EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Product placement refers to the practice of including a brand name

product, package, signage or other trademark merchandise within a
motion picture, television or other media vehicles for increasing the
memorability of the brand and for instant recognition at the point of
purchase. Media planners and brand marketers are looking for
alternative media vehicles to reach at customers with a distinct message
so that the memorability of the message and hence the brand
reorganization increases. This is a growing trend in Indian films for
various reasons.
The tendency of the audience is to change the channel whenever an
advertisement appears. But by subtle placement of products in the
settings of the Movie or a TV serial, the promotional message can be
effectively put across the target audience. The Product Placement can be
implicit or explicit depending on the marketer’s requirement and the
scene/plot where the Product has been placed.
The Product Placement is an effective way of advertising as has been
found by many researchers. But the effectiveness is a function of
variables like context (of the plot), match of product with type of movie,
audience profile (age, sex, education, literacy, language, religion,
culture, access to technology, media interests, hobbies), emotional
appeal, program involvement and liking for a star.
Product Placement technique is a very effective technique for getting a
message through. So it can be effectively used for positioning and
repositioning. Marketers can choose this medium for positioning their
product to larger target customer at a relatively lower cost. The key word
is that this medium is effective.
This study tries to explore the impact of product placements on brand
memory and brand attitude and it suggests about the modality and plot
connections in bringing congruity in the presentation so that the brand
placement does not look out of context.

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 OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study is to explore the possibilities available to a
marketer to harness the medium of in-film advertising. It focuses on the
effectiveness of the mode of placement and to derive an effective way of
placement of a product in the film so that it has congruity with the plot
and fits in so as to target the right target segment.
The major aim of the study is to study the brand memory and attitude in
terms of band recall and intention to buy the product.
The study includes product placement cases in films like:
Pyare Mohan, Phir Hera Pheri, CHup CHup Ke, Krrish, Paheli, Virrudh,
Waqt.
It also involves other relevant examples like:
Main Hoon Na, C-Kkompany, Indian Idol, Lux Temptation campaign.
The major aim of the study is to study the brand memory and attitude in
terms of band recall and intention to buy the product.

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 INTRODUCTION
Product placement refers to the practice of including a brand name of
product, package, signage or other trademark merchandise within a
motion picture, television or other media vehicles for increasing the
memorability of the brand and for instant recognition at the point of
purchase. Product placements are commercial insertions within a
particular media program intended to heighten the visibility of a brand,
type of product or service. These insertions are not meant to be
commercial break ups rather an integral part of the medium so that the
visibility of the brand increases. Attempts are made for the viewer to
read the product or the brand as a quality of the characters using and
approving it. Researchers have shown that viewers like product
placements (unless there are too many) because they enhance realism,
aid in character development, create historical subtext, and provide a
sense of familiarity. For marketers, the availability of a captive audience
with greater reach than traditional advertisements, and the advantage of
showing brands in their natural environment provide motivation for
product placements.
Product placements are different than the celebrity endorsement
advertisements in many ways. The celebrities endorse products and
brands with commercial reasons, which normally come in the breaks in
television programs or in cinema halls. The phenomenon of zipping and
change in the television usage behaviors due to surfing during
commercial breaks has reduced the effectiveness of the television
commercials. Similarly the commercials on cinema halls are found to be
of low involvement as the audience takes them as blocks between the
reasons of visiting the cinema hall and the time available to them for
entertainment. So the brand communication and the entertainment
products are viewed differently by the audience in both the media. Brand
placement provides an opportunity where the involved audience gets
exposure to the brands and products during the natural process of

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narration of the movie or television commercial. The audience can
undertake multitude of working while observing the television program
at a home setting which may affect the degree of attention span of the
audience and hence reduce the overall effectiveness of the medium for
enhancing brand memory. Quite contrast to this is the movie going
behavior where the audience makes a voluntary choice for viewing
(exposure) at a cost (financial, time and opportunity cost) for the
purpose of entertainment. So he is more receptive to the information
provided to him in the movie hall setting which also includes the
dissemination of the product information.
Further to this in a television viewing, the audience has a choice to shift
the channel, as the programming is an involuntary exposure due to fixed
schedules, content and timing. This involuntary exposure makes the
audience to have a choice of voluntary viewing of the program of his
choice and then he or she may switch to another channel. It has been
observed from research that brand recall for commercials shown during
the television programs with higher level of TRPs are very poor due to
the channel switching behaviour. High level of media clutter, similarity of
programming across channels, channel switching behaviour are the
factors responsible to generate sufficient level of research interest
among researchers at the practice of brand placements in movies.
The Indian film industry is the largest in the world in terms of number of
films produced per year. The FICCI-KPMG study values the Indian film
industry at US$ 2.11 billion and projects its growth at 9.1 percent till
2013. Moreover, the Indian Film Industry has succeeded in bucking the
global economic meltdown – and in the aftermath of the Slumdog
Millionaire win – has seen the Box Office collection jump by 32 percent in
2008. Though these figures provide attractiveness to this industry the
fact still remains that in India 98% of the Hindi Films flops each year and
the producers are not able to get revenue for their investment. The basic
objective of permitting product placements in movies is to cover up the
possible level of production cost before the movie is released. Due to the
informal and non-standardization nature of the business practices in

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Hindi film industry, there is no standard tariff that producers can charge
to the brand managers for product placements in their movies. This
practice lives the producers and the brand managers to negotiate
different levels of pricing, depending upon the past success of the
producer and the level of placement permitted by the producer in the
movie. But the research indicates that product placement practice is a
potential tool for brand communication. Indian film and advertising world
needs to standardize the tariff structure for the product placements.
Scripts are tailor made for the desired brand so that when they are
incorporated they look natural. It is done through special mention in the
programs, placement of logo or may be a shot of that particular brand.
Movies have been used as the most popular platform for product
placement. Showman Subhash Ghai’s Yaadein showcased brands like
Pass-pass and coca-cola. But recall the Rishi Kapoor starrer Karz by the
filmmaker, which had an entire song sequence with the Emami banner at
the backdrop. Similarly time and again we have witnessed so many
brands like ICICI, Yamaha, Pepsi, and Lays in movies Aakhein, Baghban,
Dhoom, Khushi and Krissh respectively. Product placement, as the
numbers suggests is bringing revolutionary change in entertainment
economics.
Hence we can say that product placements are emerging as useful
additional form of marketing communication. They score over traditional
television advertising for three reasons viz: goodwill gains by associating
with a popular program, purchase of large portion of commercial time
within the programmed prevents communication interference from
competition and integration with program reduces likelihood of zapping.
There have been numerous examples of product placements which have
done wonders for the brand in terms of brand memorability and recall in
Hollywood. The James Bond series is the best example of product
placement. Every James bond movie comes in with a host of product
placements ranging from Sony Ericson mobile phones (Quantum of
Solace), Reid and Taylor (Tomorrow Never Dies) or cars like Aston Martin,
Mercedes and BMW. In the past, as long as in 1982 the alien creature in

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the movie ET the Extraterrestrial, was lured from its hiding place with
Reese’s pieces candy, brand sales increased by 65% just three months
following the movie’s release.
Though there has been a longer history of brand placements in Indian
films but not enough research has been conducted to prove its
effectiveness. The earliest reference of a brand placement comes in the
1940 classic Chalti Kaa naam Gadi with the brand Coca Cola and Mobil
Engine oil.

The movie Dilwale

Dulhanyiyan Le Jayenge of the 1990s was a successful story of launching
of Stroh bear in Indian market. Today, product placement is used as an
often used strategy for the advertisers in Hindi films. Be it Abhishek
Bacchan using a Motorola Aura in Delhi 6 or Western Union Money
transfer helping out an old father (Amitabh bacchan in Viruddh) and a
young lady (Katrina Kaif in Namaste London), product placement has
occupied a significant position in the Hindi Film Industry.
The practice of product placement has proliferated due, in part to the
high level of message clutter in traditional advertising media, combined
with the increased fragmentation of media audiences. Product placement
gives marketers an alternative means for gaining product exposure
through a media context where targeted audiences may be particularly

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receptive. This audience receptivity means the difference between
reaching sales and profitability objectives and falling short of them
entirely. Previous research also suggests the effects of product
placements on consumers can influence brand recognition, recall and
attitudes. A few number of research studies have also attempted to
establish a correlation between audience beliefs towards product
placements activities and their purchase intent following exposure by
comparing the effects across the cultures.
The most important factor that influences the activity of product
placement is segmentation. A marketer needs to clearly understand the
target segment for the product or service to be placed. Also while
selecting a film the marketer needs to understand the target audience
and place the product or service appropriately in the script of the film in
such a way that the presence is felt in a subtle but effective manner.
Increase in product placements and institutionalization of the industry
indicate that advertisers are using the technique to sway consumer’s
brand attitudes (Avery and Ferraro, 2000). The type of placements
should look natural to the narration as consumption symbols are often
used to enrich the plot, theme and characters of popular culture texts
(Hirschman 1998; Holbrook and Grayson 1986). Some consumers may
feel that the use of brand names in popular culture simply reflects the
increased commercial content of a culture (Freidman 1985) or the
producer’s efforts to enhance the realism of their film (Solomon and
Englis 1994). However in case where the brand takes a major role in the
story of the film as in the movie Friends or where its presence in the
movie might look suspect (Indian Film Yadein), audience may realize that
it was placed there to affect their judgments’ and they may counter
argue them just as they do to the traditional advertising messages
(Friestad and Wright 1995). Critics have already voiced their concern
about the increasing embeddings of marketing efforts within popular
culture and the intensifying commercialization of films.
Though product placements are gaining ground in Indian films and have
taken quite a substantial progress in American and European films, there

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is less or no research done to find out its effects on audience. Different
studies found preliminary support for the impact of mode and
prominence on recall and recognition of brands placed in films.

HOW DOES IT WORK

Marketer pays to the agency that decides and places specific brands
strategically in films/TV shows. It is the job of the agency to maintain tie
ups with prop suproduct placementiers/vendors and with set designers.
Suproduct placementiers get in touch with the production houses, which
also look for props and some extra money as revenue. Subsequently the

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script is reviewed and necessary changes are made to place the brand
appropriately to look like a natural phenomenon in the story.
There are three ways in which product placement can occur:
 The placement simply happens

This placement occurs without any type of formal contractual

agreement to place a particular product or brand. The likely
scenario in this instance involves some member of the cast or crew
selecting a product to use in a scene because it will enhance the
scene though the product itself may not be seen or presented in a
favorable light.
 The placement is arranged and some of the product serves
as compensation.

This type of placement a particular product is shown in the Movie/

Serial and no extra amount is paid for that. The product itself
serves as compensation
 The placement is arranged and there is financial
compensation.

In this type of product placement the company has to pay for the
placement apart from the product. It is very important to expose
the product only to the target audience. A good marketer should
first identify the target market based on geographic segmentation
and demographic variables or may be even both. Selection of the
target audience is also done keeping the brand profile in mind. A
target audience should also be able to identify with the product.
The potential target audience should be able to identify
themselves with the product. For instances products like Jewelries
and Sarees are feminine products and rightly placed in soaps like
‘Kyunki Saas Bhi kabhi Bahu Thi’ and ‘Kasauti Zindagi Ki’ which has
a lot of female viewership. Therefore it’s absolutely important that
the marketer should not pick up the wrong receiver, otherwise
results can be fatal.

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It is very important to expose the product only to the target audience. A
good marketer should first identify the target market based on
geographic segmentation and demographic variables or may be even
both. Selection of the target audience is also done keeping the brand
profile in mind. A target audience should also be able to identify with the
product. The potential target audience should be able to identify
themselves with the product. For instances products like Jewelries and
Sarees are feminine products and rightly placed in soaps like ‘Kyunki
Saas Bhi kabhi Bahu Thi’ and ‘Kasauti Zindagi Ki’ which has a lot of
female viewership. Therefore it’s absolutely important that the marketer
should not pick up the wrong receiver, otherwise results can be fatal.

PRODUCT PLACEMENT STRATEGIES

Implicit Product placement:

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An implicit Product placement is not expressed formally. The brand name
or the name of the firm appears without a clear demonstration of product
benefits. It plays a passive, contextual role. For instance, in a game show
like KBC computers of Lenovo are used. In a movie, some scenes are
shot in Pizza Hut. Thus, in an implicit Product placement the brand, the
firm or the product is present within the program without being
expressed.
Integrated explicit Product Placement:
In this type of Product placement, the attributes and benefits of the
product are clearly demonstrated: it plays an active role. For instance, in
a quiz the questions asked in a series to the participants concern the
sponsor's products; a Pizza Hut pizza is delivered in a scene where
everybody is hungry. Thus in this type of placement the brand or the firm
is formally expressed within the program.
Non integrated explicit Product Placement:
In a non integrated product placement the product or the brand is not
integrated in the program or movie. The company/brand name may
appear in the beginning of the program (this program is brought to you
by) or the brand or company name appears on the screen. For instance
when ever a cricket match is in progress, some products are displayed
on the screen which has got some relevance to the match situation. For
instance LG vision appears whenever a decision is referred to the third
Umpire.
The three categories of Product Placement are not mutually exclusive; in
any given program there could be multiple types of Product Placements.

TYPES OF PRODUCT PLACEMENT

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The types of product placement varies depending motive of placing the
product in the movie. Sometimes the medium is used to launch a new
product, sometimes it can be used to demonstrate the long tradition of a
brand, other times it can be used in negatively (by portraying
competitors product in a negative context), sometimes the use of a
particular product or service in a particular movie reinforces the brand
image or restates its positioning. For instance use of “Allen Solly” as the
Product Placement in movies and TV serials attire for the movie
“Corporate” restated it’s positioning as corporate attire. Same is the case
with the use of “Pepe” and “Blackberrys” which were use in the movies
“Dhoom-2” and “Guru” respectively. The different motives are listed in
Table 1:
Table 1: Types of Product Placement
TYPE MOTIVE
Corporate To improve company reputation. Ex Taj Hotels used
Placement for grand parties in movies, Lenovo used in game
shows like KBC.
Generic To demonstrate the characteristics of a product
Placement without a particular brand name. Ex. Motorola Aura
used in Delhi 6
Service To present public or private institution. Showing a
Placement particular Bank (like Western Union Money Transfer
in Namaste London) or Pizza Hut in Main Hoon Na
Idea Placement To include facts, opinions or statements in a plot.
Discussing a forthcoming movie like ‘Luck By
Chance’ in a reality show like ‘Indian Idol’ is an
Indirect promotion for the movie.
Historic To illustrate the long tradition of a brand. For
Placement instance using the Indian postal services in a movie
or using AIR INDIA as traditional players in the field
of mails and aviation respectively.

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Negative To present a competitor’s product in a negative
Placement context. It is generally not intentional. For instance
if a particular flight crashes in a particular plot in
the movie, it is not intentional.
Innovation To introduce a new product. Ex Swift Car was
Placement introduced in the movie ‘Bunty Aur Babli’.

Depending on the motives, the type of placement strategy is selected so

as to communicate to the target segment about the product or service
being placed. These types of placements may not be seen in an isolated
manner in a particular film. Today product placement has become an
integral part of movie making and in a particular film several products or
services may be incorporated and a blend of various strategies may be
applied for product placement so as to ensure maximum exposure of the
product or service to the target audience, but in a subtle manner so as to
avoid the over commercialization of the film, which is bound to induce
negativity in the minds of the audience regarding the product/ service
showcased.

PRODUCT PLACEMENT AND POSITIONING

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Positioning is the act of designing company’s offering and image to
occupy a distinctive place in the mind of the target market.
Subtle product placement can be very effective in positioning a product.
A careful selection of a movie or a TV serial to place a product will help in
reaching the target audience. For instance Krrish targeted children, Dil
chahta hai targeted youth, Vivah targeted audience of small cities,
products like Jewelries and Sarees are feminine products and rightly
placed in soaps like ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi kabhi Bahu Thi’ and ‘Kasauti
Zindagi Ki’ which has a lot of female viewership. Once the target market
is accessed the next step is designing the message to position the brand.
The message can be effectively delivered through movies and TV serials.
This is because the Brand recall, message recall, brand familiarity is
higher with Product Placement technique. When a person goes for a
movie, he makes a voluntary choice for viewing (exposure) at a cost
(financial, time and opportunity cost) for the purpose of entertainment.
So he is more receptive to the information provided to him in the movie.
If he finds product in the settings of the movie, the product recall are
supposed to be higher. Furthermore, retention is enhanced if the
products are fitted to the genre of the movie.
Marketers can take a cue from this. Product Placement in Movies and TV
serials provides them with the right kind of target audience to get their
message through. The objective of positioning is to occupy a distinctive
place in the minds of the target market. Product placement has shown
better product/brand recall. There is a positive relationship between
those Product Placements recalled and product category / brand
familiarity. New Zealand as a destination was positioned well in the
movie ‘Kaho Na Pyar Hai’. In fact such was the impact it became a
popular holiday destination after that. Previously it was not widely
spoken of or considered as potential location among the film makers or
tourists from India. Now it is being considered by students for higher
studies and also by low skilled job seekers. The place is now being
looked at by new perspective among Indians.

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The effect of sponsorship is expected to be the transfer of the
programmed image to the sponsor. Studies have shown the importance
of a strong link between the sponsor and the sponsored event or entity.
In other words, a strong program-sponsor congruity increases the
credibility and consistency of the product placement. The type of movie
(soft romantic, action, adventure) may also have an impact on
consumers' reactions toward a product placement. Product placements
in programs expected to provide objective information might lead to
negative reactions. Studies examining the impact of product placement
(presence versus absence) on brand awareness have indicated that not
all product placements are equally effective. Prominent product
placements that are highly visible induce a significantly higher level of
awareness than subtle product placements.
From the previous discussion about the brand recognition and
comprehension versus brand recall and its effect on purchase behavior,
it seems brand recognition as a measure is more objective in character
than brand recall. Recognition describes the form of memory that
requires a person to judge whether or not a stimulus, located in a set of
distracting stimuli. Unaided recall exists when people retrieve
information from memory without any assistance. Recognition is
considered a measure of unaided recall, and more important than aided
recall. There have studies conducted to measure the impact of product
placement on brand recognition: the impact of various product-
placement categorizations (prominent vs. subtle) and product-placement
mode (visual, audio and audio-visual). Significant advantage for both
audio and visual prominent product placements was seen over subtle
visual placements.

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EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Evaluating the effectiveness of a product placement is a highly

complex procedure. Branded Entertainment analysis and Research
Company Media e2e has developed Asia’s first ever tool to
evaluate product placement in collaboration with iTVX. The system
depends on a quantitative metric named Q-ratio. It is based on the
simultaneous calculation of 50 variables. The summary output at
the end of a product placement is Q ratio. The ratio can be applied
in a number of ways to guide prognosis or diagnose the returns
earned by a company in return of the investment made for product
placement.
What is Q ratio?
Q ratio is a global measure for quality of product placements. It is a
measured as a percentage of a 30 second advertisement that is,
decimal fraction of a 30 second advertisement or number of
commercials to which it is equivalent.
It helps in creating placement standards and parameters for
broadcasters, agencies and advertisers. It also hedges the risk in
product placement.
Q ratio system consists of 2 components
1. A psychological dimension, consisting of three parts that
simultaneously interact with each other

 Impact Factor – The backbone of per calculations

 Awareness Factor – measures of involvement

 Integration Factor – Measures of engagement

2. A perpetual dimension e.g. signal attributes

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  The clarity of audio and video

 This is called a threshold measure – below a certain

point it can detract from the message & damage the
impact.

Product placement modifiers

For this the

following forces are taken into considerations:

 Demographics and psychographics of the audience

 Brand resonance, salience, awareness, etc.

System Process

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Evaluation of the effectiveness of product placement involves a
four step process:
1. Product placements are captured and scanned into the
system by trained scanners

2. Editors work the scanned material into seamless clips that

efficiently & accurately capture the product placement impact
categories to the one hundredth of a second.

3. Analysts use a combination of technology enhanced

measurement templates & rigorous technical guidelines
assess the proper weights to apply using the rules-based
system features.

4. On a random but regular basis, the process of quality

judgments is tested using inter-rater reliability testing. This is
a standard technique used in the sciences to assure accuracy
& proper tolerance of judgment tasks.

Advantages of using Q ratio

The Q-Ratio establishes a useful starting point for your business
discussions and decisions, as well as your own privy calculations
and valuations
 The precise Q-Ratio can be applied against a predetermined
cost or CPM model

 It can also clarify your proposal by offering precise estimates

of levels of payment for "Result Oriented Integration or Pay-
on-Performance" deals

The Q-Ratio can be used as a sales tool for in-person and

online client presentations

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  To generate online proposals with a visual element

 To demonstrate quality integration placements delivered by

your company

 To archive reference data for quick and easy application

 To limit travel time and costs for presentations

The Q-Ratio™ can be used as a monitoring tool

 Marketers can independently assess the quality of the
placement proposals they receive from their agencies

 Marketers can compare and benchmark placements to adjust

the integration for added value

 The iTVX System can help clarify the potential of multiple

proposals, cutting decision time and supporting better
decisions

The Q-Ratio™ will help Marketers, Advertisers, Producers

and Networks do business
 Eliminates legal red tape for make-goods

 Expedites signatures

 Protects and hedges the clients risks

 Can be used as a specific "added value" in negotiating

product placement/media buys

 Multiple brand and product placement performances can be

monitored, tracked, and archived on a daily or monthly basis
via the Internet

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 Multiple viewers can access the results overnight on their
laptop anywhere in the world, eliminate the time and expense
of sending video tapes

METHODOLOGY

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The study evaluates the effectiveness of product placements within
movies on the basis of recall, recognition and attitudes. Films in Hindi
language were selected.
During the selection of the films for review proper care was taken so as
to include all possible genres of films into the study. The brand
memorability and attitude is expressed in terms of brand favorability and
intention to buy the brand. The following movies were chosen for study:
1. Pyare Mohan

2. Phir Hera Pheri

3. Chup Chup Ke

4. Krrish

5. Paheli

6. Virrudh

7. Waqt

8. Baghban

CASES
Archies Gallery in Pyare Mohan

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Brand: Archies Gallery
Broad TG: Youth
Target Market: Metros and mini-
metros
Film: Pyare Mohan
Director: Indra Kumar
Cast: Vivek Oberoi, Fardeen Khan,
Amrita Rao, Esha Deol

Objectives:
 To portray Archies Gallery as a youngsters paradise and Archies
products as the first choice for wishing and gifting near and dear
ones.

 To seamlessly integrate Archies Gallery into the film by using it

extensively as a backdrop for key situations throughout the movie.

 To showcase Archies products like cards and gifts for special

occasions.

Details of the In-film Placement scenes:

 To showcase Archies Gallery as the workplace of the duo: Detailed
scene where Vivek is opening the shutter to the shop and is joined
by Fardeen. There is a coordination problem between the two due
to their disabilities which results in a hilarious situation at the
Archies Gallery

 To portray Archies Gallery as a fun place where youngsters come

in search of ways to express themselves: Detailed scene of a
youngster walking into the Archies Gallery and sharing his dilemma
with regard to proposing to the girl he fancies. Fardeen suggest
him a few nice greeting cards to help him express his true feelings.
The scene turns hilarious as one realizes that Fardeen is actually
showing him Raksha Bandhan cards. Further on Vivek and Fardeen

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 help the teenager buy a romantic card and the scene involves
description of the Archies card.

To emphasize that Archies greetings and gifts win over people: The
above scene progresses to a party where the teenager proposes to his
girlfriend and she accepts.
To serve as the backdrop for the blooming romances: A detailed scene
where the two sisters (played by Amrita Rao and Esha Deol) walk into the
shop, admire the shop and the stuff kept in it and interact with Viveik
and Fardeen. A few romantic dialogues are exchanged too adding to the
mood that Archies Gallery signifies.
Analysis, Research and Results:
 The collections for Pyare Mohan was app. Rs. 10 crores (source:
[Link] at Maruti International), hence the universe of audience
who saw the movie in theatres is at least 17 lakhs.

 50,000 DVDs for Waqt have been released which translates into at
least 1.5 lakhs viewers (given that each DVD is seen by at least 3
people) (source: [Link] at Maruti International)

 The film will be telecast on a mass entertainment channel with at

least 2 TRPs which will translate into 2,40,000 audience.

 A Dipstick done by the agency in Mumbai amongst 250 individuals

around a college, post the release of the film indicated
improvements across key measures:

1. Archies brand favorability increased by 7%

2. Intention to use the brand immediately increased by 9%

 The AMOUNT PAID for this in-film association translated into the
following multiple benefits for Archies:

1. The creative made in the film .i.e. Communication about Archies

products and their benefits

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 2. Extensive presence and display across all the vehicles that the film
will showcase on.

3. Endorsement by Fardeen and Vivek in the film

4. Point of sales promotions inside Archies Galleries by using posters

of Fardeen and Vivek ,

5. Hence it was a very cost-effective association.

Domino’s in Phir Hera Pheri

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Brand: Dominos Pizzas
Broad TG: Family/Youth
Film: Phir Hera Pheri
Director: Neeraj Vora
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Rimii Sen

Objectives:
 To reinforce and amplify the Dominos promise of delivery within 30
minutes through a mass and youthful medium like films

 To incorporate Dominos Pizza in key situations in a seamless

manner that is entertaining and at the same time communicates
the brands specialty

 To amplify the association with Paresh Rawal and use the theme of
the movie to add excitement and joie-de-vivre to the brand’s
persona

Details of the In-film Placement scenes:

 To communicate Dominos’ “Delivery within 30 minutes or get the
Pizza free” value proposition:

Later on in the film, the trio has lost all their money and still Paresh
Rawal is found happily munching on a Dominos Pizza. On being
asked how he could get a pizza even though he was broke, he
informs that after ordering the pizza the hid himself till 30 minutes
elapsed and thus he got the Pizza free even though the Pizza
delivery boy had arrived well in time, but Paresh had hid himself.
The execution of this scene not only communicated Dominos value
proposition but also brought guffaws to the audience showing the
seamless integration of branding and entertainment.
 To reinstate the affinity of the protagonist with Dominos: A detailed
sequence was created where all the lead actors of the film (Akshay

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 Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Suniel Shetty, Bipasha Basu, and Rimii Sen)
are sitting in a Dominos Pizza outlet and planning a coup.

ANALYSIS, RESEARCH AND

RESULTS:
 The collection for Phir Hera Pheri
is Rs. 70 crores; hence the
universe of audience who saw the
movie in theatres is 1.16 crores.

 70,000 DVDs for Phir Hera Pheri

have been released which translates into at least 210,000 viewers
(given that each DVD is seen by at least 3 people).

 The film will be telecast on a mass entertainment channel with at

least 3-4 TRPs which will translate into approximately 3,00,000
audiences.

 The interaction of the lead protagonist and his endorsement of the

brand have translated into high impact and recall on key attributes
of the Dominos Pizza service.

 The AMOUNT PAID for this in-film association translated into the
following multiple benefits for Dominos:

1. The creative made in the film .i.e Communication about Dominos

delivery

2. Extensive presence and display across all the vehicles that the film
will showcase on.

3. Endorsement by Paresh Rawal in the film

26
 Garnier in Chup Chup Ke

Brand: Garnier
Broad TG: Youth
Film: Chup Chup Ke
Director: Priyadarshan
Cast: Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor,
Neha Dhupia, Paresh Rawal, Suniel
Shetty, Om Puri, Rajpal Yadav

OBJECTIVES:
 To enhance and refresh the current Garnier Nutrisse campaign
featuring Kareena Kapoor, and incorporate beautiful and fresh
scenes from the film (with Kareena Kapoor in them) in a creative
manner.

 To position Garnier as Kareena’s beauty secret and communicate

this message through a new co-created (brand & film) TVC

 To associate Garnier with a youthful and funny entertainer like

Chup Chup Ke

 To maximize the media on the new TVC, since entertainment rates

are applicable on such TVC’s

The Media Solution & Execution:

Keeping in mind the objectives of Garnier for this association, MATES
planned and executed the following integrated marketing plan:
 Joint Promotion TVC for Garnier and Chup Chup Ke: The joint TVC
was created by MATES, which was an amalgamation of Gariner
Nutrisse’s existing TV campaign featuring Kareena Kapoor and
some beauty and hair shots of Kareena from this film. This was
further enhanced by using other actors from the film (Shahid

27
 Kapoor, Paresh Rawal & Rajpal Yadav) in the TVC in an effective
way.

 Generated a cost-effective plan: A cost effective media plan was

created for the new TVC formed (with amalgamated film and brand
creative), since entertainment rates are applicable in this case.
There rates are less expensive then market rates by a sizable
percentage.

ANALYSIS, RESEARCH AND RESULTS:

 Agency conducted a dipstick
amongst 150 Women, 18 –
25, SEC AB, in Mumbai on
efficiency of the Sponsored
TVC in terms of recall, and
the study revealed that 46 %
of the audience recalled the
new TVC.

 Cost – Benefits indicates that

the AMOUNT PAID for the activity generated multiple yield, they
were :

1. A new TVC with Kareena

2. Media Plan including mass entertainment channels to derive

the objective GRP’s, at a lower cost than Garnier’s regular
cost of such plan

3. Opportunity to be associated with a youthful fun filled film.

 The excitement around the brand Garnier Nutrisse since the

association was with a fun and youthful film.

28
 Bournvita in Krissh
Brand: Cadburys Bournvita
Broad TG: Kids & Mother
Film: Krissh
Director: Rakesh Roshan
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra,
Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha

OBJECTIVES:
 To amplify the brand communication
that ‘ Bournvita drinkers are confidence champions and hence
winners’. Hence the objective was to seamlessly integrate
Bournvita into the film and make an impact by communicating the
product’s value proposition of Greater Stamina, Better

Concentration leading to Winning Confidence.

 To ride on increasing influence of Superheros amongst Kids

 Given the story of the film, to create an association of “Bournvita

and Krissh” like “Spinach is to Popeye”. I. E Super drink for the
Superhero

29
  To create an association that provides opportunities for extending
the same association for further enhancing the in-film initiative.

Details of the scenes:

 To showcase Bournvita as the secret behind Krissh’s extraordinary
strength, agility and fitness and intelligence:

The scene in the film introducing Krissh (the adult version essayed
by Hrithik Roshan) shows him racing against a horse. He is then
joined by his kid friend who threatens to tell Krissh’s grandmother
about his escapades unless he tells him his secret. To which Krissh
says: “Let’s go home. If you want to become like me, I will give you
Bournvita” This scene establishes Bournvita as Krissh’s own little
secret and emphasizes that Bournvita is to Krissh as Spinach is to
Popeye.
 To portray Bournvita as the drink which mothers prefer for their
kids: In the scenes where Krissh is growing up we show
grandmother lovingly preparing a Bournvita drink for him before he
goes for school. The movie shows Krissh doing exceedingly well in
academics way beyond his years reinforcing the point that
Bournvita is instrumental in the development of a child.

 To showcase Bournvita as a permanent brand in the Indian

Households: At multiple points throughout the movie, a Bournvita
jar is shown on the dining table along with other essentials like
fruits, water, etc.

ANALYSIS, RESEARCH AND RESULTS:

 The film released 700 prints in India in Hindi and about 60 prints in
dubbed South-Indian versions and did an overall business of 175

30
 cr. This got him an all inclusive audience universe of 2.91 crore
people over a period of 4 weeks.

 The film will release DVD’s of the following no: 70000, which will
take the communication further to 2.1 lakh people over one year.

 The film will be released on Star Plus who has the telecast right of
the film, and on a pessimistic estimate, a blockbuster like this will
deliver a minimum 5 TRP’s, which will translate into audiences.

 Bournvita has never used a star endorsement, through the film;

the brand got the Star endorsement at no cost.

 A dipstick done by the agency in Mumbai amongst 125 kids pre

and post the release of the film, indicated improvements across
key measures:

1. An increase in brand favourability by 15%

2. Intention to use the brand increased by 9%

 The AMOUNT PAID of the in-film opportunity, yielded to Bourn vita

the following multiple benefits:

1. Creatively incorporated scenes at key situations in the

filmEndorsement from the superhero character Kristi (Hrithik
Roshan)

2. Extensive reach through the various vehicles on which Krrish

will showcase

3. Opportunity cost

31
 Lays in Krissh
Brand: Lays Potato Chips
Broad TG: Youth
Film: Krissh
Director: Rakesh Roshan
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah, Rekha

OBJECTIVES:
 To seamlessly integrate Lays Chips core proposition of being a
‘cool’ snack into the film in a manner which portrays chips as the
snacking preference.

 To showcase the opportunity for consumption.

 To portray opportunities for consumption of Lays Chips by

integrating the brand into suitable sequences in the film

Details of the In-film Placement scenes:

To showcase Lays as the preferred snack amongst young people when
they are on the go:
 Priyanka In munching on Lays after being fired from the job and
discussing with her friend how they can get their jobs back, while
consuming the chips, Priyanka hits upon an idea & plan to get their
jobs back.

 Priyanka Chopra and her friend get stuck in their car and since
they have nothing else to do, they spend time munching on Lays

32
  Priyanka’s boss (played by Archana Puran Singh is shown
consuming Lays chips at the shoot of a particularly interesting
scene involving Hrithik and a chimpanzee)

 To portray Lays as the any-time snack, specially while watching TV:

Priyanka Chopra is shown munching on Lays chips while watching
TV at home.

ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND RESEARCH:

 The film released 1000+ prints in India in Hindi and about 60 prints
in dubbed South-Indian versions and did an overall business of 175
cr. This got him an all inclusive audience universe of 2.91 crore
people over a period of 4 weeks. The no. of people who saw the
movie in theatres is 1.16 crores

 The film will release DVD’s of the following no: 70000, which will
take the communication further to 70000 x 3 people 2.10 Lacs of
audiences.

 The film is expected to release on Star Plus who has the telecast
right of the film and will garner a minimum 5 TRP’s, which will
translate into approximately 6, 00,000 audiences.

 Lays is available at all theatres, and that increases the frequency

of consumption, theoretically.

The AMOUNT PAID for this in-film association translated into the following
multiple benefits for Lays:
 Creative connect for seamless integration of ‘COOL SNACK’ into
key scenes & the communication of Lays of the opportunities to
consume as an ‘out-of-home snack as well within home (while
watching TV)’

 Endorsement value from Priyanka Chopra.

33
  Extensive reach of the communication through the multiple
displays of the film on multiple vehicles.

Tanishq and Paheli

Brand: Tanishq
Broad TG: Women
Film: Paheli
Director: Amol Palekar
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Rani
Mukherjee, Amitabh Bachchan, Juhi
Chawla, Anupam Kher, Suniel Shetty
& others

Objectives:
 To use the platform of films to
create, showcase and launch a
collection of special jewellery
designs/collection.

 To use the footage from the film with the special jewellery adorned
by Rani Mukherjee, Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla, to create a
TVC for launching the collection.

 To use the actors and director of the film to directly or indirectly to

endorse the collection for the film.

34
  To leverage the tactical high of the film.

 To reinforce the Tanishq design strategy of going back in time for

jewellery designs and create an aspirational quality around such
collections. Also to associate Tanishq with tradition, grandeur,
celebration and festive occasions.

The Media Solution and Execution:

Keeping in mind the objectives of Tanishq for this association, MATES
planned and executed the following integrated marketing plan:
 Special Line of Tanishq jewellery using the look of the film: Tanishq
designed a special line of jewellery taking into consideration the
script and background of Paheli. The various pieces created by
Tanishq were worn by all the actors through the entire duration of
the movie. . Never before was a jewellery collection of this
magnitude made and launched using the medium of cinema. The
jewellery was displayed throughout the film from its first frame to
the last. There were special moments in the film created around a
particular jewellery item keeping in mind that the scenes could be
used in creating the TVC.

 Joint Promotion (sponsored TVC) of Tanishq and Paheli: A joint TVC

was created which featured key moments from the movie where
Tanishq jewellery was worn by Rani Mukherjee and Shahrukh Khan.
The key message in the TVC was to introduce viewers to the new
collection and invite them to Tanishq stores to experience it. This
TVC was aired widely across all mass entertainment channels. Also,
campaign extended to outdoor, ground and in-store promotions, to
promote the new collection inspired from Paheli.

 Point of Sales Promotions: Tanishq created special theme décor

around the release of the movie at their various outlets. The shops
were decorated using the Paheli theme with film posters, facades,
pneumonic like puppets, bandhanis etc. The special collection was

35
 showcased prominently within the store. Special brochures and
design catalogues were printed with Rani’s pictures adorning the
collection. All buyers were given their jewellery in specially created
‘Paheli’ boxes along with a personally signed letter from Shahrukh
Khan, asking the buyer to experience the grandeur of Rajasthan.

 Events and Programs: The association was further strengthened

with the director of Paheli, Amol Palekar, launching the collection
at a special press conference in Delhi. The program, “Making of
Paheli” featured Tanishq marketing Head, Ruchira Puri, speaking
about the association. Also, the opening credits of the film
acknowledged Tanishq’s contribution.

ANALYSIS, RESEARCH AND RESULTS:

 A dipstick survey done by an independent agency amongst 300
respondents from SEC A and 25+, revealed that:

1. There was a 13% increase in purchase intent

2. 10% increase in favorability for the brand

 The joint TVC was immensely successful and all the pieces created
were sold out. Due to the success of this line, some of the designs
have become a part of Tanishq’s regular repertoire.

 The Paheli collection was launched with approximately 130 designs

of the core collection and 60 designs of the allied collection. All the
pieces created were sold out and now the designs have become a
part of Tanishq’s regular repertoire. The average cost of each piece
was Rs. 75,000/- , hence the total avg. min revenue of Rs. 1.42 Cr.
was generated.(source: Company Officials from Tanishq)

 The sponsorship cost yielded the following multiple benefits for

Tanishq:

36
1. TVC created from Infilm with the actors wearing the brands
product, to run on mass channels

2. Creative of 21/2 hours, i.e. exclusive presence in the film Paheli for
its entire duration, which will showcase on all the vehicles that the
film showcases on.

3. Direct and Indirect endorsement by Shah Rukh Khan, Rani

Mukherjee, Juhi Chawla & others.

4. Point of sales promotion through facades, posters, movie

memorabilia, outlet decorations, special packaging, etc

5. Association of Tanishq for special events like launches and

coverage on “Making of Paheli”, and front film credits.

6. Sale worth app. Rs. 1.42 cr.

37
 Reebok in Viruddh

Brand: Reebok
Broad TG: SEC A, B
Film: Viruddh
Director: Mahesh Manjrekar
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay
Dutt, John Abraham, Sharmila
Tagore
OBJECTIVES:
 To position Reebok as an aspirational brand

 To convey the synonymy of Reebok with Fitness

 To raise awareness and acceptance for Reebok amongst the Indian

masses by association with a mainstream Hindi film

 To leverage the endorsement value of an icon like Amitabh

Bachchan who cuts across all SECs and age groups

Details of the Scenes:

38
 Scene 1: John Abraham
introduces Amitabh’s
and Sharmila’s character
to the audience. The
scene shows Amitabh in
a Reebok tracksuit
sitting down for tea with
Sharmila before heading
out for his morning jog. Subsequently, he meets his friends on the
jogging track who enquire about his new tracksuit. He informs
them that his son has sent it from abroad. They say approvingly,
“Phirse Reebok”. Amitabh replies saying, “Ab toh yehi pehnoonga
main… very comfortable and enduring”.

 Scene 2: Amitabh is shown wearing a Reebok tracksuit while

having a sweet argument with Sharmila.

 Scene 3: Amitabh is shown wearing a Reebok tracksuit while sitting

with Sharmila and sorting her medicines

 Scene 4: Amitabh is shown wearing a Reebok tracksuit while he

and Sharmila are having a telephonic conversation with John who is
abroad.

 Scene 5: Amitabh is shown wearing a Reebok tracksuit while sitting

in the park with his friend and discussing about the irritating
mechanic (Sanjay Dutt) who has just opened shop near his house.

 Scene 6: Amitabh is shown wearing Reebok when he has a

confrontation with Sanjay Dutt while returning from his morning
jog. This is followed by an animated discussion with Sharmila after
Amitabh reaches home.

 Scene 7: Amitabh is shown wearing Reebok while he is having a

friendly discussion with Sanjay Dutt, they have tea. Subsequently
he returns home and has a hearty discussion with Sharmila

39
ANALYSIS, RESEARCH AND RESULTS:
 The collection for Viruddh is around Rs. 10 crores, hence the
number of people who saw the movie in theatres is at least 17
lakhs.

 10,000 DVDs for Viruddh have been released which translates into
at least 30,000 viewers (given that each DVD is seen by at least 3
people).

 The film was telecast on a three channels on the same day with
following TRP’s:

1. Star Plus with 1.5 TRPs, which translated into 1,82,000

audiences.

2. Star Gold with 1.84 TRP’s , which translated into 2,23,000

audiences.

3. Star One with 3.21 TRP’s, which translated into 390

audiences.

 The TOTAL AMOUNT paid for this in-film association translated into
the following benefits for Reebok:

1. Creative created for Reebok in the key scenes in Viruddh

2. Verbal endorsement by Amitabh Bachchan.

3. Extensive reach through multiple showcasing of the film on

multiple vehicles.

40
 Zoom TV in Waqt

Brand: Zoom TV
Broad TG: Urban
Film: Waqt – Race Against Time
Director: Vipul Shah
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar,
Priyanka Chopra, Shefali Chhaya and others

OBJECTIVES:
 Create awareness about Zoom (a
lifestyle channel) amongst the masses
through a mass medium like cinema
and position it as an aspirational channel

41
  To connect with the masses through relevant in-film placement
that portrays Zoom as a vibrant, happening and up-market channel

 To create multiple platforms for Zoom to not only be present in an

A+ movie, but also carry forward the association through
integrated programming and ground events. Hence establish the
association of the channel with films.

Details of Scenes:
Zoom is shown as the organizer of a talent hunt for aspiring actors. A
mega finals has been organized and the entire ambience for the show is
branded with the Zoom logo. The entire sequence features the following
parts:
 It begins with Akshay receiving a call from Zoom for being short-
listed in the film.

 The show starts with an empty stage with only the Zoom logo
visible.

 Akshay Kumar makes a grand entry and performs a dance

sequence with Zoom prominently visible in the background.

 The judges of the show are seated with a Zoom banner behind
them.

 Akshay Kumar goes on to win the contest organized by Zoom.

 The climax of the movie involves Akshay giving a sentimental

speech about his father on the same stage with Zoom in the
background.

 Exclusive Event: MATES coordinated with Zoom TV and the

producers of Waqt to organize the Waqt Premiere which was a
grand event which was shown exclusively on Zoom TV. Hence the
in-film association developed into customized content for Zoom TV.
Zoom also released press ads to announce the same.

42
  Content Creation: The big night translated into an attractive
programming which had its commercial yield and viability.

ANALYSIS, RESEARCH AND RESULTS:

 The collections for Waqt is around Rs. 45 crores, which translated
into a universe of 75 lakhs audiences who saw the movie in
theatres

 50,000 DVDs for Waqt have been released which translates into at
least 150,000 viewers (given that each DVD is seen by at least 3
people).

 The film was telecast on a mass entertainment channel with at

least 1.85 TRPs, which translated into2,25,000 audiences

 The film was extensively covered on Zoom channel. Also, special

programming like “Waqt-Big Nite” raised awareness about the film.

 Zoom being part of the Times of India group, Waqt received

extensive PR prior to release as part of which there was at least
one article about Waqt in Bombay Times for 15 days prior to its
release.

 The direct brand endorsement in the film maximized the

qualitative impact of the association

Publicity Design for CKkompany

P9 Design, the film publicity design vertical of

Percept Holdings Group's international film-
marketing company P9 Integrated, created
publicity design for C-Kkompany.
P9 has done posters, stills and billboards for the
Balaji Motion Pictures.
P9 claims that it has designed the publicity
campaign for C-Kkompany by keeping the

43
unique theme, subject and genre of the film in mind. The USP of the film
was kept in mind while designing the posters and stills and a major
thrust was giving to the onscreen chemistry that the characters share.
All the creative have backdrop and images of middle class settings in
Mumbai connoting the theme of the film.
The film is about three middle class characters Tushar Kapoor, Rajpal
Yadav and Anupam Kher who are known for their buffoonery acts and are
always in some kind of a problem somewhere related to money.
P9 Integrated AVP - business development Rahul Merchant said, "In
today's time where every weekend there is a clutter of film releases, it
has become pivotal for every movie that gets released to get noticed.
P9's publicity design vertical tries to give every film a distinct look
through an apt well thought concept and approach for designing posters
by effectively understanding the script, defining the target audience,
finding an insight, deciding positioning of the film and then delivering the
execution."

Lux Temptations

Background
 Lux wanted to launch their biggest variant in
the year with a huge bang.

 Brand Lux being the flagship brand from

Levers personal care catalogue had to do
‘something different’ then what the
competitors have done in the past.

44
  The beauty soap has always been associated with glamour and this
time around they had Priyanka chopra endorsing the new
campaign

 The campaign needed wide reach numbers since it caters to an

audience from SEC ABC strata

 The idea was to create drama, mystery, like the TV serials which
has some news value. In short the brief was to create a "Sansani"
in media

 Soap is primarily household product and is being used by the entire

household. So needed to address males also to a certain extent

 P9 conceptualized a plot which creates the required "Sansani"

amongst media. Media then speculates the alleged link ups
between celebrities and the word spreads which becomes a topic
of discussion for masses. The entire link up boils down to an event
where the brand Lux emerges out the star behind all this.

The Plot
 P9 got the famous spinner "Srisanth and the chocolate boy of TV
serials "Amir Ali" for the campaign

 Telephonic conversations were recorded between Sri and Priyanka,

and Amir and Priyanka

 The conversation was about how these celebs

are going crazy after Priyanka, they are
completely mesmerized by her beautiful
glowing skin and want to know her beauty
secret

 The tapes break in media and then the entire

sensationalisation of the link up happens across all channels

45
  Entire media goes crazy about the story and runs their version of
stories with footage gathered from old events where the couple
were seen together

 All celebs call media for a press conference to clarify about the
speculation

 Press conference has a performance by Amir and Srisanth, where

these fight amongst themselves to prove their love for Priyanka

 Priyanka then reveals her beauty secret which is the new soap
"Lux Temptation"

Post Launch Campaign

 P9 arranged for one on one interviews with the celebs across
channels.

 P9 created a 30 sec edit of the Plot and ran across channels to

enhance visibility of the campaign.

Other Relevant Examples

IN FILM ADVERTISING: Main Hoon Na

MHN was an example of optimum
utilization of branding in a film. The
story of the film revolved around

46
youth hence it gave us the scope of using lifestyle and youth centric
brands.
The brands that were involved were the ones keeping the modern day
college goers in mind, for which using brands is just a way of life.
Following brands were incorporated in the film:
 Reebok

 Café coffee day

 Frito Lays

 Levis

 LML

The brands were woven into the screenplay in a manner where it looked
like a modern day college going youth was using the product – natural
yet conspicuous.

Airtel and Aapka Abhijit Music

Album

Brand: Airtel
Broad TG: All
Music Album: Aapka Abhijit Sawant

47
Artist: Abhijit Sawant
Music Company: Sony BMG

OBJECTIVES:
 To extend the brand’s association with the 1st ever Indian Idol
Abhijit Sawant and maximize the investment made on Sponsorship
of Indian Idol.

 To use the platform of music to enhance Airtel’s VAS (Value Asses

Services).

 To be seen as a no.1 service with the no. 1 singer / winner. The

Media Solution and Execution: Keeping in mind the objectives of
Airtel, MATES planned and executed the following media solution:

 Association with Abhijit’s debut album “Aapka Abhijit Sawant”:

MATES facilitated an extensive association for Airtel and
Abhijit’Sawant’s album. Since Airtel was a sponsor for the Indian
Idol show, its association with Abhijit Sawant was a natural
extension of this association. The following was planned and
executed by MATES:

 MATES created a joint TVC for Airtel and “Aapka Abhijit Sawant”
album. The TVC shows Airtel as presenters of Abhijit Sawant’s
debut album. At the end of the TVC, we incorporated specially shot
footage showing Abhijit Sawant exhorting viewers to download
tracks from the album through their Airtel phones through the
Airtel short code. MATES also created joint promotion versions for
radio and print.

 MATES created a media plan for airing this TVC on Music & Mass
Channels with sufficient reach.

 The Airtel logo was prominently put on the album jacket on CDs
and cassettes, inlays and back.

48
  The backside of the album jacket featured details about how
people can download their favorite songs using their Airtel short
codes and sing codes along with their logo presence.

 A special concert by Abhijit Sawant was organized in Delhi for Airtel

users where fans could meet their favorite star in person and for
some internal staff as well.

 A SMS contest was activated asking people to download the songs

and win a chance to meet Abhijeet Sawant and watch him perform
live in Delhi.

 Airtel Logos appeared in all communications of Abhijeet Sawant i.e.

1. Posters

2. POS Danglers / Woblers etc

3. Hoardings.

ANALYSIS, RESEARCH AND RESULTS:

A special TVC had Abhijit Sawant endorse Airtel at no extra cost.

The association was widely publicized through a comprehensive

media plan through free Airplay, also through paid spots at
entertainment rates, hence lower than Airtel’s market rates
covering TV, radio and events.

The “Aapka Abhijit Sawant” sold more that 8.5 lakh copies making it
one of the most popular non-film albums in India. Hence the
leadership stance of Airtel got further enhanced.

Airtel’s association with Abhijit Sawant had a high impact and recall
amongst mobile users since most of the mobile owners
participated in the voting of the Indian Idol.

49
 Airtel generated considerable revenues out of the VAS the amount
of downloads were about 2.5 lakh downloads at the rate of Rs. 7
and translated to Rs. 17.5 lakhs of business.

FINDINGS

Through the study it was found that product placement has helped in
generating revenue for the company as well as the production company.
It was seen that the effectiveness of implicit placement was far lesser as

50
compared to Integrated Explicit or Explicit placement. Further analysis
also proved that the most effective mode of placement was Integrated
Explicit Placement, wherein the product/ service are clearly incorporated
into the film as a key component.
The most prominent examples being, the Sony Erricsson mobile phone
used in the latest James Bond movie: Quantum of Solace, which clearly
depicts the phones ability to
capture high resolution images
from a considerably long distance.
Another example is the usage of
the Motorola Aura wherein the
main protagonist (Abhishek
Bacchan) displays a similar
example of high resolution
imagery. With regards to services the most prominent example for
effective placement is Western Union Money Transfer, which appears in
films like Virrudh and NamasteLondon. The main actors also mention the
speed with which the money transfer is made thereby clearly depicting
an Integrated Explicit Placement in the films.

The study has also proved that the

segmentation of audience has
played a major role in the success
of a particular product/ brand
placement. The media companies
clearly define the broad target
segment and select the movies
accordingly. The applications of the various modes of placements are not
isolated. Also the media company can use one single film for targeting
different segment.
For Example: The film Krrish was used to target three or four different
segments by using various products which showed its presence in the
film through application of different product placement strategies.

51
  Bournvita was placed in the movie through integrated explicit
placement technique wherein the lead actor mentions the name of
the product on more than one occasions and it is coupled with an
exclusive on screen presence of the product.

 Tide was used to target the female segment with application of an

implicit placement
technique. The
product had a
considerable on
screen presence and
was also shown to
be used by the lead actor’s grand mother.

 Lays chips too had an implicit placement in the film and had a
considerable on screen presence. The target audiences of this
product were children and youth.

 There was also a brief on screen presence of Kodak digital camera.

Thus the study suggests that product placement has developed itself
into a new vehicle for promotion of product and services. It has also been
found that the techniques of product placement are being used in a
combination and blend.

CONCLUSIONS

Product placement has proved to be a mutually beneficial option for

movie makers and companies alike.
Wherein the movie makers get the
revenue and the companies are

52
provided with proper exposure of the product/ services. It also gives
audiences a realistic experience in cinema, thereby enhancing their
involvement and interest in the film.
Explicit placements are more effective than implicit ones: however, there
must be pre-testing of the placement to determine the exact level at
which viewer irritation sets in. The high failure rate of movies in India
mean that managers are ill equipped to predetermine if audiences will
convert negative attitudes about the movie into negative attitude
towards the brand. As success of product placements is dependent on
the success of the movie and consequently, its reach, it is not possible to
evaluate placements from a sales-generation perspective.
It can also be concluded that a combination of various product strategies
create positive impact on the product’s image. The strategies wherein a
combination of Implicit and Explicit techniques were used proved to be
highly effective and fruitful. Too loud placement gives a negative impact
and also affects the performance of the films.
For Example: In Yaadein the
placement of product like Coca Cola
and Paas Paas was so prominent
that the audience had a feel of
watching just another commercial of
the products. Moreover there were
several desperate attempts made to
force the products presence on screen. Though this gave a considerably
higher exposure, but it affected the movie, which later created a
negative impact towards the products in the minds of the consumer.
AREAS FOR FUTURE STUDY

Future studies would need to measure effectiveness over a wider, more

representative population. Future studies can also measure relative
scores of product categories (FMCG goods versus consumer goods) and
well known versus lesser-known brands. The increasing use of product
placements in other media like television, books, regional language films

53
and computer games might also be studied, as can long-term memory of
product placements.
Though television media has seen rampant product placements in reality
shows and serials, thorough study needs to be made so as to make it
more effective and target the right segment through proper application
of the products in the shows.

Another vertical getting into the frenzy of product placements are video
games. A proper research made into this vertical will provide corporate
and marketers a new arena to place the products and gain real time
exposure. It will provide a whole new platform to target the children and
youth segments.

54
 REFERENCES

1. Kotler Philip & Keller Kevin Lane, “Marketing Management”, 11e,

2003. P 308

2. Kotler Philip & Keller Kevin Lane, “Marketing Management”, 12e,

2006

3. Panda. K. Tapan, “Effectiveness of Product Placement in Indian

Films and Its Effects on Brand Memory and Attitude with special
reference to Hindi Fims”.

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7. Zeime, G, Bonds Mission Successful retrieved Dec 30th, 2007 from
the web site,
[Link]/infocenter/publications/contact/[Link]

8. Patrick Rössler , Julia Bacher, “transcultural effect of product

placement in movies” Retrieved on 05/01/2008 from world wide
web:
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9. Product placement in Movies and TV serials, By Ashutosk. K.

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[Link]

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