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Branding

Have you ever watched a television show or a movie and felt like you were watching a really long commercial? If so, then you've been the victim of bad product placement. There's certainly a line that can be crossed when presenting brand-name items as props within the context of a movie, television show, or music video. Clever marketing folks try never to cross that line. They want their products to be visible within a scene, but not the focus. The product needs to fit, almost seamlessly (almost being the key word here) into the shot and context of the scene.

When done correctly, product placement can add a sense of realism to a movie or television show that something like a can simply marked 'soda' cannot. Now that you have an idea of what product placement is, let's take a look at some of the basics involved in leveraging a product placement arrangement. A worldwide trend in advertising, product placement is a vehicle for everything from foodstuffs to electronics to automobiles. So, how does it work, exactly? It's actually pretty simple. Basically, there are three ways product placement can occur:

- It simply happens.
- It's arranged, and a certain amount of the product serves as compensation.
- It's arranged, and there is financial compensation. Power of Bollywood Stars with Multinational Organisations: It is astonishing, the sort of impact and influence Bollywood Stars have made on multi national organisations and several companies throughout the world use Bollywood Stars as BRAND AMBASSADORS.

One of the most recent success stories is with the second largest bank in India being ICICI Bank. In 2003 they were the bank shown in a movie called 'BAGHBAAN' and Amitabh Bachchan who is undoubtedly the biggest movie star currently of all times was characterised as a senior banker in the film. ICICI bank from thereon has only grown by leaps and bounds globally.

ICICI Bank currently have signed Shah Rukh khan who is known as the reigning King Khan of the Bollywood Film Industry as a brand ambassador which clearly indicates that it is a formula which drives their target clients straight to the door steps of the banks branches globally. TAG HEUER watches have signed up Shah Rukh Khan and have gone a step furher by introducing the SRK range of TAG HEUER watches worldwide. LONGINES WATCHES and LOREAL have signed MISS WORLD 1994 Aishwarya RaiBachchan as their brand ambassador and have year after year willingly renewed her contract due to increasing sales and growing demand for their products worldwide.

Product Placement in Bollywood Movies With new pathways opening up to make money out of movie releases, the prolific Hindi film trade is ready to look beyond the box-office and usher in an era of new-age flicks.

Long mocked by serious international filmmakers for its formulaic scripts, dubbed voices and wooden acting, the Hindi film industry has a shot at credibility and bid for gravitas given the changes on the financial side.

A Hindi film no longer needs to cater to the lowest common denominator in order to break even. A burgeoning multiplex-going population, lucrative overseas territories, increasing demand for content from new media like Internet and cellular phones as well as options like sale of satellite rights and music rights are all new revenue streams available to filmmakers.

Merchandising is the latest emerging lucrative source for raking in the moolah. According to reports, in 2006 brand cameos earned around Rs.800 million and, as a result, even small and medium budget movies as well as animated films can hope to cash in.

The figure is projected to climb to Rs.2 billion this year and reach Rs.8 billion in 2010, news reports quote. Last year, Farhan Akhtar's 'Don' tied-up with Tag Heuer watches, Motorola, Garnier, Citibank, Oakley sunglasses and Louis Philippe outfits, a report in a financial daily says.

Similarly, 'Dhoom 2' promoted Coke, Pennzoil, Pepe, Sony, Disney channel, Sugar Free, McDonald's, Speed, Suzuki Zeus and 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' featured Worldspace, IOCL, Go Air, MSN, Good Day, Kurkure, Bright Outdoor and Reliance Communications.

The list of brands piggyback riding on 'Krrish' included Singapore Tourism Board, Sony, John Players, Bournvita, Tide, Hero Honda, Boro Plus, Lifebuoy, HP Power, Acron Rangeela, Hansaplast and Lays chips. The film had maximum number of merchandise products like Krrish masks, lunch boxes, water bottles, etc. The stage has come when scripts are shared with production houses at the draft stage for them to identify brand fit without hurting the content. Siddharth Roy Kapoor, senior vice-president, UTV, is quoted as saying that while branding does not contribute significantly to revenues yet, it has an enormous potential.

'After 2006's success story, more FMCG brands and durables have woken up to the power of movies as a means to push their products. Companies are increasingly opting for joint promotions. In our forthcoming film, 'Metro', Lenovo is going to be prominently branded; in 'Hat Trick', FedEx will be a joint promotion,' informed Kapoor.

For UTV's upcoming film 'Goal', Reebok worked closely with the film's costume designer to create outfits for the cast. Besides helping to promote the movie with a media campaign, Reebok would also highlight its association with the movie. From being just a tactical one-off activity, companies are clearly making branded entertainment an integral part of their marketing strategy. Spends have increased from a meagre 1 percent in 2005 to as much as 3.5 percent in the 2006-7, analysts say.

Derek Bose, the author of 'Brand Bollywood', says the new entertainment order includes that of Bollywood's top producers and studios have woken up to the possibilities of earning money from sources other than the box office, so long their only revenue source. The industry has embraced the idea of media convergence and is delighting in multi-platform branding.

Last year, 'Krrish', a huge Bollywood sci-fi hit, came out with everything from action dolls to costumes and stationary. Kishore Lulla, chief executive of Eros International, the UK-listed film distributor, believes that Bollywood - noted for being the most prolific film industry with 900 releases a year but accounting for only 2 percent of the worldwide box office - will soon challenge Hollywood. The Indian government has said that Bollywood will more than double its share of the global market.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the business consultancy firm, predicted that Bollywood revenues would rise from $1.5 billion this year to $3.4 billion by 2010, driven by the proliferation of Indian multiplexes.

It could be your product next ! We have access to all the Bollywood Stars and also are aware of forthcoming movies and we will be more then glad to discuss any ideas you may require for your brand/product to benefit from an audience which is global with an approximate viewership of 3.8 billion people worldwide.