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How blockbusters are redefining marketing strategies?, ET BrandEquity

How blockbusters are redefining marketing strategies?, ET BrandEquity


<p>AI-generated representative image</p>
AI-generated representative image

By Vaishal Dalal

Blockbusters are not just a means of entertainment; they have served as advertising innovations. The expansion of these cinematic universes begins to dictate marketing strategies. The connective strings between storytelling and consumer engagement are, in fact, turning the industry around.

The Synergy between Films and Marketing

Blockbuster films provide unique opportunities for brands that want to connect with the global populace. Strategic partnerships between movie makers and advertisers facilitate easy ways of incorporating products into those cultural phenomena that will engulf the film.

For example, social media marketing for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 effectively leveraged nostalgia and fan engagement, with viral campaigns around iconic music, dance challenges, and actor interactions. The use of influencer collaborations, digital content, and festive events like Garba performances ensured a wide-reaching and relatable promotion. These strategies kept the movie top-of-mind, especially among younger audiences, driving anticipation and excitement.
Similarly, with almost twenty partnerships, including Thums Up, JK Tyre, and Beardo, Pushpa 2: The Rule revolutionized movie-brand collaborations by artfully incorporating items into its advertising. Thums Up’s high-energy commercial, which features Allu Arjun and echoes the film’s bold spirit, is a good example of how ads can increase exposure for both the company and the film. Strategic branding in the form of these collaborations amplifies cinematic reach.These kinds of partnerships prove that movies can indeed be cross-industry connectors. They provide value not only to moviegoers but also to gamers, shoppers, and online communities, hence creating a multi-dimensional promotional impact.

Social Media as the Amplifier

Social media is an important catalyst for the movie-based marketing campaign. Stretching much wider with its viral trends, user-generating content, and community engagement, it spanned much wider. Beyond collaborations with other heavyweights like Just Eat and Domino’s Pizza, Season 2 of Squid Game also leveraged social media and influencer-driven campaigns to create significant hype.

The campaign kept both the show in the news and the fans hyped and engaged, with exclusive content including mobile game Squid Game Unleashed, while cruising the wave of global K-wave for its Korean culture. The combination of such strategic partnerships and immersive storytelling became the backbone of the cultural phenomenon that was Squid Game.

While the audience is part of the major marketing journey with the help of social media, they are not just passive onlookers. Hashtag campaigns, co-creative content, and collaborations with influencers-like those based on brands and creators-invite inclusiveness and build emotional connections to the film and its themes.

The High Stakes of Film Advertising Budget

The scale of film-driven advertising campaigns often is unparalleled with budgets at or over production costs. Such an investment reflects the high stakes in blockbuster success. Fully integrated campaigns into traditional advertising, digital platforms, merchandise, and experiential marketing ensure the most inclusive audience reach.
From billboards and television commercials to in-app advertising and theme-based retail items, every touch point is tied to the film to catch its essence. In return, the multi-layered approach makes the movie stay in the minds of consumers across different consumer bases, both in selling tickets and ancillary streams.

Looking Ahead: The Evolution of Advertising

Film-driven advertising will continue to develop along the lines of complete customer journey and relevancy as technology evolves. Artificial intelligence and big data analytics enable hyper-targeted campaigns that tailor their efforts to audience preferences. Anticipating further in the future, it appears that augmented and virtual realities will enable the films to host unique and interactive experiences for their fans, based within their favorite cinematic worlds.

Another thing is that ads have now become as entertaining as the movies themselves. Campaigns are more or less like short films or gamified experiences where advertising is combined with entertainment in a way that feels less like marketing and more like an extension of the movie’s story.

The Bigger Impact

This replicates the increased consolidation of media, technology, and consumer participation. Such campaigns not only rev up box office performance but also change the way brands connect to their audience. By hooking on to these iconic cinematic tales, brands may connect further with emotionally powered moves made within a film as well as those global appreciations of themes. In a word, blockbuster films are no longer events in themselves.

Today, they become cornerstones for modern advertisement, driving innovative change within industries and creating a standard for consumer engagement. The more this technology advances, the more creative potential there may be for even more innovative campaigns that mold the future into cinema and marketing.

(The author is the co-founder and director, Excellent Publicity.)

  • Published On Dec 31, 2024 at 08:55 AM IST

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