Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 15

IMB 611

BRANDING AND BOLLYWOOD: THE


BEHAVIORAL ROUTE TO BRANDING FILMS

AMI SHAH, S RAMESH KUMAR, AND U. DINESH KUMAR

Ami Shah, S Ramesh Kumar, Professor of Marketing, and U. Dinesh Kumar, Professor of DSIS, prepared this case for class
discussion. This case is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary data, or to show effective or inefficient
handling of decision or business processes.

Copyright © 2017 by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. No part of the publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (including internet) –
without the permission of Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

Ami Shah has been the co-founder and creative director at IntelliAssist, a full-service digital marketing
agency that also offers print media and direct marketing support. The company focused on assisting
business and consumer brands in three key areas – brand management, demand creation, and managing
customer experience. In addition to other industry sectors, the company has been working with the Indian
entertainment industry. Monitoring promotion of films and their performance at the box office has always
been an area of interest for Shah.

Shah was interested in comparing the success/failure of these films using behavioral concepts with the
objective of trying to understand how a film brand is shaped by such behavioral aspects associated with
film goers.

Cine films have always been a part of the Indian culture for the last several decades. Traditionally, the
success or the failure of a film was mapped using several quantitative parameters associated with
monetary aspects. In the digital era, although such an approach may still hold well; this case study uses
behavioral dimensions to study the attitude of film goers towards two film brands namely Queen and
Gulaab Gang, which were associated with women and were launched on Women’s Day (March 8, 2014).
Gulaab Gang enjoyed fantastic buzz at the time filmmakers unveiled the first look publicity material
(posters and theatrical trailer) and Queen was hardly noticed by anyone. Queen experienced huge success
but Gulaab Gang was not successful at the box office. According to Bollywood Hungama, a leading
industry magazine, the lifetime collection of Gulaab Gang was INR 14.58 crores1 and the lifetime
collection of Queen was INR 61 crores2 (1 crore = 10 million). The case delves into the attitude of
consumer groups that had seen the film with a view to understand how attitude towards the various
aspects of entertainment value of a film is shaped by both the film and its promotional efforts.

The case through its behavioral approach tries to address the following strategic points that would be
useful to the film producer. What are the major aspects of the entertainment value of a film that influence
the consumer? How should the film create an attitude that is reflected both through its content and its
promotional elements (television commercials, posters, and social media efforts)? How will “electronic-
word-of-mouth” in the social media and other digital platforms impact the attitude of a prospective
consumer who would like to view the film?

BRANDING OF MOVIES

A brand can be associated with a functional benefit (solving a problem), with consumers’ self-expression
or with emotional/sensual (hedonic) consumption experience. Films are pre-dominantly associated with
the emotional experience of consumers (viewers) and such emotional experiences form the basis of
entertainment value. Several factors associated with a film form its entertainment value. Behavioral
approaches to analyze the emotional experiences of consumers who watch films provide a basis for
several aspects that include the receptivity of consumers towards such experiences, their attitude towards
the promotional efforts associated with the film, and more importantly how the “electronic-word-of-
mouth” through the digital media affects the prospective consumers who would like to view the film. The
behavioral approach to analyze films provides a strong platform for the film to become a brand.

Page 2 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

Brand differentiation is important in the film industry as every film launched is a brand by itself. In India,
on an average over 1200 films were launched every year and it has been one of the largest producers of
films in the world. This case applies the different components of attitude towards two films that were
launched on Women’s Day (March 8, 2014). One film succeeded and the other failed at the box office.
An attitudinal analysis of the responses of the viewers of both these films towards the content of the films,
the promotional approaches employed and the content analysis of social media responses associated with
the genre of these films provide the backdrop for recommendations on the film content and promotional
content associated with the genre of the films.

BOLLYWOOD: AN OVERVIEW

Bollywood is the sobriquet for the Hindi language film industry based in Mumbai, the most populous city
of the Republic of India. The first Indian film was a black-and-white, silent film, Raja Harischandra. The
film was directed by Dhundiraj Govind Phalke and was first screened in Mumbai on May 3, 1913. The
Hindi language film industry of Mumbai was not known as Bollywood for many years; the term
Bollywood was coined in late 20th Century, after Bombay (now known as Mumbai) cinema caught the
imagination of the West.

MAJOR FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH BOLLYWOOD DURING 2010-2014

As per the World Bank, in 2013, the population of India was 1.2 billion. A prominent filmmaker, Karan
Johar, said that consumption of Bollywood films was limited to 45 million people, which was just about
4.5 percent of total population. Johar also added that there were 300 million Indians who belonged to
middle-class households; if Bollywood could manage to reach out to the said audience, the business
landscape could change altogether.3 There were several challenges that the industry faced.

Competition: India produced the highest number of films when compared to its peers. In 2012, India
produced 1,602 films while China produced 745 films and the United States produced 476 films. 4 In
addition to Hindi cinema, India produced films in other languages such as Telugu, Tamil, Bengali,
Marathi, Gujarati, and more.

Ticket sale and box office revenue: In 2012, India recorded a sale of 2.6 billion tickets at the box office
while the US box office recorded a sale of 1.36 billion tickets. However, revenue in the United States
grossed nearly $10.8 billion and that in India grossed $1.6 billion.4

Infrastructure: In 2013, India had about 13,000 screens in comparison to 40,000 screens in the United
States.

Audience: In India, regional cinema dominated regional centers; however, Bollywood enjoyed pan-India
appeal and consumption. Outside India, Bollywood had audiences in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri
Lanka, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, parts of East and Southern Africa, and the United States.

Page 3 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

Bollywood was also popular in nations such as Japan, Germany and Russia where Indian population was
insignificant.5

Alternative revenue streams: For most films, domestic box office collection was the main revenue
stream for producers. They also earned from international box office collection, sale of satellite broadcast
rights, music rights, Internet, and home video rights. In a few instances, revenue from other sources was
greater than the producer’s share of the domestic box office collection; however, there was no
standardization and hence producers heavily banked on the box office success of the film.

FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO A FILM’S SUCCESS

1) Star Cast: Bollywood’s success depended heavily on film’s lead actors (male and female). The
ability of male actors to draw audience was higher than that of their female counterparts. Producers
believed that their film had better chances of success when they had an A-list actor in their film. The
A-list was drawn based on several factors such as actor’s popularity, success rate, and fan base.

2) Director: A few directors were able to carve a niche for themselves; however, audiences were open
to new directors if they were able to deliver entertaining cinema.

3) Movie Title: Title of films played an important role. Film titles were registered with film
associations in advance with validity of 3, 5, and 10 years. Often, there were disputes between
producers for releasing the film with the title of their choice. Titles were either in Hindi, English,
or a mix of both languages (Hin-glish). A few film titles in the recent times were 3 Idiots, Fukrey
(English: ‘'slacker'’ or ‘'worthless'’), Rowdy Rathode (Rathode is one of the family names of
Indian origin), Dabangg (English: Fearless). Quirky titles that appealed to young audiences
helped in better positioning of the film.

4) Script: One of the key factors to the success of the film was its plot. The script could be a work of
fiction, an adaptation of a novel, a biography, or based on true events. For several years, Bollywood
thrived on work of fiction; however, in the 21st century, audiences had more affinity towards films
that were based on true events, biographies, and novels. Remake of films and franchises also
improved chances of success. Producers were more comfortable producing mainstream commercial
cinema rather than parallel cinema. Scripts that ranked high on entertainment value were preferred by
audience.

5) Dialogues: For several years, Indian films thrived on melodrama; however, in the 21st century,
audience preferred realistic conversations and quirky dialogues.

6) Music: Music continued to play an important role in the success of a Bollywood film; however, the
type of music that topped the charts was not necessarily melodious; rather it was youthful and
energetic. In the past, on average there were 6 to 7 songs in any film; in the last decade, the number

Page 4 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

dropped to 3 to 4. Most films had multiple music directors. Several singers attracted a huge fan
following.

7) Dance song: Traditionally, Bollywood films included a dance song to improve the success rate. A
handful of dancers performed to such songs in the film. The trend changed to that of any leading actor
or actress making a special appearance in a film’s dance song. These dance songs were popularly
referred to as “item numbers”.

8) Movie Marketing: Depending on the budget of the film, producers launched film promotion
campaigns about 90, 60, or 45 days before the release. The channel mix included:

a. Television: Television enjoyed the largest share of the promotion budget. Most films were
promoted on channels that attracted audience in the age group of 13 to 35 years. Music channels
were most popular, followed by general entertainment channels and news channels.

b. Print media: Print media enjoyed the second largest share of the promotion budget. Trade
magazines, mainstream newspapers, and special interest newspapers were used to promote the
film. Producers believed that promotion in trade magazines was very critical to attract good
partners for distribution and exhibition.

c. Radio: Radio activities included music launch and contests.

d. Out-of-home: Billboards, theater branding and display, and city tours by lead artists were
commonly employed techniques in the out-of-home publicity. Artists also participated in reality
and fiction shows on television to promote their films. It is believed that if a film gained an
opportunity to participate in television shows that enjoyed a high TRP, chances of success were
higher.

e. Internet: Internet emerged as one of the important promotion channels. However, the promotion
budget allocated to Internet was small. Social media channels and other special interest web
portals and communities were of huge importance as they contributed to electronic word-of-
mouth.

f. Public relation: Every film created media buzz with the help of editorials and advertorials.
Controversy (if any) around a film resulted in to higher share of voice in the media and improved
buzz in the social media. Producers considered that any controversy would be an added advantage
to the film, generate curiosity and interest and ultimately contribute to box office success.

9) Promotion material: Teaser trailers and posters were used to create excitement. Theatrical trailer and
about three to four official posters were released to unveil the first look. Producers believed that
YouTube trailer views and engagement were an important indication of the film’s ultimate success at
the box office.

Page 5 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

BOX OFFICE PERFORMANCE OF GULAAB GANG AND QUEEN

According to Bollywood Hungama, a leading industry magazine, the lifetime domestic collection of
Gulaab Gang was INR 14.58 crores4 and the lifetime domestic collection of Queen was INR 61 crores.5
The lifetime box office collection should not be mistaken as a filmmaker’s earning; the revenue is shared
between producers and exhibitors (theater owners).

Another report in Business Standard suggests6 that Queen was made on a budget of INR 27 crores and its
producer’s total revenue (share from domestic box office collection + music and satellite broadcasting
rights) was INR 52.06 crores yielding a return of 92.8%. On the other hand, Gulaab Gang was made on a
budget of INR 26 crores and its producer’s total revenue (share from domestic box office collection +
music and satellite broadcasting rights) was INR 19.9 crores and hence there was a negative return on
investment of –23.5%. Overseas box-office collection is not included here.

Ami Shah had to analyze data from Exhibits 1 and 2 that deal with responses from film goers who had
viewed Gulaab Gang or Queen. There were 87 responses for Gulaab Gang and 100 responses for Queen.
The survey was conducted in the city of Mumbai during January–March 2015. Exhibit 3 provides an idea
about the trailers and viewership of trailers associated with both these movies. Exhibit 4 consists of
posters of Gulaab Gang and Queen.

ENDNOTE
1
Gulaab Gang, Bollywood Hungama, http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/moviemicro/boxoffice/id/551149, Accessed on November 29, 2014.
2
Queen, Bollywood Hungama, http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/moviemicro/boxoffice/id/563941, Accessed on November 29, 2014.
3
Bollywood cinema: 10 lesser-known facts , http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22349712. Accessed on November 29, 2014.
4
Niall McCarthy, Bollywood: India's Film Industry by the Numbers [Infographic], Forbes.com,
http://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2014/09/03/bollywood-indias-film-industry-by-the-numbers-infographic, accessed on May 13, 2015.
5
Bollywood At 100: How Big Is India’s Mammoth Film Industry?, http://www.ibtimes.com/bollywood-100-how-big-indias-mammoth-film-
industry-1236299, Accessed on November 29, 2014.
4
"Gulaab Gang", Bollywood Hungama, http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/moviemicro/boxoffice/id/551149, Accessed on November
29, 2014.
5
"Queen", Bollywood Hungama, http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/moviemicro/boxoffice/id/563941, Accessed on November 29, 2014.
6
Woman-centric movies rule the roost at box office this year, Business Standard, http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/woman-
centric-movies-rule-the-roost-at-box-office-this-year-114091300894_1.html, Accessed on November 29, 2014.

Page 6 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

Exhibit 1
Responses from film goers who had viewed Gulaab Gang
Strongly Somewhat Sl. Strongly
Agree Agree Agree No. Disagree
1 Star cast of the movie attracted you 58 21 8 0 0
You felt emotionally involved with the star cast
2 of the movie 58 21 8 0 0
Star cast was responsible for you to see the
3 movie 60 20 7 0 0
You are more likely to watch movies that reflect
4 a biopic 57 18 10 2 0
You thought that the movie was based on a true
5 story 60 22 5 0 0
6 You could relate to the story 46 17 24 0 0
Story value of such a movie will make you
7 decide to see the movie 58 19 10 0 0
Entertainment value of the movie was the trigger
8 for you to plan for the movie. 20 48 17 2 0

You had planned to see this movie as it had both


9 emotional and entertainment value. 36 42 9 0 0
You had analyzed the directorial capability
10 involved in the movie 32 39 14 2 0
You were too emotional to note the directorial
11 capability involved in the movie. 2 5 8 36 36

You did not care about the directorial capability


12 when you had decided to see this movie. 13 25 27 18 4
You would have felt better if a leading director
13 had been in-charge of this movie 13 25 27 18 4
You would have liked a leading director to have
directed this movie as he would have made it
14 very emotional. 13 25 27 18 4
You had felt that the movie should have been
involved in some controversy to have boosted its
15 box office collection. 78 7 2 0 0
You had planned to see this movie as there was a
controversial word-of-mouth about this movie
16 among your circle of friends. 32 31 24 0 0

You think that any controversy that surrounds a


movie of this nature in the social media is likely
17 to arouse the emotions of movie goers. 78 7 2 0 0
You had noticed the dialogs of the movie to be
18 realistic. 0 9 12 32 34

Page 7 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

Exhibit 1 (Contd.)
You had felt that the dialogs of the movie had
19 aroused emotion in you. 4 3 14 37 29
You think the dialogs of the movie had the scope
to be talked about in the social media by avid
20 film goers 33 28 17 6 3
Dialogs of this movie had appealed to you as one
21 of the highlights of the movie. 3 4 19 32 29

Music director/s of the movie had played a role


22 in your decision to see the film 3 7 12 36 29
You were able to connect with the music of this
23 movie. 15 25 32 15 0
Music of the movie that you had heard had made
24 you see the movie. 0 1 11 37 38
You were aware of the type of songs in the
25 movie even before you had seen the movie. 32 28 16 8 3
Music of the movie was marketed well to attract
26 film goers. 32 28 16 8 3

Music of the movie was marketed so well in the


social media that it had attracted adequate
27 number of movie goers to see the movie. 4 13 29 32 9
Movie promotion with fiction and non-fiction
based TV serials had an impact on your opinion
28 about the story of the movie. 35 42 7 2 1
Movie promotion with fiction and non-fiction
based TV serials had enhanced its emotional
29 appeal. 6 8 14 45 14
Movie promotion with fiction and non-fiction
based TV serials had influenced your decision to
30 see the movie. 9 16 32 18 12
Movie’s song and dance by the actor/ actress in
the movie had an impact on your overall
31 assessment of the movie. 45 26 8 5 3

Movie’s song and dance sequence by lead actress


32 added to its overall entertainment value. 35 32 14 4 2

Movie’s song and dance sequence by lead and/or


guest appearance actor/actress is a point that
would provide the word-of-mouth in social
33 media among movie goers. 35 32 14 4 2
34 You could relate to the title of the movie. 42 27 16 1 1
Title of the movie made you think of the theme
35 of the movie. 42 27 16 1 1

Page 8 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

Exhibit 1 (Contd.)

Movie’s title had prompted you to go to the


36 movie. 42 27 16 1 1
Locales used in the movie were important for the
37 success of the movie. 35 32 14 4 2
Locales of the movie added to the emotional
38 appeal of the movie. 11 8 18 16 34
Your intent to watch the movie affirms/ changes
39 with critic reviews after release 45 26 15 1 0

Your intent to watch the movie affirms/ changes


40 with audience reviews after release 47 32 8 0 0

Source: Survey by authors

Exhibit 2
Responses of film goers who had viewed Queen

Sr. Strongly Somewhat Strongly


No. Agree Agree Agree Disagree Disagree
1 Star cast of the movie attracted you 7 12 27 30 24
You felt emotionally involved with the star
2 cast of the movie 47 28 18 7 0
Star cast was responsible for you to see the
3 movie 7 12 27 30 24
You are more likely to watch movies that
4 reflect a biopic 16 19 28 31 6
You thought that the movie was based on a
5 true story 0 0 8 20 72
6 You could relate to the story 48 30 19 3 0
Story value of such a movie will make you
7 decide to see the movie 66 22 12 0 0
Entertainment value of the movie was the
8 trigger for you to plan for the movie. 64 25 11 0 0

You had planned to see this movie as it had


9 both emotional and entertainment value. 66 23 11 0 0
You had analyzed the directorial capability
10 involved in the movie 36 23 27 4 10
You were too emotional to note the
11 directorial capability involved in the movie. 2 6 13 37 42
You did not care about the directorial
capability associated with when you had
12 decided to see this movie. 3 3 16 32 46

Page 9 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

Exhibit 2 (Contd.)

You would have felt better if a leading


13 director had been in-charge of this movie 4 2 6 43 45
You would have liked a leading director to
have directed this movie as he would have
14 made it very emotional. 4 2 6 43 45
You had felt that the movie should have been
involved in some controversy to have boosted
15 its box office collection. 0 0 0 32 68
You had planned to see this movie as there
was a controversial word-of-mouth about this
16 movie among your circle of friends. 0 0 0 32 68

You think that any controversy that surrounds


a movie of this nature in the social media is
17 likely to arouse the emotions of movie goers. 14 18 22 32 14
You had noticed the dialogs of the movie to
18 be realistic. 63 28 9 0 0
You had felt that the dialogs of the movie had
19 aroused emotion in you. 63 28 9 0 0
You think the dialogs of the movie had the
scope to be talked about in the social media by
20 avid film goers 63 28 9 0 0
Dialogs of this movie had appealed to you as
21 one of the highlights of the movie. 63 28 9 0 0

Music director/s of the movie had played a


22 role in your decision to see the film 1 3 7 24 65
You were able to connect with the music of
23 this movie. 62 25 13 0 0
Music of the movie that you had heard had
24 made you see the movie. 0 0 11 24 65
You were aware of the type of songs in the
25 movie even before you had seen the movie. 14 18 22 22 24
Music of the movie was marketed well to
26 attract film goers. 14 22 28 33 3

Music of the movie was marketed so well in


the social media that it had attracted adequate
27 number of movie goers to see the movie. 7 25 32 26 10

Movie’s promotion with fiction and non-


fiction based TV serials had an impact on your
28 opinion about the story of the movie. 6 12 7 48 27

Page 10 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

Exhibit 2 (Contd.)

Movie’s promotion with fiction and non-


fiction based TV serials had enhanced its
29 emotional appeal. 6 12 7 48 27
Movie’s promotion with fiction and non-
fiction based TV serials had influenced your
30 decision to see the movie. 6 12 7 48 27
Movie’s song and dance by the actor/actress
in the movie had an impact on your overall
31 assessment of the movie. 0 0 21 47 32
Movie’s song and dance sequence by lead
actress added to its overall entertainment
32 value. 0 0 21 49 30

Movie’s song and dance sequence by lead


and/or guest appearance actor/actress is a
point that would provide the word-of-mouth in
33 social media among movie goers. 46 27 18 3 6
34 You could relate to the title of the movie. 14 18 22 29 17
Title of the movie made you think of the
35 theme of the movie. 0 0 6 48 46
Movie’s title had prompted you to go to the
36 movie. 0 0 0 48 52
Locales used in the movie were important for
37 the success of the movie. 54 37 8 1 0
Locales of the movie added to the emotional
38 appeal of the movie. 50 39 11 0 0
Your intent to watch the movie affirms/
39 changes with critic reviews after release 16 26 32 8 17

Your intent to watch the movie affirms/


40 changes with audience reviews after release 47 38 15 0 0

Source: Survey by authors

Page 11 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

Exhibit 3
Trailers of Gulaab Gang and Queen released on YouTube

The first look theatrical trailer of Gulaab Gang was released on January 9, 2014. It received a
phenomenal response from critics and audience.

In the Gulaab Gang first look trailer, Madhuri Dixit played Rajjo, a self-trained activist from
Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh, India who was married off as a child and then grew up to fight social evils
such as dowry, child marriage, and domestic violence. She was shown fighting men and flinging them
with one effortless slap. In contrast to her character, in one of the sequences she was seen dancing in the
film. Reportedly, the story was based on the life of Sampat Pal Devi and evidently the treatment of the
film was adapted to entertain the audience.

Juhi Chawla played a lady politician who takes on Rajjo (Madhuri) and embarks on an insidious journey
to destroy the latter's clout. Juhi showcases her best as the soft-spoken, nearly adorable, baby voiced
woman whose smile was pure evil gold! Instead of a woman versus man stereotypical battle, Gulaab
Gang promised to be a deft exploration of feminity and the woman as an ambitious, strong, sinister,
vulnerable entity.

In a span of 4 days, the trailer garnered 1.5 million views on the video streaming website, YouTube and
the count swiftly increased to three million views. On Twitter, a prominent micro-blogging site, there
were several conversations around the Gulaab Gang trailer; and in some parts of the country,
#GulaabGangTrailer appeared as the trending topic for a few hours.

Page 12 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

Exhibit 3 (Contd.)

The graph is a screen grab from Sahara Movie Studios official YouTube channel (taken in December
2014). The video garnered 3.4 million views almost instantly and then there was a gradual growth in the
view count. The effect of the positive word-of-mouth on the first look theatrical trailer is highly evident.
Once again at the time of the film release, there was an increase in the view count; however not as
significant as at the time of launch. The theatrical trailer had garnered 1171 comments before the release
date and since the release, there were no comments until November 2016.

Theatrical trailer available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAcN8RR3Ry4, accessed May 13,


2015.

Queen

The first look theatrical trailer of Queen was released on December 20, 2013. The trailer received a
lukewarm response and almost went unnoticed.

Kangana Ranaut plays the role of Rani (read as: Queen), a Delhi girl who was all set to be married, but
somehow ends up going to Amsterdam and Paris for her honeymoon all by herself. Rajkumar Yadav
played the role of Vijay, Rani’s fiancée. The trailer showed how he proposed to her and how he made
sincere efforts to convince her to marry him; however, the mystery remained unsolved on why he did not
join her on their honeymoon. Overall the trailer was comical, fun and had an inherent cuteness to it. It was
a fictional story of a stereotypical Delhi girl.

Page 13 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

Exhibit 3 (Contd.)

The graph is a screen grab from Viacom 18 Motion Pictures official YouTube channel (taken in
December 2014). The video garnered about 0.6 million views almost instantly and then witnessed a
gradual growth in the view count until the release of the film. At the time of the film release, about 1
million video views were recorded. Later, there was a significant increase in the view count owing to the
positive word-of-mouth that the film enjoyed after release. The total number of lifetime views is 2.7
million. The theatrical trailer had garnered 312 comments before the release date and after release the
count increased to 813 (accessed in November 2016).

Theatrical trailer available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGC6vl3lzf0, accessed May 13, 2015.

NOTE: Usually, studios advertise the first look theatrical trailer at the time of its first release. Gulaab Gang enjoyed a positive word-of-mouth at
the time of trailer release and Queen enjoyed a positive word-of-mouth at the time of film release; the video views reflect how word-of-mouth
drives action!

Exhibit 4
Posters of Gulaab Gang and Queen

Source: Facebook

Page 14 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.
Branding and Bollywood: The Behavioral Route to Branding Films

Exhibit 4 (Contd.)

Source: Facebook

Page 15 of 15

This document is authorized for use only in Prof. Bidyanand Jha's Marketing Management 1_06/21/2023 at SOIL School of Business Design from Jun 2023 to Dec 2023.

You might also like