Why are digital campaigns becoming Bollywood’s most preferred option for marketing their films?

By Screen Weekly -

July 29, 2013 - 2:57 AM IST

While Bollywood films today are known for their out-of-the-box promotional ideas, they need to keep pace with technology, as it is changing every day. One of the things they cannot ignore is the digital platform, as it is the most easiest and effective way to increase engagement with the audience. Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube have millions of users, who are on the lookout for updates on their favourite stars and films. To cash in on this, filmmakers are now joining hands with digital marketing companies to come up with unique online activities, to create lots of buzz before the release date.

Instead of launching it on television, song videos are now uploaded on official Youtube channels first. For instance, 'Badtameez Dil' from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani was promoted extensively on Twitter before the official launch, which resulted in the key words becoming a Twitter trend. Ultimately, the Youtube video of the song garnered more than 1 million hits in two days. "Digital campaign opens an array of opportunities that impact the way entertainment is marketed and consumed today. With digital campaign, these films not only address the domestic audience, but have a global reach as well," stated Neeraj Roy, CEO and MD, Hungama Digital.

Why are digital campaigns becoming Bollywood’s most preferred option for marketing their films?

One of the reasons behind the success of new-age campaigns is that it gives fans easy access to exclusive content like podcasts, behind the scenes videos, blog posts among others, while movie marketers get immediate reactions and feedback on their films. One of the earliest films to join this bandwagon was Red Chillies Entertainment's Ra.One. According to a report in Business Today, Rs. 15 crores were allotted to the digital campaign alone, which made it evident that Shah Rukh Khan wanted to impress the technology and social media enthusiasts. He took active interest in the digital promotions and joined hands with Google India for a one-of-a-kind custom made Youtube channel, where digital comics and trailers of social games among others were released. This year too, Disney UTV and Red Chillies Entertainment are leaving no stone unturned to promote their upcoming film, Chennai Express. The film's lead pair, Khan and Deepika Padukone started tweeting about the film's trailer, weeks before the launch, which resulted in the trailer getting two million hits in four days. In addition to this, the Chennai Express channel on Youtube has special videos under a section called SRK Tips, where the actor is seen talking about his scenes and preparing for them.

Fans love contests, and organizing them is very easy on social media platforms. This works two ways for the film. Participants are asked to like the official fan page to enter the contest, and the winners are given exclusive merchandise or audio CDs of the film. Apart from zooming ahead in the race of 'Likes', it also helps in boosting the page traffic. Some marketers are going a notch higher with Google hangouts and Facebook chats. Eros International organized exclusive Google hangouts with the cast of Teri Meri Kahaani in 2012, which gave fans a chance to ask questions and interact with Shahid Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.

However, this year, Hungama digital and the makers of Krrish 3 have gone a step ahead and launched a motion poster, which was a first in India, along with an exclusive Facebook chat with Hrithik Roshan. Roy adds, "Filmkraft, Rakesh and Hrithik Roshan have been an integral part of the planning for Krrish 3's digital and social campaign. This was the first film where promotions were kicked off with a social media campaign and Facebook chat that went out to 60 countries. This chat was done by Roshan himself and he is very actively involved in taking the project further." The film's official Facebook page was the first Bollywood film fan page to get verified. With four months to go for the film to hit the screens, Krrish 3 has managed to generate a lot of hype already.

But it's not just the big films. Low budget projects and short films benefit from digital campaigns as well. Director Anand Gandhi's directorial venture Ship of Theseus has been in the news for its Facebook campaign called 'Vote For Your City', where people were asked to vote and get the film released in their city. "The spirit of the film is to engage and bring people together, and that's exactly what this campaign did. Despite it being a small film, it helped us in reaching out to a wider audience, something billboards and events couldn't do. We have proved to the exhibitors and distributors that there is a lot more to promotions than just the old-school route," said Gandhi. Gaurav Verma, Director - Theatrical Distribution, Studios, Disney - UTV, adds, "I think today, there are lots of people who want to experience good content, and are willing to participate in such an initiative. This is the sole reason why we went ahead with this campaign. The response has been fantastic, and now we have Hyderabad and Chennai on the list of cities as well. The campaign played a major role in all this."

The successful response to these films goes to show that the digital trend is here to stay, as it directly engages the audience. With such effective options, it empowers film-makers from the promotional events and appearances routine. Says Gandhi, "Television and event appearances are passive as it's just an image thrown on to the people. From the community aspect, digital campaign is a more fruitful and deeper interaction. And a substantial audience has access to internet today, which makes digital platforms all the more beneficial." It does seem like a win-win situation for both the film marketers and cinema lovers in the virtual space.

Screen India