In-film placement: When brands attain star status

Archana Sadanand, director, ImageSmiths | Mumbai

Archana Sadanand

Not only the Indian advertising industry, even our international counterpart is an ardent follower of the same trend. Various movies all over the world have in-film product placements, with some having as much as over 90 placements in a single movie.

We have movies like Sex and the City (Louis Vuitton, Manolo Blahnik, Guess and 90 other products & brands), Fight Club, which has placements by Apple & Volkswagen Beetle; Minority Report, makes heavy use of product placement, including Coca-Cola, Gap & Lexus.

This not-so-new medium of advertising has been gaining a lot of popularity in the last few years. But why ? The reasons are more than obvious; bigger stars at lesser cost, films have a wider reach, provide a clutter-free environment, not subject to surfing, zipping or muting, catches the potential audience in a receptive mood, revived, target specific and opportunities for cross-promotions.

However, what is important is to examine the synergy between the movie and the product. Like Bournvita was very well placed in Koi Mil Gaya, so was Calcium Sandoz in Viruddh.

It is essential for the product to mesh well with the script and the plot, or else, it has the potential to be catastrophic. One bad placement (Puma in Golmaal Returns – no connection with the narrative or storyline and Xbox 360 in Love Story 2050 – here it is more like the case of a good product with an average placement in a bad movie) can do more damage that cannot even be reversed by ten good placements.

The placement must seem natural to the plot and not contrived or forced. An effective tie-up between a film and a brand could also involve negotiations, which would take a few months.

There are no compulsory parameters which have to be taken into consideration, however the basic factors, which are usually taken into consideration are - cast & credits; the production house involved and the approximate budget of the film; the release date; brand impact; and possibilities of brand associations through promotions.

The agency, responsible for the in-film placement, analyses the content of the film and its brief storyline and then decides upon its potential viewer group or target audience.

Following which they shortlist the brands that would appeal to their target audience. This is followed by a comprehensive marketing plan for promotions during the various stages of a film's release.

All said and done, one thing is for sure, in times of recession and looking at this current budget crunch, in-film advertising is a great way for the marketers to take their product to a wider spectrum of the audience, while for the filmmaker a great revenue generator.

However, for how long will this trend last, is a difficult question to answer. The future here does seem uncertain, considering the change in the sensibilities as well as preferences of the Indian audience.