“Selling movies to the common man-A case analysis on marketing strategies adopted in the Indian film industry”

Abstract

The Indian film industry has been going through a sea change in its attitude. Multiplexes are fast dotting up the metros and are slowly realizing the potential of even the smaller areas. Today, there are far more avenues to make money out of a movie than just its box office earnings. DVD releases, music launch, merchandise, overseas distribution rights etc., all form a part of the earnings. This has been a slow process which has taken off only recently. For a long time, film producers had been inconsequential in the marketing of films to consumers, which often resulted in many good films failing to do well. But with the entry of satellite TV and foreign films into the domestic Indian entertainment market, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Indian films to earn the numbers it used to. A well developed research, marketing and feedback system can be beneficial to a film throughout the entire process-from generation of ideas to post release period of the movie. The concept of movie marketing may not be new but it is definitely making its present felt with a lot of force lately. This paper aims at focusing on the emerging trend of movie marketing that is adopted by Indian film makers.