loud, so what is becoming increasingly important is the media mix to reach the audience optimally, creatively and engagingly,” comments Darshana Bhalla, CEO of Madison Mates, the Film Promotion & Entertainment Division of Madison World.
BRAND ASSOCIATIONS ON THE RISE
IT’S NOT THE MEDIUM, IT’S THE METHOD
“On an average, there are 50-60 large brands advertising on television in a month. What attracts consumers is good content. Years back, we thought why we can’t we create a window for brands to advertise within the content itself? This is the context in which in-film advertising is to be done,” adds Bhalla, who has just worked on in-film branding for Ireland Tourism in the recent release EK Tha Tiger.
One of the early adventures with this medium is the 1970’s flick Bobby, which featured the mini-Rajdoot. Such was the brand connect that the vehicle, launched after the film’s release, came to be known as Bobby, instead of mini-Rajdoot.
More recent examples include the Zandu balm association with ‘Munni badnaam hui’, which ensured 35% growth in sales in that quarter for the brand as the song went on air. “Though it was not an integration, the song was an immediate hit and Zandu did major business out of the film association to promote the song along with brand,” says Sajay Moolankodan, Director of Go Fish Entertainment, which specializes in advertising in entertainment properties.
A Hermes Kelly bag called ‘Bagwati’ in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was perhaps the most popular character of the film. It found a friend in every woman, and Dolce & Gabbana or Prada fans were converted with this bag accessorized (read humanized) with dark glasses and a scarf by Imran Khan, Farhan Akhtar’s character in the film. Bagwati became a trending topic on Twitter and found a place in other social media as well. Talk of ‘bagging’ fans!
Interestingly, film-maker Subhash Ghai has been doing a lot of brand associations in his films from his early days - HMV records in Karz, Hero cycles in Hero and Coke and other brand associations in later films.
“Every frame can be branded. If you open a fridge, there are opportunities. A family meal at a table can be branded. If it can happen in Hollywood, why not here?” asks Sanjay Bhutiani, Partner at Red Carpet Entertainment and Director, Footprints Motion Pictures, who has had a long association with the film industry.
A close look reveals several factors that hamper the growth of this medium in India, preventing it from turning into a multibillion dollar industry a la Hollywood
UNSTRUCTURED INDUSTRY
Bollywood breathes and revels in a state of chaos, though of late, the advent of new production houses has introduced a semblance of structure and timelines. “The film industry has been largely disorganized in the past and it is only now with corporatization that there are systems, processes and marketing professionals who can position this as a serious medium/platform for marketers,” says Ashish Patil, Vice-President of Y-Films, Brand Partnerships, Talent Management, the brand partnerships division of Yash Raj Films.
ELEMENT OF RISK
The unstructured nature of this medium in India leads to a higher element of risk for brands “So many times, the script goes through changes, and sometimes the product endorsed acts as a deterrent. You cannot compromise with the creative element of a film for a product. This happens only in India. Abroad, scripts are locked six months in advance. Every department knows its responsibility. Here, on-the-set changes can happen, depending on the conviction of an actor or director. Sometimes an actor can even refuse to do a scene,” observes Yusuf Shaikh, Head, Distribution & IPR, Percept Pictures.
MATCHING FILM’S CHARACTER, BRAND ATTRIBUTES
The brand manager’s biggest fear is the affinity between the character of the film and the brand personality, though the film Road had a perfect integration for TATA Safari, being a film where the character spent most of the time in a vehicle. Then again, the character had grey shades as well, so this could be a cause of worry for some. “The brand manager’s greatest woe is that characters in the film don’t act as a brand ambassador should act. There is a story to be told, you cannot have full control at all times. Brand managers are scared and need to be more open-minded. This often results in ego clashes and conflicts between brand managers and producers,” adds Shaikh.
DIFFICULT-TO-MEASURE ROI
Though there are innumerable benefits of this medium, more often than not, an exact number in terms of ROI cannot be attributed to it.
LACK OF RESEARCH & STATISTICS
The general opinion is that Bollywood has not been able to sustain this format or business in a large way due to lack of research methodology, and there is no sustained growth level. “The reason for this debacle is agencies - the agency’s job is not to sell, but also educate clients on how to sell. The problem is, the film industry is not able to talk to brands,” observes Bhalla. This factor reflects as hesitancy on the marketers’ part to invest in this medium. Gaurav Kulshreshtha, Manager, Marketing & Product Planning, Pioneer India Electronics Pvt. Ltd, says the brand has refrained from in-film advertising due to the risk element involved. Possibly, research and actual statistics would validate this medium and enable brands like Pioneer cross the fence.
Bollywood being the business of creativity and art, it is also surprising that creative agencies in India do not have an arm that caters to this medium, on the lines of Hollywood Ogilvy. Leo Burnett did have ‘Leo Entertainment’, which does not exist anymore. It is not surprising then that media agencies typically dubbed as ‘number crunchers’ are handling this medium today along with a few leading specialized agencies. Industry insiders also believe that the emergence of several ‘fly by night’ agencies spoilt the market for the bigger players by lowering price points and entering ‘barter deals’, which has led to the medium being devalued.
Feedback: priyanka.mehra@exchange4media.com
