The Hindu Business Line : In-film branding is the in thing

BRANDS like to cut the clutter and be noticed. They try all elements of visibility, including television advertising, outdoor media, radio, and, of course, press advertising. Further, they also love to be visible through merchandising at retail counters.

Aggressive growth is also being seen in in-film branding, which seems to be paying dividends to advertisers. FedEx uses in-film placement and communication effectively, whether at the international or national level. The movie Castaway is an excellent example of the former. It also made its presence felt in Bollywood films; Swades, for instance, shows the hero holding a FedEx packet while travelling in a train in India. Recently, Saridon made its appearances in Parineeta, set in the 1960s. The film more than once shows and makes a reference to the Saridon brand. The recent film Waqt also mentioned brands such as Archies, and a little earlier Hungama had Videocon and its showroom playing a major part in the love triangle comedy.

Whether it is Coca-Cola in the film Taal or Cadbury in Parineeta, in-film branding and communication seems to have arrived in a big way on the Indian marketing scene.

I have studied the trends and would like to point out certain indications of what works effectively and what doesn't. I would like to recommend six elements of strategy for in-film branding and communication.

My first recommendation is that the brand should be integrated in the script of the film, whether part of the entire theme or a particular situation. This means there is a natural flow, leading to the brand communication getting easily accepted. In the film Jerry Maguire, the theme and script gave a natural flow for Reebok to be highlighted and it came across well. Thus, I would recommend that if the brand is integrated within the script it would have greater effectiveness.

Secondly, while brand communication can be brought in to a film, it should be used in a selective and judicious manner and there should not be an overdose of the brand and its communication; otherwise, it would become boring, moving to a point of ridicule and seem forced. It should be used like a pinch of salt and not a fist full of it.

Thirdly, under no circumstance should the relevance of the brand be compromised. In fact, if it is a beverage, it should be used in the context of people drinking or serving it, and not as being chucked or thrown. Relevance of the brand to its product and service category to the characters and to the script definitely increases effectiveness.

My fourth recommendation is that while dividing the choice of film for finalising in-film branding, one should check the track record of the film producer and the director as well as the story line, and choose films which have a greater probability of being a hit rather than being a flop. If the brand is associated with a hit film it increases its reputation and image and, of course, its effectiveness. On the other hand, a flop film makes even a good brand look bad.

Fifthly, one should try to be sensitive to the feelings and attitudes of filmgoers and viewers, so that a wrong nuance or a wrong context should not adversely effect the fortunes of the brand. The recommendation is always to have a disaster check.

Finally, ensure that absolutely nothing is done to reduce the credibility of the brand under the pretext of creativity or entertainment. In fact, the credibility of the brand should be enhanced after in-film branding, so that the audience gets the brand's core values reinforced and the trust and faith in the brand reaffirmed.

In-film branding is a great way of enhancing the image of the brand, and the strategies discussed here could go a long way to increase the effectiveness of this weapon.

(The writer is Managing Director of Samsika Marketing Consultancy.)

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