Over 30 brands make beeline for Ranveer Singh starrer '83'

While the trailer of the much-awaited Ranveer Singh-starrer -‘83’ gives a glimpse of the historic moment of India winning the Cricket World Cup in 1983, it also gives a quick glance of the perimeter board which has the branding of close to seven brands including Mobil, Aqua Pura Mountain Water, Fevicol, Carrera Eyewear, Tide Power and KromaColor Film.

The film has roped in close to 35 brands for the perimeter branding, in-film associations, and out-of-film placement. Some of the brands include toothsi, which has a co-branded partnership with the film whereas brands like Nestle, Rupa and Finolex have an in-film placement. Industry experts believe that '83' is among the few films that has partnered with multiple brands. 

A source close to Reliance Entertainment shared, “These brand tie-ups are a good strategy for us to garner more media and also it helps the film to reach more audiences and territories. We have got a massive brand association for the film. We have done around 30-35 brand tie-ups for the film including in-film and out-film together."  

Since the film was set in 1983, all the brand tie-ups should make sense and have to be the right fit for the film. He said, "The key elements we looked for are that the brand association should make sense and match with the timeline of the film." Presented by Reliance Entertainment and Phantom Films, 83-a Kabir Khan Films Production is produced by Deepika Padukone, Kabir Khan, Vishnu Vardhan Induri, Sajid Nadiadwala, Phantom Films, Reliance Entertainment and 83 Film Ltd. A Reliance Entertainment and PVR Pictures release slated this Christmas on December 24, 2021 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.

The film with a blockbuster star cast, will be released in five languages, which clearly indicates why brands want to ride on it. Due to COVID-19, we have seen brands shrinking their marketing budgets but 35 brands coming on board is surely a positive sign, not just for the film but also for the industry.

He further added, "Earlier (Pre-COVID times) the brand had a bigger marketing budget so they wanted to indulge more but post-pandemic marketing budgets have reduced slightly. Brands are more skeptical about what will be the return on the investment as they don't want to take risks. However, we have seen that is changing now with our last two films Sooryavanshi and now 83. It's a temporary phase and I believe by next year it should be back to normal.”

According to market estimates, the cost of co-branded and out-of-film associations can range from Rs 40 lakhs to crores while the cost of a brand’s placement within a movie ranges from Rs 20-30 lakh to Rs 1 crore, depending on the star cast, brands and nature of the partnerships. 

“Brands have had very little opportunity to advertise and hence they are not letting any opportunity go away. They are apprehensive about the consumer uptake and the films have started to come out and therefore there is a lot of interest in certain types of film and in-film placements are becoming popular because they bring a subtle aspect of endorsement automatically. Therefore, certain types of brands which can have quick action/conversion will find better flavour in movie promotion,” said Brand expert and CEO, TRA, N Chandramouli. 

The question that arises is how much do these brand associations/tie-ups generate revenue for the film? Chandramouli shared that it all depends on how big the movie is, the star cast of the film, and on the popularity of the movie. He shared that James Bond movies had the highest brand tie-ups and were the best endorsement movie in recent times. “Brands look for the maximum exposure to its own target audience. Depending on multiple factors, the cost can vary and it can be up to 10% of the film’s revenue can come from the endorsements,” Chandramouli added. 

Ever since the announcement of 83, the movie has made headlines not just because of its storyline but also because it has the Bollywood power couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. Also, one can’t ignore the fact that it's a Kabir Khan film. 

Meanwhile, toothsi- a dental tech startup, which has partnered with the film and has a co-branded partnership, has launched a campaign #ChampionWaliSmile. In addition, toothsi has also announced a contest where winners get to meet Ranveer Singh or other cast members. They also stand to win free movie tickets on the purchase of toothsi invisible aligners.

Shuchita Wadhwa, Head of Marketing, toothsi said, “83- is the most-awaited film of the year and it's about an event in history that will talk about for a long time. Not many people know about aligners like they are aware of braces. For us, it was really important to get a credible face and to get more eyeballs to what we are talking about. Therefore we partnered with the film so that people will give more attention to what Ranveer Singh is saying.”

“Ranveer has a massive reach and the film is very much awaited. I believe that these standpoints will help our brand to get more eyeballs. This association will help us to go beyond digital and also reach out to people through other mediums. We have been planning to play these ads in TV, cinema and also looking for offline activation.” Wadhwa also noted that since the movie will have mass reach across regions, it will help the brand to reach out to their audiences even in tier II cities where the brand has not launched yet.  

Unlike Toothsi, Mobil, a brand of engine oil in India has an in-film association with ’83'. Mobil is the official engine oil partner for the film. This association is one amongst the several initiatives under the brand’s ‘Farak Laakar Dekhiye’ campaign, that encourages audiences to make a difference and see the change.

Imtiaz Ahmed, General Manager - Marketing Deployment (Consumer Marketing-B2C) at ExxonMobil Lubricants Private Limited shared, “We have been the worldwide leaders among synthetic motor oil since 2008 and it is validated by a company named Kline. Mobil as a brand has become colloquial in India for engine oil like how Surf is for detergent.” He further added, “As Indians, we connect with three things very well- Bollywood, Music and Cricket. We are connecting the brand with synthetics and this is the reason why we thought of associating with a property like 83 which connects with the B, M and C of our story. “

In the past, the brand has partnered with Rapper Raftar for a song video and is also associated with cricket series like India- Australia and India- England. “The connection is perfectly coming along with the movie. We are the exclusive fuel and energy partner for the '83' movie. We have a full-grown association with the film including perimeter branding, around film integration and in-film production integration.”

At the end of the movie trailer, Mobil branding is visible. The '83' movie trailer has already crossed 70 million views. Ahmed noted that the star cast is also talking about the brand in co-branded promos on their social media pages, giving an organic reach to the brand and reaching millions of Indian audiences.