There is no doubt that films have the ability to leave deep impressions on the minds of viewers. Sometimes they are so enchanted by the movie that they want to take the movie home and moviegoers are able to do so by buying the merchandise that producers offer for a wider reach of the film. This time, Lyca Productions that has started selling Rajinikanth’s 2.0 official merchandise.
But how has Bollywood’s affair with the merchandising segment been all these years?
According to a FICCI-KPMG 2016 report on media and entertainment sector, licensing and merchandising currently constitutes a minuscule portion of the revenues for films.
There is immense potential for developing this revenue stream. However, this would need strong story lines and characters that resonate with the audience. This is expected to develop as more franchises get created. While merchandising clicks only for certain genres of films, filmmakers are actively exploring innovative ways to associate with the consumers.
And this was seen with film franchises like Dhoom, Krrish or the magnum opus Baahubali. Store shelves were flooded with figurines of Baahubali and Bhallaladeva, the two key characters from the Baahubali franchise along with replica weapons and swords from the film.
To tap the huge fan following of the film, makers of Baahubali got in the merchandise market with a bang and sold apparels, figurines, personalised debit cards, posters, mugs, badges, laptop skins, coasters, canvas prints, phone covers and accessories, VR glasses and more.
Reliance Entertainment had tied-up with Vishal Fashions for the 2014 release Holiday: a Soldier is Never off Duty starring Akshay Kumar. An exclusive range of ethnic wear was designed inspired by the movie. Cinema chain PVR had associated with Singham Returns to launch popcorn bags, sippers and lunch boxes inspired by the movie. Yash Raj Films went a step further and became the first Indian film studio to launch its own e-commerce store to sell merchandise.
And that’s not it. Salman Khan Films had joined hands with Silvostyle to create the famous Bajrangi Bhaijaan locket.
For Krrish 3, Film Kraft hired Dreamtheatre, a licensing agency, and it established partnerships with several brands including Havmor, an ice cream maker, as well as YES BANK and SIS securities, among others.
The film had also tied up with several companies and offered more than 250 types of licensed merchandise across the country including leading retailers, mom-and-pop stores and online. This merchandise was priced in the range of Rs 50 – 3,500.
Yash Raj Films had developed a number of licensed merchandise for Dhoom: 3 including character-based dolls and mobile games.
Shah Rukh Khan’s Fan, which released in 2016, had on offer an array of merchandise after it partnered with Vistaprint as its official merchandise partner. The range included t-shirts, tote bags, coffee mugs, posters and calendars. Fans could also customise words, expressions or photographs with Fan-themed designs.
When 1995 film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge had completed its thousand weeks in India, its makers had lined up merchandise. Amazon created an exclusive web store and sold products right from the iconic bell to books and other lifestyle products associated with the film. Director Aditya Chopra had penned down the experience of making the film in a book that was sold across all retail channels.
However, India's licensing and merchandising (L&M) industry is still at a nascent stage and accounts for only 0.4 percent of the global industry, according to FICC-KPMG 2015 report.
The industry is dominated by character and entertainment licensing which contributes an estimated 80 percent to India's licensed product market, the report added.
Films merchandising is still a very small portion of the Rs 40 billion India L&M industry.
Is the scenario changing?
With changing cinema viewing habits and the success of licensing and merchandising of movies such as Dhoom 3, Krrish 3, Baahubali, the market has started seeing an upswing in terms of strategic alliances between filmmakers and merchandising partners.
Factors such as pre-release interest, social media penetration, growing e-commerce and m-commerce, movie franchises, personalised and targeted marketing initiatives, consumer awareness wide-spread distribution networks and ease of access are providing the required impetus to licensed merchandising in India.
The film industry is moving beyond traditional merchandise and has started exploring other avenues of merchandising.
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