Brand powered!

It’s a concept that hasn’t been explored before, but one that has immense potential to provide relief to producers and production houses that are struggling to meet spiralling costs associated with making a film.
No wonder then, it is being welcomed with open arms by a majority of those who have learnt of it.
The concept is simple, but powerful. Just as one gets to witness the brand logo of a television channel in the corner of one’s TV screen, audiences will now be able to see the logo of a popular brand on one corner of the theatre screen during the screening of a film through which it wishes to advertise its product.
The move, while providing brands with the kind of publicity they seek, will provide producers with the kind of money that can considerably ease the pressure on their wallets.
Claims Jai Gurudev, the proprietor of a concern that specialises in promoting brands through movies, “As far as we know, we are the first in the world to introduce this concept and we have taken measures to patent this idea of displaying the logo of a brand in the corner of theatre screens during the screening of a two-and-a-half hour feature film. We are 100 per cent sure that this is a breakthrough and that nowhere in the world has this sort of advertising been resorted to. What’s more, we feel good that a Tamil film will go down in the record books as the first movie in the world that will have this sort of a brand logo. It will be a much-awaited Tamil film, which is expected to release in the month of August. The company, whose brand logo is to be displayed, is a telecom major.
On what made him come up with this unique concept, Gurudev says, “Advertisers have many media to promote their clients’ brands. Movies are one medium through which you can take the brand to the nook and corners of the country.
“Today, there is no guarantee for the money invested by producers in a film project. This innovation, I feel, will help producers by assuring them a minimum guarantee amount. This will not in any way affect the experience or joy of watching a film on screen. I’m sure once the first movie with this innovation releases, every producer in India and the world will opt for this option as it will help them get back up to almost 25% of their total investment in a project. What’s more, this money is got back by the producers even before the release of the film,” he says.
Gurudev’s company has also been dealing with in-film promotions. Explaining about that concept, he says, “The concept of in-film product placement started about 10 years ago in Hollywood. In fact, it was Cast Away, which triggered interest in the idea of in-film product placement. We have been doing it in Tamil films. In the recently-released Sura, we have got the hero to use a particular brand of car throughout the second half. We have also helped finalise deals for Boss Engira Baskaran, K V Anand’s Ko and Vijay’s Bodyguard.
So, how have MNCs, corporates and producers reacted to his logo idea? Says Gurudev, “There has been an overwhelming response. Company heads and several producers are excited about the idea. Already several people from both sides have approached us to do the same for their projects. However, there is a small percentage of people who have expressed their apprehension about it, but I’m sure that their apprehensions will disappear once the first movie hits the screens.”