Profitable wrangle: Bollywood's rewarding tryst with innovative marketing continues with the success of Hum Tum

Very few among the star-struck teeny boppers thronging suburban multiplexes to lap up Yash Raj Films' latest syrupy offering are aware of how a freshly-minted IIM graduate-barely a few years older than them-helped make Hum Tum a box-office success.

For at the heart of Hum Tum's success-it has already netted Rs 8.44 crore in the last two weeks in India and was ranked # 6 in terms of box office takings in the UK-lies some of the savviest and most innovative marketing to emerge out of Bollywood in recent times. The seeds were sown way back in July last year, when Yash Raj films' in-house marketing department got together. Director Kunal Kohli had just finalised the script of the When Harry Met Sally-inspired romantic comedy but Yash Raj Films' vice chairman Aditya Chopra wanted a concrete marketing plan in place, even before shooting began, something unheard of in fly-by-impulse Bollywood.

"In one line, the central theme of men vs. women, 'battle of the sexes' had to be effectively and innovatively communicated to the widest possible audience," recalls Tarun Tripathi, Senior Executive, Marketing, Yash Raj Films. Nothing new there. The trick and skill lay in cutting through the clutter. It was then that 25-year-old Tripathi-he joined Yash Raj Films almost three years back, straight out of IIM Lucknow-hit upon the idea of using cartoons strips; the protagonist Karan Kapoor (essayed on screen by Saif Ali Khan) was a cartoonist, and this is just what marketing theorists term 360 degree branding.

The tie-up with The Times Of India ensured that in return for in-movie placement and exposure, Yash Raj got to run 45 customised comic strips across nine weeks in TOI editions across the country. "In one stroke we got a sustained pan-India presence, which generated immense awareness about the forthcoming film," says Tripathi, who is part of the six-member youthful marketing team that is internally referred to as Yash Raj Film's backside, an allusion to where the members sit, in the rear of the company's offices in Juhu, Mumbai.

The TOI deal was one pillar of YRF's four-pronged marketing strategy of ensuring that Hum Tum's characters reached out beyond the theatre to potential audiences; the other three involved tie-ups with MTV, Sony Entertainment Television and (Frito) Lays.

Hum Tum's target audience of 16-24 year olds made music channel MTV a perfect fit. The Hum Tum cartoon characters-spiky haired Hum and wide-eyed Tum-featured in a customised MTV channel logo. MTV also co-produced a music video featuring UK-based crossover artist, Rishi Rich, and a part of Hum Tum's soundtrack. The channel, which recently started joint promotions with local production houses (it has been associated with movies like Masti, Main Hoon Na and Ab Tak Chappan), in turn got access to exclusive star interviews and movie content. "In fact, internal research that we conducted across multiplexes in Mumbai for Hum Tum tell us that 60 per cent of the traffic generated is attributable to mtv's communication," says a visibly pleased Cyrus Oshidar, VP, Creative and Content, mtv Networks India. Then there is the much-talked about promotion with Sony Entertainment Television's latest soap, Jassi... featuring the eponymous bespectacled and brace-wearing Plain Jane.

CARTOON CHARACTERS HUM AND TUM ARE PRETTY POPULAR IN INDIA

Over six episodes, the Hum Tum cartoon strip was woven into the script of the soap, culminating in a meeting between Karan Kapoor and Jassi, something that Sunil Lulla, Executive VP, set, calls "a touch point of reality". And while these piqued curiosity and generated awareness, it was supplemented with on-the-ground campaigns. Lays did its bit for brand ambassador Saif Ali Khan. Two special flavours, Masala Cooler and Cool Cucumber, were launched and in return for in-film placement in one of the movie's animation segments, Hum Tum got its pound of branding flesh on 20 million Lays chips packs and a special TV-SMS campaign. "Advance bookings were 100 per cent; a sure sign that the campaigns hit their mark," gushes Tripathi.

Not that Yash Raj Films were pioneers. Ask any Bollywood buff and he'll reel off a long list of recent releases that have effectively used modern marketing and promotional tools. Ram Gopal Verma's Darna Mana Hai boasted an interactive website, Kal Ho Na Ho's joint promotion with Reliance Web World rocked, Koi Mil Gaya and Lagaan had their merchandising-all these have not just helped push awareness but also opened up multiple revenue streams. The advent of multiplexes has meant that movie going audiences can be "segmented" and more buzz created with smaller budgets. The emotional connect that movies and their association provides has marketers salivating. "The forthcoming Sajid Nadiadwala feature Mujhse Shaadi Karoge will be accompanied by a campaign where you get to propose to the love of your life over a cup of coffee," says Sudipta Sengupta, Head, Marketing, Café Coffee Day, which has been fruitfully associated with recent movies like Yuva and Khakee.

The reticent Aditya Chopra, referred to as "Adi" within Yash Raj Films, is not only the de facto creative head of the company, but also reported to be very marketing savvy. It shouldn't surprise anyone, then, that YRF used demographic segmentation to target opinion makers in urban centres for Hum Tum. The logic? These people would then help promote the film through word of mouth.

Yash Raj Films will not disclose how much went into the promotion effort, but insists that it isn't more than the standard 10 per cent of production costs. Clearly, it is happy with the bang for its buck. "The communication was spot on with expectations matching reality," says Komal Nahata of Film Information, a trade journal. That's a point. Given that a film's success depends on its content, not marketing strategy, too much promotional effort can often result in disaster. "Unlike products, with films one should always be careful not to over-hype things," says Saugata Gupta, Head, Marketing, Marico Industries. "Otherwise unrealistic expectations are built up even before one gets to see the movie, and that can badly backfire". Fortunately, that didn't happen with Hum Tum.