Whether social media has added to the joys of our lives or has made it prosaic is still a debate; one thing we know for sure is what a virtue it turned out to be for the film industry.
Agree or not, digital marketing for cinema has changed its face forever; film production houses’ and celebrities’ social media accounts speak for the movie marketing gimmick that the industry is currently thriving on.
From influencer marketing, live chats with fans and followers, poster launches, to behind the scene clips, and many more, cinema marketing has taken over the internet. Additionally, as an audience, we play a major role in the movie marketing process, but we seldom realise that.
Ever since Instagram became a replacement for TikTok in India, digital marketing for cinema has picked up the pace compared to all these past years.
Let’s take a look at how digital marketing for cinema have created a buzz with these two cinemas
Liger
The Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday starrer that saw the theatrical release on August 25, 2022, left no stone unturned to market their mass entertainer digitally.
Promoting Public Appearances
It all started with sharing the group pictures and paparazzi clips of the lead actors, director Puri Jagannadh, producers Charmy Kaur, and Karan Johar on social media. The group strategically made their public appearances together at several events hosted in the tinsel town.
During the promotions, the team took to showcase the “crossbreed of cultures” (which quite literally depicts the casting of the lead actors) in digital space. While Ananya was seen trying her hands on Telugu, Vijay was seen polishing his Hindi speaking skills. These live moments were pushed on social media and received a great response.
BTS Clips
Then came the behind-the-scenes glimpses of American former professional boxer Mike Tyson with the entire cast and crew to create the buzz and share with the audience the essence of the film’s core.
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The Mass Trailer Launch and Ranveer Singh Factor
Remember the clips of Ranveer Singh and Vijay Deverakonda from the grand trailer launch of Liger going viral on the internet?
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Now, celebrities are not only promoting their own films but are coming forward to give a shoutout to their contemporaries as well. And the makers of the Puri Jaggannadh directorial scored brownie points with their Ranveer Singh Marketing move; a testament to this is the immense love on the trailer and the launch event.
Hashtag Campaigns
Hashtags such as #VaatLagaDenge #AakdiPakdi #ILoveYouLiger and #Aafat did rounds on social media as the makers of Liger invited netizens to become a part of their movie and get featured on the production house’s social media page.
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Influencer Marketing
If you scroll through social media reels daily, you must have seen many influencers grooving to Liger tracks along with Ananya and Vijay. It is, again, a decent cinema marketing move, given the popularity of Instagram. This led to 35M+ views on ‘Aafat’ on YouTube.
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Brahmāstra
Ever since the film’s official announcement, Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmāstra has been in the news and on social media; much credit goes to Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor.
The Alia-Ranbir brand and their journey together from co-stars to a couple played a significant part in the movie marketing. The key factor here was slow and gradual digital marketing for cinema to keep the audience engaged, given the large-scale production of the film.
The First Couple Appearance Post
Posting their first couple picture together from Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja’s wedding reception was definitely a brilliant move. This not only gave Ranbir and Alia’s dating rumours validation but also created excitement among the audience to watch the two together on-screen.
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From here onwards, followed the pictures from the sets and shoot locations.
Social Media Announcements
Be it the logo release, shoot wraps, or filming updates, the pictures and clips from behind the scenes kept the audience engaged.
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The Alia-Ranbir Wedding Affair and ‘Kesariya’
We don’t need to tell you that all eyes were waiting to see the pictures of Alia and Ranbir’s lavish yet low-key wedding. The makers definitely made the most of this anticipation and released the ‘Kesariya’ teaser, congratulating Isha and Shiva on their big day.
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Within a few minutes of its release, the teaser was all over the internet and received insane love. Then came the pictures from the wedding, which boosted Kesariya’s teaser significantly.
Alia’s Instagram made the movie marketing even more subtle and impactful.
The Youtube Trailer Release
Soon followed the trailer release of Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva, which was dropped on Youtube that has garnered 28 million views on Star Studios’ page.
Not to forget, Alia and Ranbir announced their pregnancy a few days after unveiling the trailer. Guess the timing was just perfect?
Brahmāstra: The Vision (Marketing)
Only if the trailer was not enough to excite the audience for the film, director Ayan Mukerji came forward to share his vision of The Astraverse with the audience through social media.
The Filter Marketing
Making the best use of digital marketing, the trilogy’s team came up with a filter, “Which Astra Are You?”; this led to the audience creating a buzz on the internet for the movie.
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Meme Marketing
We all know how many memes were made once the entire Kesariya song was out. A few dialogues, too, saw netizens making memes.
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The team took it in good spirit and shared fan-made gems (as they called it) on digital space.
Fan-Focused Friday Campaign
Making every Friday FANtastic, the makers dedicated one post every week to Brahmastra fans, asking them to upload videos to get featured on the film’s official social media page.
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Well, no matter how these films perform at the box office, they definitely caught the eyes of the digital space with their movie marketing strategies.
Also Read more about digital marketing for cinema from our blog: https://vihaandigitals.com/blog/marketing-movies-for-businessmen/
