Lights, Camera, Action!
Whether it is the very first Bollywood AR Filter on Sanju starring Ranbir Kapoor or Akshay Kumar using Facebook Live to engage with fans before the release of Toilet- Ek Prem Katha and Padman, movie marketing has significantly changed with the advent of the internet and digital media.
Nowadays, promotions are moving beyond trailers and teasers with an enormous effort put forth by the marketing team to grab the attention of the target audience and entice them to buy tickets.
Did you know that Bollywood spends almost 15-20 percent of the total budget on digital movie promotions.
Come dive with us to know more about the impact of digital media on movie promotions.
Digital Marketing Impact on Films Promotion
Presently, it is necessary that your content reaches the maximum audience and marketing on digital platforms can help one reach these goals. Those days are long gone when multi-city tours, mall visits, and campus visits took place to draw the attention of youth.
The role of digital media in film marketing strategies has become integral to increase the exposure and reach of new movies.
The Big Picture!
Poster, teaser, trailer, and song release - 10 years earlier, this was the formula with which most movies were being marketed in India. But, now social media has become the first place to spot a new movie trailer and an unbiased source of information from release to performance.
Digital marketing impact on media encompasses live streaming of music launches, social media contests, Google hangouts with the crew, movie-based games, digital advertisements on Youtube, and much more.
Effective social media in film marketing
Putting together a social media campaign for a movie is a task in itself. A movie's social media presence often has to start before production itself, incorporating the earliest press announcements into the social media campaign.
Marketers give the audience just enough information to peak their interest and get people talking and sharing. These small drops of information will ideally reach fans, identified through social media profiling, to be interested in the content who then latch on and share with their broader network of connections.
Today, movie production studios are extending their campaigns to the usage of social media to gain a higher profit and larger audience. They are competing against each other to have their film be the most profitable in box office earnings. To attract more audiences and beat the competition, it is necessary to prioritize promoting the films on social media and know how and where to market it.
The biggest impact that social media has is that it allows people to connect with others by sharing and communicating ideas. People create an environment where they can discuss with others, what they think and how they feel about the movies.
Did you know?
India is the largest producer of movies in the world with over 1,800 films released every year.
4 Main reasons why social media is the best platform for Movie promotion:
1) Quick Spread:
Movies have a short lifetime; hence the promotional activity should be in a couple of weeks before the movie hits the screen
2) Celebrity Endorsement:
Gone are times when celebrity endorsements were featured on TV. Today, celebrities are given more opportunities to interact openly and directly with their fans. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat have been excessively adapting to these genres.
3) Content Sharing In a Jiffy:
Social media platforms are user friendly which allows users to upload content like gifs, videos, and reels on them. Before you know it, they go viral.
4) User-Generated Content
Reviews are one of the most important aspects that encourage audiences to watch a film. Earlier, reviews were only given by film critics. However, social media has changed this custom; the audience can now leave their comments and movie reviews online without any haste. This user-generated content (UGC) naturally contributes to the awareness of the movie.
A Perfect Example:
The film KGF is a perfect example to show how the potential of social media and digital marketing space can be used to earn popularity.
Innovative Facebook Campaigns like the KGF Profile Picture Frame contest and KFG-themed animated stickers inside the FB Messenger app generated a lot of buzz. Social media platforms were bombarded with pictures and videos of fans rejoicing, chanting Yash's name and blowing whistles at the theatres after witnessing the mass entertainer.
A fan base of millions on the official Facebook page speaks volumes about the impact these campaigns created.
The question “KGF 2'' has left the viewers in suspense “Is Rocky Dead or Alive?” became a topic of household conversation. It flooded social media with fan theories.
‘Making-of’ and ‘Behind-the-scene’ videos on the digital platform kept the audience captivated. Followers on Instagram and Twitter show the magnitude of the craze that developed before the movie got released.
KGF Chapter-2 broke major box office records and became the first-ever Indian movie to cross over Rs. 800 crores in 10 days!
Takeaway
Movie promotion can no longer be a one-way street. Big film studios are mastering the tools of social media to drive the conversations and generate that all-important buzz well before their projects are seen by audiences.
Digital mediums have become extremely cost-effective and reach a wide sector of the audience in a matter of seconds! Therefore, digital marketing for promoting films is definitely a “Yes”! And to that, you know where you have to head to, yes, to the best digital marketing company in Bangalore.