Cine paradox: When good films meet sloppy marketing

An overly casual approach has been letting down India’s film industry and it’s time to change that

is a director and script writer.

Movie marketing in the Indian film industry is like navigating a labyrinth of missed opportunities and hastily executed ideas, often accompanied by overspent budgets. After more than 100 years of Indian cinema, movie marketing seems stuck in a rut of recycled gimmicks presented as disruptive ideas by hustlers whose main audience appears to be film producers rather than a relevant target audience. In a business where a largely perishable product must quickly make an impact within limited resources, content marketing can’t just be about random ideas favoured by a select few. It needs a meticulously planned strategy that has been brainstormed even before a film’s title is conceived.

The Indian film industry is far more intricate and dynamic than its nickname ‘Bollywood’ implies. Yet, myths surround content marketing. Fragmented approaches and numerous one-man-show agencies dominate the landscape, with more than half a dozen freelancers typically managing different aspects of marketing for one film. From promotional design and poster art to digital marketing and media planning, this often leads to disjointed campaigns that fail to resonate with audiences. Often, the focus is on pleasing film stars and producers rather than achieving any real impact.

Meanwhile, over-the-top (OTT) platforms in India have transformed entertainment consumption. But instead of leveraging their own digital databases for geo-targeted advertising, the stakeholders sometimes allocate significant resources to traditional outdoor publicity, which can be costly with questionable returns. While outdoor ads work as reminders, they do little to achieve deeper brand impact and recall.

Adding to the problem is the opacity that surrounds marketing expenditure. There are no reliable reference numbers available, let alone tabulated data, and surprisingly, no one seems to be asking for it either. Halfbaked strategies based on assumptions result in a substantial portion of the budget being taken by agencies and their commissions. Without data transparency and standardized pricing, it’s impossible to assess the true effectiveness of film marketing. One wonders why there hasn’t been any concerted effort to capture the effectiveness of marketing initiatives. Perhaps it’s because it is considered a specialized but boring behind-the-scenes function.

Then there’s the enigma of invisible music revenues, shrouded in more mystery than the Bermuda Triangle. Despite large investments in songs and music by creators, returns on soundtracks have remained elusive for decades, with little that lets us assess song-wise performance, musical reach or its pre- and post-release impact. One wonders why such crucial data is never made public for the benefit of the country’s entertainment industry. The solution is simple. Someone needs to voice an opinion and ask for data, but nobody does it collectively.

Sincere film marketing initiatives lack crucial demographic data on the audience in every region. This could save studios or producers time and money. Why do they not bother to analyse cinema-going patterns or the gender-wise breakdown of film audiences before marketing content, like Hollywood does? Hollywood films like

The Twilight and many others are a result of strategic research that detected demand for content specially designed for a young audience. Quickie reports extracted from small consumer-research focus groups only offer a glimpse into audience behaviour, leaving many critical questions unanswered. It is unclear if any initiative is taken to conduct thorough research that asks the right questions and could propel a film to success.

There exist numerous examples of films that initially failed as a result of misguided positioning, such as 12th Fail, Sirf Ek Banda Kaafi Hai and Andhadhun. These films gained traction much after their release, thanks to good word-of-mouth, gaining which is a science in itself. In recent times, a few films have created a market buzz despite mediocre content. But it is a wonder how so much money is spent on content like Archies and Indian Police Force, exhausting enormous marketing budgets, without questioning the effectiveness of the offerings. Are such heavy marketing expenses justified? On the other hand, modestly marketed but outstanding entertainers like Gullak, Maamla Legal Hai and Panchayat attract audiences on their own appeal.

Amid such a landscape, smaller films featuring less-known talent struggle to find their audience. Many have not realized their true potential, as they were released at the wrong time or found themselves on an inappropriate platform.

Until the industry unites to address the leakage of marketing expenditure and embraces transparency, the true potential of Indian content will remain unrealized. This is an issue for the film and content industry that should be taken seriously and discussed at various forums. Every film has a market that its marketers must find within a very short period of time and budget constraints. It’s high time someone tried to unravel the mystery and chart a course toward more effective, data-driven marketing strategies that genuinely resonate with appropriate audiences. While this may not be quite as interesting as shots taken in the dark and the ‘airport look’ that dominates almost all film content websites, it is clearly the way ahead. For Indian films to be marketed well, a far less casual and much more strategic approach needs to be taken.