Co-marketing spends for films touch ₹100 cr/year

The total co-marketing spends for Hindi films has reached about ₹100 crore a year, with more co-branding than in-films.

However, there is a huge untapped potential when it comes to film-marketing, content licensing and celebrity aspects.

A ESP Properties, the sports and entertainment programming arm of GroupM, released the first edition of the entertainment marketing report ‘Showbiz- The Indian Superpower’, points that the film entertainment industry is growing at 10 per cent year-on- year in terms of the number of films released.

According to the report, in the past 10 years, film-brand associations have steadily increased, with the only dip coming in 2008. 2017 has seen a similar dip, perhaps, due to economic reforms in India and digital content increasing its share.

“There is a huge opportunity for brands through alliances and content licensing. In India, marketing budgets for films have grown from 5-6 per cent of production budget, to 10-15 per cent, which is closer to the global average,” said Vinit Karnik, Business Head, ESP Properties.

The report points that at least 20 per cent of films released include brand associations, where brands also share a part of the marketing budget. There is close to 56 hours of entertainment promotion films playing cumulatively across channels.

Today, producers are working closely with agency partners that help them achieve their marketing objectives efficiently, and drive footfalls into theatres.

Karnik points that, “traditional film studios and production houses now increasingly rely on advertising and digital media interaction, coupled with research, data analytics and innovation to market movies”.

He also said that getting on the co-branded associations' bandwagon is not just Bollywood, but also regional cinema with over 15 per cent of the films released in South India having brands associated with them in 2017.

Marathi films too, have seen a phenomenal growth in the last three years with almost 16 per cent films having brand associations in 2017. Nearly 25 per cent Hollywood films had brand associations in 2017.

Karnik said that the aim of the report was to give brands and film producers some insights into movie marketing in a media landscape that is disruptive. At least 1,000 movies are released in India annually.

Giving insights from the report, Karnik notes that as the film market grows, the audience too, has moved from linear, one dimensional advertising to a multi-channel and interactive dialogue with the film and brand communities.

To create deeper engagement with the audience, brands and producers are exploring content licensing as an avenue to bring film characters and story lines into true life experiences.

In India, content licensing is growing at 7.4 per cent year-on-year, which a higher than developed markets such as the US, the UK and Canada.

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