How they marketed Baahubali: A FPS White Paper

Baahubali lives up to its name,strong arms with marketing and production

A White Paper

10.07.2015

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Contents

www.famepersecond.com

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1. Background

2. Abstract

3. What’s the buzz all about?

4. How has it hit the home run in the marketing arena

5. Is Baahubali India’s way of saying “This is Sparta!”?

Source(s)

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Background:Big budget movies in India mean shadows of our literally precious superstars looming over them. So when someone says that Baahubali is the most expensive movie in India and that it has spent more on production than on the cast, then it makes us all strain our ears.

We weren’t really surprised when Karan Johar who is presenting the Hindi version of the film tweeted a picture of a one-kilometre long line in Hyderabad for its advanced booking. If you are, then we are sorry to say that you might have to come out of the rock that you have been camping under and hear the bells.

In this whitepaper we will discuss how and why the movie has managed to become the talk of the town (read world)


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Abstract:Baahubaali has the world waiting with bated breaths. Rarely have we seen such buzz around a regional movie and it has surprised many by the number of eyeballs it expects to grab at the screenings. What about the film makes it so special? This whitepaper intend to address just that question and the answer to which has been structured in three chapters.

Chapter 1: What’s the buzz all about?

Chapter 2: How has it hit the home run in the marketing arena?

Chapter 3: Is Bahubali India’s way of saying “This is Sparta!”?


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What’s the buzz all about?


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Baahubali directed by Telugu hitmaker S.S. Rajamouli (in two parts) is reportedly the most expensive movie made in India, costing up to 250 crores. So much for a period drama in Indian Landscape is even more astonishing. So it might not be exaggerating if we were to call it India’s answer to Hollywood period shows such as Ben-Hur, Troy, Gladiator and 300. Baahubali is releasing worldwide this Friday (July 10), in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam in nearly 4,000 screens worldwide. The film features top south Indian artistes such as Prabhas, Rana, Anushka, Tamannaah, Sathyaraj, Nassar and Ramya Krishnan in key roles.

The director has apparently been working on the film for the last 3 years. The director has made a name for himself for knowing his way around with special effects, as evident in super blockbusters like Magadheera and Eega. But this time he has taken a step further to involve twenty-six VFX Studios (Indian and international) and 600 graphic artists worked to give it the humongous VFX experience. He had also roped in the best of technicians and National Award winners like production designer Sabu Cyril, music director Keeravani and visual effects supervisor V. Srinivas Mohan. A master stroke really. We are sitting at the edge of our seats their collected efforts to play on screen and enthral us.

How has it hit the home run in the marketing arena?It’s a runaway marketing success and there are multiple reasons for it, that have all come together like ingredients to a perfect concoction.

Firsty, the production houses must have sniffed its potential too because rarely have so many big shots joined hands to market a film. Baahubali produced by Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni, is being marketed by the producers themselves through their Arka Mediaworks in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The others involved are — Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions in Hindi, Studio Green’s K.E. Gnanavel Raja in Tamil (through Sri Thenandal Films), Global United Media in Kerala and the U.S.-based BlueSky Cinemas overseas.

Baahubali is dealing in no less than hundreds and thousands when it comes to screen openings in South India. In Tamil Nadu, the film will be reportedly released on 350 screens and in Kerala, the Tamil version of Baahubali is being dubbed into Malayalam where it will open in a record 225 screens.

The main market for Baahubali remains Andhra Pradesh and Telangana where it will be released on 1600 screens with tickets being sold at record prices.

But the real icing in the cake has been its intelligent use of new media. Be it social media or the online store.

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Over the past year, they have invested on social networks, mainly Facebook, YouTube and Twitter and have enthralled users with teasers and domineering posters.

Also, the Gen X doesn’t really complain much when they have options of merchandise to show their approval of art and that’s where posters and Logo t-shirts, V necks and hoodies on the online store have stolen the show.

Young and old all have been swooned and are already fans of the movie and we are pretty sure the effect will be very much visible on the box office numbers too


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Is Baahubali India’s way of saying “This is Sparta!”?It will be safe to say that Baahubali has set a benchmark as far as Indian Cinema is concerned. It has added quite a few rare records up its sleeve. A period drama with a star studded cast, this costly, and that to so much spent on production, has been matched with involvement of big names in production houses and extensive marketing.

There is a lot riding on the film and it’s not just money. 8th of July, the film has completed its 500 days of making. That information itself, if not anything, shows that stakes are high and we are delighted that it’s not lost on the movie-crazy nation. We wish Baahubali the very best, because with its success, it will blaze the trail for an era where we no longer have to turn to Hollywood to satisfy our needs of extravagant period dramas.


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Sources:1. www.thehindu.com

2. www.thewordlypost.com

3. www.saddahaq.com

4. www.apnewscorner.com

5. www.variety.com


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Disclaimer: All pictures have been downloaded from the internet. No copyright infringement intended.

How they marketed Baahubali: A FPS White Paper

Marketing

marketing arena

baahubali indias way

home run

expensive movie

indias answer

regional movie

runaway marketing success

bahubali indias way