SO CAN BOLLYWOOD BEAT THE IPL?
[An article I wrote for Box Office India, September 2012]
Sounds almost blasphemous. But let’s lay out the
facts. Bollywood fully loaded sits at about INR 10,000 crores as an industry.
The IPL – a 45 day activity – sits at about INR 6,000 crores. The 30th
largest Indian company is 2.5 times bigger than our entire industry… Canara
bank! Yes, the elite 100 crore club is growing, but when will things really
break out. With a film crazy nation like ours, with us being the single largest
movie producing nation in the world, why can’t this number be bigger?
Most growth is fueled by partners. Take the IPL…
its when the sponsors, franchises, advertising, merchandising, ground
extensions kick in that the number explodes. As an industry, we don’t make it
easy for partners. Things are improving, but the consistency is missing, we’re
still fairly disorganized. It’s very difficult to measure placements on a film.
Did it have impact, did it work, was it effective because my friends and family
saw it or a waste of time because my niece missed it altogether?
It’s when we as an industry are able to address
some of these concerns of marketers, and demonstrate impact that we will be
able to drive up the value, hell, to begin with demand a value against a
placement or partnership. For now, most studios are bartering placements/
associations for media!
Being a fully integrated movie studio, the intent
at Yash Raj Films is to try and offer a 360 degree solution across the entire
movie value chain. No matter what your entry point, give you spin-offs, extensions
across, e.g.:
·
Content
embedding/ placement: Suzuki in Ek Tha Tiger or Samsung laptops, mobiles in
Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge
·
Content
leveraging: Thums Up as an out-film association on Ek Tha Tiger
·
Endorsements:
Anushka Sharma with Canon or for that matter TVS Scooty that went back into
Ladies Vs. Ricky Bahl, using the cast of Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge for Samsung
Champ mobile phone advertising
·
Licensing
& Merchandising: Pepe Jeans on Dhoom 2 for apparel
·
Digital: Voice
activation, assets for Wheel detergents, Hindustan Unilever
·
Gaming: Suzuki
Hayate embedded on to the Ek Tha Tiger games – mobile, online
·
On-ground
activation: Suzuki Hayate bike giveaways, meet & greet opportunities with
Salman Khan on Ek Tha Tiger
·
Home
entertainment: Special packs, festive offers for consumers/ trade of CDs, DVDs
These are just examples of a few recent
partnerships we’ve forged. They become a smart win-win, not just because of the
value and the sheer reach that some of the large tentpole films deliver, it’s
also because they come in at a relatively smaller price point Vs. what a
partner would land up spending to get this kind of reach through a TV plan, a
celebrity endorsement or more.
For a film studio, it’s an additional source of
revenue and a chance to amplify your marketing even further. The trick is to do
few, but smart deals so as not to dilute the impact of the ones done by
stretching the film across too many partnerships – which is often the danger.
One of the smartest examples of taking a
partnership to the next level is on our forthcoming Y-Films project “Mere Dad
Ki Maruti” [MDKM]. It’s an outrageous comedy set against the backdrop of a loud
Punjabi wedding Chandigarh and tells the story of a teenager who sneaks out his
dad’s new car to impress the college hottie and how all hell breaks loose once
he loses the car! The film is one of the most seamless integrations for a brand
without it screaming out “This is sponsored by” which can really put off
audiences and be detrimental for both the brand as well as the film. And it’s a
really powerful platform for Maruti for the launch of its new car, the Ertiga.
MDKM stars Saqib
Saleem who was touted as ‘the find of the year’ by critics in his debut
with Y-Films’ “Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge”. The music is composed by Sachin
Gupta and features songs by Mika, Honey Singh among others. On the back of the
explosive debuts made by other YRF talent – Parineeti Chopra, Arjun Kapoor – MDKM introduces a new YRF heroine,
Rhea Chakraborty. A former MTV VJ,
Rhea comes on the back of delivering a massive Telugu hit down south. The film
also stars Ram Kapoor as the dad –
in his first, full-fledged comedy role.
MDKM marks the directorial debut of Ashima Chibber, who has formerly
assisted the likes of Shimit Amin, Anurag Basu, Imtiaz Ali across tentpole
projects like Ab Tak Chhappan, Chak De India, Rockstar among others.
We’re most excited about MDKM as not only is it a
fun story, but hopefully will be an interesting case-study and learning for all
of us to help open up serious value for the industry and also show brands how
the film industry can truly be leveraged to connect with audiences. And in the
bargain – help us beat the IPL!
Ashish Patil
Vice President – Yash Raj Films
Y-Films, Brand Partnerships, Talent
