Gone are those days when plastering a few posters on the walls and hand-painted Billboard signs were the only means available for a film’s publicity; Actors barely promoted their films, film-makers never ventured in-front of the camera and our main stream media couldn’t care less.
But today’s Bollywood presents a very different scenario. With over 1000 films releasing in a given year, all of them fighting for a common goal aka. The box-office success, the multiplex domination – it has become a necessity for those involved, to do whatever it takes to enforce that “must-watch” feeling among the masses in order to win this very competitive rat-race. And yes, the Indian media plays a vital role in this process.
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is a fine example of the above. His perfectly knitted marketing tactics, be it non-stop television promotions, tying up with news-channels and popular online sites, birthday celebrations with the Indian media, the 6-pack (over-toned) tag line, cricket matches and last but certainly not the least, the OSO clothes line – in short, King Khan took the job of film-marketing to a whole new level.
And as a result, despite a crappy storyline and equally pathetic performances; Om Shanti Om ended up being a super duper box-office success.
Off-late however a new marketing tactic appears to be gaining importance in the Hindi Film Fraternity - Cooking up Controversies, is what I prefer to call it.
All one needs to do here is hook up with a couple of news channels and/or daily tabloids and conceptualize a story (around the concerned film and/or on the ones involved in it) that would guarantee sure-shot attention. The aim is single; create maximum impact with minimum time and effort.
But today’s Bollywood presents a very different scenario. With over 1000 films releasing in a given year, all of them fighting for a common goal aka. The box-office success, the multiplex domination – it has become a necessity for those involved, to do whatever it takes to enforce that “must-watch” feeling among the masses in order to win this very competitive rat-race. And yes, the Indian media plays a vital role in this process.
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is a fine example of the above. His perfectly knitted marketing tactics, be it non-stop television promotions, tying up with news-channels and popular online sites, birthday celebrations with the Indian media, the 6-pack (over-toned) tag line, cricket matches and last but certainly not the least, the OSO clothes line – in short, King Khan took the job of film-marketing to a whole new level.
And as a result, despite a crappy storyline and equally pathetic performances; Om Shanti Om ended up being a super duper box-office success.
Off-late however a new marketing tactic appears to be gaining importance in the Hindi Film Fraternity - Cooking up Controversies, is what I prefer to call it.
All one needs to do here is hook up with a couple of news channels and/or daily tabloids and conceptualize a story (around the concerned film and/or on the ones involved in it) that would guarantee sure-shot attention. The aim is single; create maximum impact with minimum time and effort.