Page 117 - From Bombay to Bollywoord The Making of a Global Media Industri

104 << Marketing and Promotions in Bollywood

Explaining that MTV-India routinely conducts surveys across the city of
Bombay and occasionally in other cities in India to demonstrate the advan-
tages of promoting a film exclusively on MTV, she went on to say: “At the end
of the day, we need to explain to a producer or director why working with
MTV will improve the chances of a film’s success. No television channel can
afford to not do this.” Malhotra explained the process further with the help
of two PowerPoint presentations designed toward the end of 2004 to show-
case the benefits of promoting a film on MTV. The first presentation that she
opened on her computer was titled “Bollywood Rocks with MTV,” and sought
to position MTV in relation to fifteen other television channels in India.
Comparing metrics for MTV with other music-focused television channels
(Zee Music, ETC, B4U Music, etc.), channels dedicated to airing Hindi films
(Zee Cinema, Star Gold, B4 Movies, and the like) and general entertainment
channels (Star Plus, Sony, Zee TV, and so on), these slides claimed that more
MTV viewers watched films in theaters than any other channel. Pointing out
that six out of the ten top-earning Bollywood films of 2004 were “exclusively
tied up with MTV,” this presentation also claimed that high-profile films that
did not make significant profits also chose to work with MTV-India.
The second PowerPoint presentation that Malhotra proceeded to open
focused on Hum Tum (dir. Kunal Kohli, Yash Raj Films, 2004), with the goal
of “assessing the effect of promotions run on MTV on viewers’ decision to
see the movie Hum Tum.” Developed in collaboration with the IMRB (Inter-
national Market Research Bureau) and relying on standard market research
parlance, this presentation claimed that a maximum number of respon-
dents recalled seeing promotional spots on TV, that MTV “does best among
young, male, SEC A respondents,” and that 64 percent of respondents who
said they recalled seeing a Hum Tum promotion on MTV also said “seeing
ads/ promos on MTV made them feel like seeing Hum Tum.” Offering to
give me copies of the slides, Malhotra remarked: “I’m not sure these sorts of
presentations would have been effective or made much sense to film industry
people a few years ago. Now it’s different.”

***

“You Cannot Piss Off Anyone”

“Things have definitely changed in the past few years,” began Shashwat
Bhatt, a BBA-wielding (Bachelor’s in Business Administration) marketing
executive at Madison Mates, one of the leading advertising and marketing
companies in Bombay, when I asked him to reflect on his interactions with