South First reports on what makes the filmmakers reach out to popular vloggers and the understanding behind the whole scenario.
The South Indian filmmakers are of late roping in social media influencers for film promotions. (Supplied)
Ask any prominent filmmaker or even someone new to the film industry, they would not only talk about the importance of quality content but equally emphasise more on film promotions, publicity, and marketing. After all, it is an industry where profits and returns matter too.
In the past, traditional methods of sticking wall posters and placing advertisements in print and television media helped filmmakers reach out to the cine audience. But now, modern filmmakers are exploring new means and ways. Social media is just one of those means in the advanced digital era.
South First reports on what makes the filmmakers reach out to popular vloggers and influences and the understanding behind the whole scenario. Has such paid promotional exercise been fruitful,
Let’s discuss it from the point of view of the South film industry.
A decade ago, a producer would worry little about film promotions while betting alone on the content. Now, it is as important as making a movie by itself.
There is a whole team of dedicated members strategising and planning the film promotions and publicity.
For instance, if the making of a movie costs ₹100 for a producer, an effective and modest promotion could cost him at least an extra ₹30 to ₹50. Some are even ready to shell out more money.
Vikas Sangam of Vickypedia, a popular vlogger in Kannada whose “Nanu Nandini” song went viral with millions of views across various platforms, tells South First that one of his sources of income also includes film promotions.
Vickypedia recently collaborated with the makers of the Kannada film Ghost where the vlogger went on to sketch a hilarious scene with their two popular characters — the two uncles in this case and the character played by Dr Shiva Rajkumar in Ghost (2023).
Like Vikas, there are dozens of such vloggers who are regularly collaborating with Kannada filmmakers, especially when their projects are ready for release.
Vlogger Gagan Srinivas, who runs his popular YouTube Channel under the name “Dr Bro”, was roped in as a voice-over artist for the introduction scene of Daredevil Musthafa (2023).
According to film PRO Harish Arasu, such collaborations are a win-win scenario for both vloggers and the film team.
“Though a majority are paid promotions, the uniqueness behind the publicity is what helps the publicity. Also, popular vloggers have a huge number of followers which certainly helps reach out to them. However, it works only when done creatively,” he adds.
Rajasekar, a leading influencer promoting Tamil films, shares his views on the role of influencers in films.
“The primary task of influencers is to create awareness among the masses about a film. Influencers have their way of creating awareness. Each one does it in his/her style. But invariably, they all look to give a heads-up to audiences about the mood of the film”
He adds, “For instance, if a small film’s release is around the corner, they will liken it to another small film that has succeeded at the box office. They would put out a tweet that is along the lines of, say, ‘If you liked the recently released hit film, you are bound to like this film too’.”
#Indian2 intro to be launched by Superstar Rajinikanth, SS Rajamouli, Aamir Khan and Mohanlal.
The grand biggie of @ikamalhaasan and @shankarshanmugh , produced by @LycaProductions pic.twitter.com/d45BtP2jbJ
— Rajasekar (@sekartweets) November 2, 2023
The basic awareness that the influencers create gets the initial set of viewers to watch a movie who then promote it by word of mouth. The influencers accelerate the word-of-mouth drive.
Rajasekhar adds, “However, all this will work only if the film is good. The influencers might get the initial set of viewers to watch it but if the film is bad, it will not work.”
On how influencers on different mediums got into film promotions over different periods, he notes, “Some five years ago, influencers popular on YouTube were sought by producers to promote their films. Then, influencers on X came into the picture and producers started creating awareness about films through them. Now, along with influencers on both these platforms, producers have begun using influencers on Instagram too.”
In 2021, Manju Warrier’s Chaturmukham was endorsed by social media influencers, including Mallu Traveller (Shakir Suban) and Food Hunter Sabu.
Lead actors of the movie, Manju Warrier and Sunny Wayne, were seen promoting the film with these social media influencers.
Chaturmukham wasn’t a tremendous success, but it was a hit.
Incidentally, Shakir Suban is absconding after a sexual harassment case has been filed against him based on a petition filed by a Saudi Arabian woman.
Baiju M Nair is an automobile journalist and he runs a YouTube channel on his name. During the release of Asif Ali’s Maheshum Marutiyum (2023), actor-producer Maniyan Pilla Raju had a conversation with Baiju on his YouTube channel with an old Maruti that was used in the flick.
It was a kind of promotion for the movie, but the film didn’t work at the box office.
However, in Malayalam, there are not many cases where filmmakers approach social media influencers since the latter are either not so good at film reviews or some of them are into targeted negative campaigns.
This is the reason why the Kerala High Court took serious note of the issue of motivated reviews and professional reviews.
Malayalam film bodies like the Kerala Film Producers Association and Film Employees Federation of Kerala chalked out new guidelines to tackle review bombing. The film bodies decided that only PROs and YouTube channels having accreditation would be allowed to do film promotions.
In fact, for the first time, the Kochi City police registered a case against nine accused of review bombing.
When it comes to Tollywood, social media influencers are making a massive impact on average audiences. From a teaser launch event to a film’s success meet, everything is conveyed to audiences with single one-liners — through a tweet, or a post on Instagram.
This “inshort” system of influencing an average ticket buyer to come to theatres is currently in vogue.
More importantly, actors and film producers are inclined to interact with memers and influencers while defying the existence of conventional media of print and web.
Taking a recent case, Ravi Teja interacted with fans, members, and social media influencers during the promotions of his Tiger Nageswara Rao (2023). More than about the film, the session was a typical meet-and-greet session between fans and their favourite star.
This social media tool can sometimes turn into a double-edged sword.
Take the case of Shaakuntalam (2023). Producer Dil Raju showed early premiers to memers before the release. The decision to show the movie to memers eventually backfired on Dil Raju’s plan to spread the word easily.
This left him high and dry. The first-day collections of Shaakuntalam and subsequent verdicts from the critics had burnt a hole in the pockets of makers.
But for the team of Samajavaragamana starring Sree Vishnu, the plan worked perfectly when positive talk emerged from the premier show. This time, it helped the makers reach out fast to the public.
Sometimes, it gets dicey for a film lover to find a genuine review through Twitter posts. With stakes running high on any high-budget film, makers are turning to social media influencers to lure audiences to come to the theatre.
When a heavy crowd of memers gather for pre-release premieres, it takes a backseat because you never know how many black sheep were hired.
A former film publicist and senior journalist in the field says, “Due to a PR-friendly approach, the influencers are thriving in the entertainment business. However, will it replace conventional journalism? is— the question that one should answer.”
The journo adds, “More than interviews with the regular media, the cast and crew are showing interest in getting interviewed by memers or fans. To make the conversation simple and lively. Who would want to answer calculative/logical questions?”
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