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Why did Kattapa kill Baahubali? Was one of the reasons we watched Baahubali 2. But have you ever wondered what was in this question that created a buzz all around and created a trend? We all might have a different take on it but let's see it from the business perspective. The production team planned and executed a sequence of marketing and promotional strategies that resulted in Baahubali 2 to set records all over the world of cinema and earn profits counting up to billions in the initial week of release alone.
Marketing is not about telling tales, it's about making the consumer the protagonist. It’s not bizarre to mention this after talking about Baahubali 2.
The team behind the making of the movie had scrutinized their marketing strategy and implemented it with even more caution.
It is not wrong to say that the actual work done is never seen. The team had put into practice many of the marketing strategies. The production house of Baahubali had their own set of marketing mix with their product, place, price, and promotion. What made them different is the way they utilized them and marketed their product. A few of the strategies have been mentioned.
The marketing of Baahubali has an understated elegance attached to it. There has been no unnecessary over-hype and the marketers have let the product speak for itself. The creators created a huge buzz on social media through memes and posters targeting the youth audience cultivating a sense of curiosity, anticipation, and desire. The trend-setting question was the best tactic used by the marketers to keep the interest alive in the second part and had an immense recall value. It kept popping up now and then, even in discussions beyond the films across all age groups. The question was used in regular conversations and reminded people about its sequel. Seeing the trend of this phrase, the general public rewatched the first movie to understand the reference and the buzz it created. The first installment in this series grossed a whopping ₹600 crore worldwide. In India, ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’ became Facebook’s fourth most talked-about topic of the year 2015.
The official trailer of the second movie of the series gained 59.8 million views within the first 24 hours across the world when it was released online on 16th March 2017. The makers also designed a video game with the help of Moonfrog studio to capture the mind of the young crowd. Usually, youths are more tech-savvy than the older ones and the makers of Baahubali utilized this opportunity very precisely. They kept engaging the youth with the video game.
The team associated the movie with various popular brands and advertised both parties. The collaborating brands included Nestle, Britannia, Orient cement, McDonald’s, Airtel, ICICI bank. These collaborations were at their peak during the final stage of the release process. Shobu Yarlagadda, CEO of Arka MediaWorks, the production house of Baahubali 2, stated, “Brands will get access to our audiovisuals, pictures, and opportunities to enable consumers to meet and greet.
with the stars. In return, we will have the brand mentioned in the credits of the film.” The marketing team was exceedingly cautious to not let the viewers feel less important nor did they place the content second. It is extremely rigid to strike a balance between the two but team Baahubali makes it appear effortless. They made their content the king and the consumers the queen.
These were mere strategies from what the team used during the release period of the sequel. Apart from this the creators also saved a lot of money by effective promotion of their product.
The creators used paper cups to promote their movies. Seeing the use of paper cups at small tea stalls and other roadside stalls, seemed a very effective way to reach out to all social groups. The use of paper cups and not plastic cups also displayed the creator’s extensive strategy. The production house avoided the use of hoarding and boards. They rather invested in Bus branding. This method not just saved their promotion costs ( bus branding costing about 7k-10k ) but also expanded the reach of their customers. Another advantage that the Production house seized was to release the sequel during the IPL season. We are all aware of how enthusiastic the country is during the cricket season. The team used this opportunity to hype their product more and remind the viewers of its release.
By using elementary marketing techniques and cost-effective promotional activities the movie gained the public's attention and easily broke all the records with this cinematic blockbuster story. The product can be made the king and the customers crowned as the queen is a lesson for us to learn from this iconic masterpiece of Marketing and promotion. Using efficient tools we can frame the future of a product even before launching it. If we make the right choices and select the best sustainable alternatives, we all can enjoy some part of the profit. --- Kashika