MUMBAI: The session 'Multiple Revenue streams for entertainment industry:
Out of the 'box' thinking' had some innovative and bold
suggestions coming from Neeraj Roy who co-ordinated
the panel, producer Harish Dayani, Sandip Das (CEO, Hutchison Max Telecom Limited), Rajesh Jejurikar (Marketing Head, Mahindra & Mahindra), Rohan Shah (Partner of Economic World Practice) and Manivel Melone (Business Development Director, FTV).

Das suggested that mobile phones can go a long way in helping the producer popularise his movie. "You can create a positive buzz about your product by showing music clippings and even film trailers to the people owning mobile phones. Believe it or not, today 70 per cent people in the US don't see a movie unless and until they have seen its trailer through Internet. I have data to tell you that by the end of 2003, more handsets than PCs will be connected to the Net. You could continue to keep your movie in the news by tying up with mobile companies and sending messages
across to the public.

In the resultant tie-up wherein the public has to reply through SMS with the mobile company, the producer obviously keeps a valid and deserving share."

Dayani said, "Why not tie up with brands and introduce advertisements in the theatre? Nobody will go out in the dark if an ad or two is shown after every half hour. As a producer if I have spent Rs 100, I want to recover more
than that. Gone are the days when a producer will wait for the movie to register box-office collections."

The audience did not seem to like Dayani's suggestion. The icing on the cake of objection came from a backbencher who said, "If the producer is thinking so much about his profit, I refuse to pay Rs 100 per ticket for a theatre viewing. Not more than Rs 20 please!"

Dayani still persisted. He said, "If the film script is good, the
idea will work. It has to be blended. For example, the Pepsi brand was beautifully weaven in Dil To Pagal Hai. But if the script is bad..." he trailed off. Being someone very closely associated to films and television, yours truly could easily understand that he was hinting towards Yaadein which had blatant advertising of 'Coke', 'Hero Cycles' and 'Paas Paas'. Finally, Dayani suggested that even at the beginning and end of music casettes, a jingle of the product could be used to advertise.

Jejurikar commented on brands. He said, "Brands are about promises made to consumers. Consumer form images. These are called brand associations. Associations could be either physical or psychological. Associations are created through touch points- press, TV, internet."

He continued, "Films are fashion leaders. Like, Shah Rukh Khan's Polo shirts of Kuch Kuch hota Hai had become a rage. So brands and producers can tie up with each other, and the brand association can be built faster with a celebrity. There's nothing wrong in that, if the mutual association benefits both the parties without harming anybody."

Rohan Shah eschewed, "Earlier the consumer had no choice. The entertainment was restricted to cinema and television. Today, there are a plethora of avenues made to entertain. In such a scenario, the multiple, rather the essential revenue required by a filmmaker, needs to be streamlined. Brand and producer could even jointly advertise the movie."

Melone signed it off by saying, "All the fair options of possible revenue deserve consideration. Business must always be developed. You have to ensure being resourceful."

The session: Multiple Revenue streams for entertainment industry: Out of the 'box' thinking

Moderator: Neeraj Roy, Hungama.com chairman and MD