MOVIE MARKETING PLAN

By HARDIKKUMAR PATEL MBA (1st SEM) ISBM MAHESANA

Good Film
+

Great Marketing
=

Hit Films

WHAT IS FILM MARKETING ?

Film marketing is the process for connecting your film with audience.

The 70 mm screen is a product as well as a mediuma great medium of entertainment... Therefore,cinema the product becomes relatively important to promote and pull in audiences..

6 Ps OF FILM MARKETING STRATEGY

PRODUCT PLACEMENT POSITIONING PEOPLE PUBLIC RELATIONS PARTNERS BRANDS & BOLLYWOOD

PRODUCT

The base for a well-defined film marketing strategy starts with the film itself. A well researched script with a well-woven screenplay is where the core of the film-marketing strategy for a film should be invested. While other elements of marketing focus on attracting these audiences it is this aspect of marketing i.e. the product that aims at satisfying these audiences.

The product depends on the target audience who see this film.

PLACEMENT

With the first element satisfied we move on the element that makes the first element possible. It is true that an audience will be satisfied only when they are attracted to go into the theatre to watch the film. It is placement that accounts for attracting the audience into crowding the theatre. Placement as a term is used to describe the modus-operandi of placing the communication and promotion strategy of the film on to media and non-media platforms available in the industry today.

The timing of the launch of a product is a crucial factor in determining its success. Similarly, the release date of a movie is one of the smallest but most significant factor in determining the success of the movie. Observe for the past few years the biggest blockbusters are released during the Diwali season or during the Christmas Eve. What is the common link between Taare Zameen Par, Ghajini and Three Idiots? Apart from the fact that all these blockbusters star Aamir Khan, the movies have their release date as 25th December. Filmmakers nowadays invest a lot of time in deciding the right time for releasing a movie. Releasing dates of films do not make on same day.

POSITIONING

The entire media, marketing and communication strategy of the film depends on the positioning of the film. Positioning is that particular slot in the mind of the audience that the film positions itself in. This kind of positioning has a lot to do with how well defined your target-audience is. Based on the projected associations with your target-audience you must formulate the positioning elements. These positioning elements should highlight and reflect in all the promotions for the film.

For Movie Promotion

Road Shows/mall activities Banners and hoardings Interview of lead actress of movie in various News Papers local as well as national Promotion on F.M channel Movie Trailor Promo on Local Channels Music Launch & other advertisements Press Conference before Movie Release.

PEOPLE

The positioning of the film has a lot to do with the personification of the film. Personification finally is the key to creating a brand out of the film. Lagaan is brand India and Cricket. It is the central characters (not the actors) of the film that should enable the making of a brand out of your film. There should be a well-defined promotion plan that has to be put-into place for promoting the people of the film (both on-screen and the technical team). The build-up should be such that without over-exposing the team there should be enough flurry of activity that will catapult the audiences into the character of the film even before they see the film.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Besides the advertising and promotion of the film there should be a strategic focus on public relations for the film, both media and non-media public relations play an important role in the success of the film.

PARTNERS BRANDS & BOLLYWOOD

There is also the need to examine synergies between the brands and films. The successful integration of product placement within the films storyline has a long history: the first example being the yellow Rajdoot bike used in Raj Kapoors Bobby. Hollywood also leverages brands such as BMW (Bond movies), Jaguar, Ford, Ray Ban (Tom Cruise in Risky Business and Mission Impossible and Will Smith in Men In Black), Starbucks coffee, AOL, AT&T, and so on. My personal favorites are the brand fits created for Nike in What Women Want and for FedEx in Castaway.

However, at this point it might be crucial to point out that what is important is that there is complete transparency in the agreement that the filmmarketer and brand-marketer get themselves into. Otherwise things can get really dirty. Recall Rakesh and Hritik Roshan of Koi Mil Gaya vs Killer Jeans and Emami.

There is no fixed formula but the factors that are taken into consideration MEDIA during the negotiation stage include: cast and credits; size of the projects and the producers; timing of the release; brand impact; number of screens during release and post-release phase; and possibilities of brand associations through contests and promotions. Depending on the content of the film and its story line, the film-maker can sketch a profile of viewers who would flock to see the movie. Then the film-maker approaches all those brands who could appeal to the targeted viewers. This is followed by a 360 degrees marketing plan for cross-promotions during the various stages of a films release.

Films are a different medium ad one bad placement can do more damage than 10 good placements. Artistic integrity is crucial for successful brand placements and the operation has to be woven into the script. Sometimes, unreasonable clients demand more footage although research has shown that a 2-minute clip can effectively deliver a message in a credible manner. The placement should be a natural fit and shouldnt be contrived and unnatural. Each effective tie-up between a brand and a film involves hectic negotiations of around 3-6 months.

A Little About The Movie

Title of Movie : Rating : Types of Movie : Description :

Target Market ?

Advertisement to the people..

As The Company.