Challenges in digital marketing: Kannada cinema

The changing trends of marketing Kannada films in the age of social media

In simpler days, publicity for Kannada films was limited to posters, reviews by film journalists, and sponsorships of songs on radio and television. Private TV channels offered interviews and celebrity appearances on reality shows as a platform for promotion. The TV channels never mentioned them to be paid advertisements. The truth is that they are paid packages that cost up to Rs 5 lakhs on an average. There are at least four major networks and TV promotions can be staggeringly expensive for films made on a budget of over Rs 2+ crores.

Digital marketing offers a better alternative in terms of cost and the ability to target the audience with greater precision. It seems to be the way forward.

But what is the reality? Does the film industry understand how digital marketing works? Do these digital agencies understand the needs of the Kannada film industry? Digital marketing has its own challenges.

Attention span

Attention span on digital channels is limited. Bharat Sudama, who runs a digital marketing agency for films called ‘Big Little’, says, filmmakers are yet to come to terms with the depleting attention span. Even a three-minute trailer is long in this day and age. “When I request them for a smaller trailer, there is usually a lot of resistance. They insist on sticking to a particular pattern,” he says.
Kumar Jagannath of ‘Silly Monks’, also a digital marketing agency, says that there is little awareness in the industry of what digital marketing can do. “A lot of digital vendors have somehow convinced the producers, especially the older ones, that the number of views on YouTube is a good barometer of successful digital marketing. The truth, however, is different,” he adds.

When the viewer watches a video for 30 seconds or until the end of the video, whichever comes first, it is counted as a view by both Google and Facebook. Only 8-10% of the audience stays engaged till the end of the video. All the promotions that claim millions of views are just metrics to keep everyone looking good.

Creating rich content

Not everyone in the film industry has a great budget. In order to stand out from the noise, the film needs to have unique and distinct content. And that content comes only when you deliberate on how to market and position the film. It needs consistent effort and a dedicated team to sustain the content.

Hemanth, the director of ‘Thurthu Nirgamana’, says that most digital agencies operating in Karnataka have little understanding of how to position the picture. “They come with a fixed template of song release events, poster launch and trailer release. The mature film marketing companies with pan India presence do a better job around these aspects. But a small or a medium Kannada filmmaker can’t afford to hire such agencies. We have a limited audience and a limited budget,” says Hemanth.

“Rich content is hard to generate unless you pay for ideation and positioning efforts. No amount of marketing can save a badly made film” says another digital marketer requesting anonymity. He also adds that he hasn’t received payment even from films that have made good money.

Return on investment

There are literally hundreds of troll pages and thousands of influencers and YouTubers. Even superstars now promote their films through this medium.
The impact is hard to measure.

Hemanth says that he spent a fair bit of money on movie booking portals and other digital channels. “Never saw anything translate to ticket sales. It is a black hole that can suck your budget.”

Jagannath has a different point of view. “It is difficult to get people to the theatres, I think a digital marketing agency must be assessed on its ability to create awareness about the film. No one can make magic.”

“We need to constantly experiment with messaging and media.” The industry has very little time for that rued Bharath.

Planning ahead

Research proves that humans have a bias for familiarity and buy things from people they are familiar with. This is perhaps the reason why films with “stars” get decent openings. However, if you are a small-budget film with less-known actors, it is better to begin early.

“Whenever someone comes to pitch their film to seek support or investments, I ask them for a
promotion plan. They must be good in marketing and film making,” says Bhardwaj of Dhanwin Entertainment. They need to think of a plan before they start, he added.

“Ideally, they ought to begin when they do the ‘mahurat’ of the film. I have refused filmmakers who approach me with short times to promote the film,” says Jagannath. Bharath agrees, “If the film fails, they blame the marketing team.”

Shyla Nag, the producer of ‘Kranti’, says, “film promotion is difficult, the fate of a film is decided in three days. My production used both conventional promotion and digital media simply because I had to cater to a large audience. But even I ensure that we start early.”

Despite the occasional hits, the Kannada film industry seems to be in troubled times. Single screens are closing and the multiplexes have the final say in terms of show schedules.
Filmmakers and producers have a narrow window to escape. Not just good content, the Kannada film industry also depends on good marketing.