Hype Machine

With production houses demanding a premium from TV networks in exchange of satellite rights of popular films,channels are working to maximise their gains. Special marketing campaigns are being devised ahead of the TV premiere that will create curiosity regarding the telecast.

For instance,Zee,in a run-up to the TV premiere of Barfi!,got young men on bicycles — dressed like Ranbir Kapoor’s character — distribute boxes of sweets to passersby in multiple cities. Ahead of Dabangg 2’s premiere on Star earlier this year,it the network ran Twitter contests where they gave out Dabangg merchandise to the winners.

The surprising aspect is that the films have all exhausted their theatrical runs and yet,channels are willing to invest in the marketing. Vaishali Sharma,Marketing Head,Sony MAX,explains that the television audience is much larger than the theatre-going public. “Movies,like any other show,are a product and a good marketing plan can help push it to the consumers,” she says.

However,Akash Chawla,Marketing Head,Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL),says,“Each film needs to be treated as an individual product and the campaign should be designed accordingly.” So,apart from Barfi! ZEEL,which has launched a subscription movie channel called & Pictures recently,also promoted English Vinglish and ABCD. For the former,the channel arranged for viewers to sign up for free English speaking classes and dance classes were conducted for the latter. The Avengers premiere on Star Movies was preceded by a social media campaign where trivia regarding the film as well as superheroes was shared with fans.

In fact,Kevin Vaz,Business Head,English Channels,Star India network,believes that it helps to maintain a two-way communication with the audience throughout. The channel,in 2011,introduced the concept of Chillout Nights where they arrange party kits at the residence of select fans in order to enhance the experience of a film’s TV premiere. “We want viewers to celebrate these exclusive experiences within the comfort of their homes,” he says.

Often,the film’s cast and crew also aid the TV premiere. For instance,Aashiqui 2 actors Aaditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor shot special ads and segments. R Balki,the producer of English Vinglish,came up with special posters for public spaces such as one with the text ‘Queue-Vueue’ for a space where people were expected to queue up.

Sharma says,“Money earned from selling the satellite rights make up for a decent chunk of revenue for filmmakers — they don’t mind making such efforts because if the film finds repeat value on TV,it brings them royalty too.”