On June 29, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt and Abhishek Bachchan were busy selling the premiere of their films Laxmmi Bomb, Bhuj, Sadak 2 and The Big Bull. There was nothing about what the stars were doing except for one thing: instead of a first promotion or an outdoor promotion, celebrities connected with their online enthusiasts, on Disney Hotstar.
These days, Vidya Balan is busy with virtual promotions for her next film Shakuntala Devi, which will be released on Amazon Prime Video on July 31.
As with movie releases, Covid-19 has brought a significant replacement in the films being promoted.
“I see an increase in digital promotion considering there is less on-ground promotion. Hence, budgets are being utilised on the digital medium,” said filmmaker and producer Akshay Bardapurkar.
The shift from television, printed and virtual, today, is also causing a decrease in movie sales prices.
So what’s happening online in terms of movie sales?
“In addition to the advances and songs of the commercials, there are paid links with other virtual creators. For one of our films, we partner with RVCJ Media (Rajinikanth Versus CID Jokes), which offers viral content and laughing stories. We create content “People are also engaging with other creators who are attracting another audience for a broader reach,” Siddharth Anand Kumar, vice president of films and events in Saregama, told Moneycontrol Siddharth.
Digital in the spotlight
Film and advertising analyst Girish Johar said the virtual lately accounts for more than 20% of a movie’s total marketing budget. Previously, it accounted for between five and 10% of the film’s marketing budget.
“Television is the medium that likes, followed through print, outdoor and digital media. When it comes to outdoor promotions, city tours, press conferences, grocery shopping, all that has changed. Currently, not even published movie promotions are conducted,” he said. Said.
According to Kumar, city visits, primary premieres, billboards, and newspaper ads account for 40 to 50% of a movie’s marketing budget. “It doesn’t necessarily reduce your marketing budget by 40 to 50%. But when it happens online, the marketing charge is much lower.”
Digital: a medium
In addition to being cheaper, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO of Ormax Media, said the virtual offers a higher return on investment compared to printing or promotions.
“While television has historically been the driving force, in the two or three years television has had a difficult means of promoting films,” he said.
Adding to this, Kumar de Saregama said: “Digital is more traceable. It’s better to communicate online than to stream.”
“For virtual versions, the marketing budget is much lower. Unlike movie theater releases, OTT platforms don’t have the opening weekend’s work box,” Kapoor said.
The film’s load will fall
But when cinemas reopen, Kapoor estimates relief of at least 20 to 30% of marketing budgets. “COVID-19 presented the Hindi film industry with a fair opportunity to reinvent the marketing cycle and release movies with particularly low marketing prices. Many studios have particularly optimized marketing prices,” he said.
He added that “the marketing budgets of the films in Hindi have increased over the last decade because no film needs to assume the threat of insufficient marketing itself. This is in strikingly contrasts with the film industries of the south, where the budget ceilinges have been predetermined through industry bodies.”
The marketing budget of a Hindi film for theatrical levels of five to 20 million rupees, depending on the scale of the film, its cast of stars and its market policy.
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