In-film Branding

Introduction

What is in film advertising?• In film advertising is a medium through which branded

products are placed in movies, which is visible to consumers without any distraction.

• Leveraging on the entertainment value, emotional quotient of the film and its psychological impact on viewers has led the advertisers to utilize this medium

• In film advertising is also known as “covert advertising”• The phenomenon is gaining momentum due to its clutter

free feature and advantages of celebrity endorsement for the product or brand in a movie.

• Movies have been used as the most popular platform for product placement. Director Madhur Bhandarkars national award winning film ‘Fashion’ showcased various brands like Sunsilk, Kimaya, Jimmy Choo, Reebok etc.

• Other examples of covert adverting in Bollywood are Dominos Pizza in ‘Phir Hera Pheri’ Or Bournvita In Koi Mil Gaya.

• In film advertising is prevalent in Hollywood as well as in the movie Minority Report, where Tom Cruise’s character John Anderton owns a phone with the Nokia logo clearly written in the top corner, or his watch engraved with bulgari logo.

• Another noted example is the presence of Aston Martin cars in James Bond films, most notably ‘Casino Royale’.

How it started?

• One of the earliest movies to use in film advertising was Fritz Lang's film M (released in 1931) includes features a prominent banner display on a staircase in one scene for Wrigley's PK Chewing Gum, which is right in the viewer's eye for approximately 20–30 seconds.

• In India, this type of advertising in movies existed since 1970s.

• The famous product placement in Hindi movie was the yellow coloured ‘Rajdoot’ bike in the movie ‘Bobby’.

• However the first recognized covert advertising in India was of ‘Pepsi’ in the film ‘Taal’ in the year 1999.

How is celebrity endorsement different from In Film advertising

• Celebrities Endorse brands & products with Commercial Reasons.

• People generally switch channels while Advertisements are on.

• In Cinema halls, lesser people are seated in the hall.

• In in film, the advertising of the product, forms a part of the Plot.

Advantages• Products and services are perceived as having higher

value. • There’s a celebrity halo effect. • The best way to get brands noticed at a cheaper price.• Films transcend geography, class & culture barriers. • Cross promotion.• The viewer cant ignore the product without missing the

Plot.• More and More companies Switching.

Disadvantages

• Failure at box office• Just a min advertising• Not informative• No lasting impression• Wrong interpretation

Product placement

• A product placement is the inclusion of a product, brand name or the name of the firm in a movie for increasing memorability of the brand and instant recognition at the point of purchase.

• Types:o Corporate placemento Generic placement o Service placemento Idea placement o Innovation placement

Case Study

Case Study: Om Shanti Om

• No. of Prints – 2000 • Budget – 35 crore• Gross Collection: 200 Crores• Cast – Shahrukh Khan,

Deepika Padukone, Shreyas Talpade & Arjun Rampal

• Director – Farah Khan • Producer – Gauri Khan• B.O. status – Hit

• Om Shanti Om was the biggest hit in the year 2007. Trade analysts have even gone ahead and claimed that it is biggest hit in the history of Bollywood.

• The film featured some top brands of their category. • The most visible brand of the movie is Nokia. In the film,

the lead character Om (Shahrukh Khan) not only uses cellular devices by Nokia, but also mentions them in his dialogues.

• Another interesting observation is that the Nokia devices used are all of different segments. While the character Om, who’s a superstar uses a high end mobile and Bluetooth set, Dolly a wannabe actress, uses a middle segment cell phone and Pappu, a one time junior artist, uses a low end cell.

• Thus with one shot, Nokia manages to address its target audience who are spread across these wide segments.

• Apart from Nokia other key brands featured were Maybelline, Shopper’s Stop and Tag Heuer.

• Shopper’s stop majorly had its role in promotion where it launched an exclusive line of clothes and merchandise styled on the movie.

Conclusion

• Advertising occupies a major place in Integrated Marketing Communication strategy of corporates.

• It has evolved in sync with the changing media environment.

• They are constantly in search of innovative technique which has grabbed the attention in recent years is ‘Inflim Branding’.

• It existed in a very small and unorganized way from the beginning of the 20th century. But the techniques have evolved manifold during the past century.

Utkarsh Haldia

Thank You