In-film branding gets bigger

In-film branding was taught to us by the West. When an actor wore a specific brand of watches, the positioning was so subtle that it took us time to figure out that a product had been shown onscreen. Perennially ‘inspired’, Bollywood has been traversing the same path, minus subtlety often. Be it SRK sitting with a computer or wearing a watch in Don, or Aamir Khan wearing a designer label in Ghajini, or Kareena Kapoor cruising on a bike in 3 Idiots, we have seen them all because Bollywood has shown them all.
Now is the turn of Marathi cinema in which in-film branding is getting really big.The reason for such branding is obvious. When people see the film, they see the product. The recall value of such an ‘ad’ is, therefore, immensely high.
Event manager Amol Bhagat, who has worked on in-film brandings for films like Nirop, Mission Possible, Amhi Satpute and Aicha Gondhal, explains how it is being done, “There are different ways of including branding. But keeping it as natural as possible is the key. In the film Amhi Satpute, lead actress Supriya Pilgaonkar runs a restaurant. She is shown cooking food in many of the shots. So, it was easy for us to include a popular brand that manufactures spices in the film.”
Bhagat affirms that in-film branding is a powerful visual medium for brands to reach out to the customer. He explains, “The concept of in-film branding is becoming bigger. There is no doubt that brands get instant recognition in such deals. Generally, the viewer can’t skip the message. In fact, it helps brands cut down on their advertising costs.”
Having used the concept in his recent films Ideachi Kalpana and Amhi Satpute, actor, director Sachin Pilgaonkar feels that in-film branding is a good idea for revenue generation. Is the script altered to suit the brand’s needs? Sachin answers, “Although the advertiser may make a few suggestions, it is finally the director’s call. When an established actor endorses a product, which is sure to generate more gains, he certainly has a say in the methods of the branding.”
It is not that every Marathi film gets in-film branding with ease. Executive producer Amit Abhyankar, who plans to include in-film branding of a radio channel for his upcoming film Jana Gana Mana, says the limited reach of Marathi cinema stops international brands from approaching the makers of Marathi films. He adds, “I think this needs to change so that we also have more international brands approaching us as in Bollywood.” Right from juice, mobile, cloth, bank to biscuit brands, Abhyankar has used them all in few of his earlier films.
At times, these transactions also happen in the format of barter. In the flick Nirop, when the actors embark on a Konkan trip, showing the cast drinking water throughout the journey was the need of the script. “Instead of plain water, we showcased the cast using mineral water bottles of a known company. Some dialogues of the film also included a mention of the product. But as the company agreed to provide water for the entire cast of 60 people for approximately 20 days of the shoot, we made it a barter,” adds Bhagat.
Vishal Chordia, director, marketing strategy of a famous spice company, informs, “We used the barter system for our first in-film project for the film Dhakti Sun. The script required the lead actor to work in a company that manufactures spices. Almost half of the film was shot in our factory. It really gave us quite a boost.”
Heavy promotions of movies ensure benefits for brands, motivating the latter to make associations that lead to in-film branding. That costs money. But what matters is that it makes money too.