Film entertainment industry expected to grow by 10% in 2018 reports GroupM

Bhaktvatsal Sharma Dec 14, 2017

The key insights in the report suggests that the film entertainment industry is expected to grow to 10% in 2018 in terms of the number of films released. This growth structure is also capable of opening marketing opportunities for brands through alliances and content licensing. According to the report, marketing budgets for films have grown from 5-6% of production budget to 10-15% in India. 20% of films released include brand associations, where brands also share a part of the marketing budget.

The year 2014 saw a rise in film brand associations to 200 Hindi films with 139 films with co-branded marketing tie-ups and 61 films with in film placement. 2015 had more number of total Hindi films (207) out of which 142 films were co-branded with marketing tie-ups and 65 films with in-film placement. After that the year 2016 has been great for film-brand associations. Even much better than 2017 and saw 225 Hindi films released out of which 148 had co-branded marketing tie-ups and 75 films with in-film placement. Source: ESP Properties.

Vinit Karnik, Business Head, ESP Properties said, “The films entertainment industry is an integral part of India’s marketing landscape and drives revenue for film production and exhibition. Traditional film studios and production houses now increasingly rely on advertising and digital media interaction, coupled with research, data analytics and innovation to market movies. At ESP Properties, we bring our client brands and movie marketing together to engage an audience that is spoilt for choice with 1000 movies released every year. Targeted marketing to the consumer has therefore become critical and this report will give brands and film producers some insights into movie marketing in a media landscape that is so disruptive.”

The top 150 Global Licensors Report, License Global 2017 states that in India licensing is growing at 7.4% a year which is higher than developed markets like USA, UK and Canada. In the last 10 years, 25% of brand advertising on television feature a famous face. Another data point brought out by the ESP entertainment report is on Celebrity endorsers. The trends in advertisement creative is fast moving with the increase in digital avenues. As cinema remains the top choice of entertainment in the country, ESP Properties the entertainment marketing report provides a glimpse of the trends and insights into what will drive the industry.

Key learnings from the executive summary includes:

Brand Alliances:

· Total co-marketing spends for Hindi films have reached approximately 100 crore around a year, with more co-branding than in-film

· FMCG, Apparel and E-commerce are the types of categories that are most active in in-film integrations and co-branded associations.

Film Marketing:

· Placement in terms of healthy media-mix accounts for 10-15% of the film’s marketing budget.

· A well-defined promotion plan must be put into place for personifying the cast and then promoting the film.

· Strategic PR and managing millions of media outlets is the backbone of a film’s success.

Media Effectiveness:

· On TV and digital, the song and dialog promotion dispersion is seen at 70:30. Assets related to music still form integral part of film promotion with 24x7 music channels assuming importance as vehicles of publicity.

· The film’s promotion budget is higher on television (45-50%) and lower on print (10-15%). Digital is getting added (10-15%) and activation is steady (25-30%).

Influencers:

· Brand chooses endorsers and influencers for multiple reasons- launch, sustenance and revival.

· In a celebrity endorsement, the celebrity is the face of a brand message. In influencer marketing, the influencer is perceived to be ‘creator’ of the entire message.

· Woman power made it to the top 3 of brand endorser list for the first time in 2017.

· Shah Rukh Khan and MS Dhoni have consistently been among top endorsers in the past.

Licensing the content:

· Industry sources predict India’s licensing growth at 7.4% which is higher than the growth in USA, Canada and UK combined.

· The top 150 global licensors reported total retail sales of INR 1,751,200 Cr worldwide in 2017. India’s share in the global licensing chart is 5-7%.

· Start-up licensing agencies now eyeing the big millions with popularity of TV series such as Game Of Thrones, Indian characters such as Chhota Bheem and Japenese anime such as Doremon.

Digital Marketing & Strategy:

· The total number of YouTube channels in India at the end of 2016 was 13,99,000+ the views clocking in a neat 22375 crore with subscribers at 4118.5 lakhs.

· In a decade of 2007-2017 digital media strategy played a lead role in the industry making a departure from a ‘single-event’ launch or press interaction to an entire campaign spanning weeks or months.

· Hindi film’s most successful digital teams use analytic tools such as ‘Vidooly’ (for video intelligence), Lexalytics (for sentiment scores) and Buzz Engine for film promotions.

· The capabilities of command centers and content analytics will increase exponentially and thus content will be able to meet larger audiences.