Understating the working and the impact of co-advertising in the space of movie trailers

Abstract

The Indian film entertainment industry has been growing at 10 percent (YoY) in terms of the number of films released, in consequence of which we witness a stark increase in the marketing budget of 5-6 percent, a figure quite close to the global average. This has opened numerous marketing opportunities for brands through brand alliances and content licensing. These brand associations with films typically take form in 2 ways - in-film product placement and co-branded marketing. According to sources, 25 percent of Hollywood and 20 percent of Bollywood films use brand associations. We witness steady growth in in-film product placement and co-branded marketing associations over the years. The first rise came in 2014, which saw 139 out of 200 films with co-branded marketing tie-ups and 61 films with in-film placement. Then 2015, where 142 out of 207 films were co-branded with marketing tie-ups and 65 films with in-film lacement. Following this came the biggest year for brand associations which saw 225 Hindi movies released out of which 148 had co-branded marketing tie-ups and 75 films had in-film placements. (Source: ESP Properties.) As regards co-branding strategies, the most prevalent ones are customized brand-specific trailers, which involve the brand collaborating with the ovie star casts and storyline. In other words, it involves the editing of original movie trailers to fit the brand narrative and illustrate reasons for their association with the movie. These branded trailers increase consumer reach owing to the transfer of brand equity amidst the actors, the film, and the brand, which creates a seamless increase of brand recall and consumer affinity. Hence, we see how this helps budding companies align with movie stars, having a chance to conduct CSR-Esque activities upon associating with movies that promote the alleviation of social problems. On the other hand, movies generate additional content and revenue upon the exploitation of brand equity of the movie/actor. Thanks to marketing agencies handling the promotion of most movies today, marketing has established prevalence in today’s film industry, which has led to a plethora of opportunities for marketers to innovate and grow. One such development has been the marketers’ notion to deliberately position their movies in a way that associates with and targets the relevant brand loyal customer bases of the associated commodities, thus leveraging an opportunity to harness the brand power of the commodities and the star power of the investments made by the stars featuring in the movie. The paper understands the effect of product placement and star power on brand recall, and further the research by attempting to discern the importance of a strong brand and movie association for high recall.