POV: Was Ra.One an advertiser's dream or a cluttered nightmare for brands?

In probably the biggest-ever marketing blitzkrieg of its kind, the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer tied up with over 25 brands for co-branding. Did this association benefit the brands?

Pritie Jadhav

Chief operating officer, P9 Integrated

Success depends on what the brands wanted out of the tie-up. If their objective was to get on to the entertainment space, then they have achieved it well. If their objective was to generate brand recall and create brand visibility, then they have failed miserably.

Since they jumped on to the bandwagon, they must have certainly given it a thought. Many got on when there were already 18-19 brands on board.

The lack of choice of platforms could be one of the reasons why the brands decided to get on to a single platform such as Ra.One. This thought is rooted in the belief that if a film is overhyped, it is good for the brand. Brands need to put in more strategy in order to reap decent benefits out of their alliances with a film.

Embedded content has to be seamless - otherwise, it looks extremely jarring.

Nabankur Gupta

Founder, Nobby Brand Architects

As far as a co-branded effort with a film is concerned, a brand's association should stand apart as unique. Only then is the purpose of such an association served.

Twenty-five brands trying to share a single platform, no matter how successful, is a little too much. In case of in-film advertising, the showcase of a brand name or mention of a brand needs to be woven well into the story. For example, if Videocon is doing an in-film branding and there is a sequence in the movie that needs to be shot inside an electronic goods showroom, then Videocon should milk this opportunity.

In Ra.One's case, I believe, brands jumped because of Khan's association. But, if you look back, you cannot tell the brands associated with Ra.One's from those associated with Khan alone.

Vishal Gondal

Chief executive officer, UTV Indiagames

Ra.One has worked well for UTV Indiagames as it was the single-largest downloaded game for us. We have been associated with Ra.One from about nine months prior to its release. We were one of the few brands associated with it even before the buzz around the movie had gathered full strength.

I believe that children have been the biggest consumers of the movie and brands that had aimed to target children with their association with Ra.One benefited the most.

I have two children and I cannot count the number of times that we must have visited McDonald's to purchase Ra.One merchandise. Even platforms like Google+ and YouTube seem to have gained considerably owing to their association with the movie. From a gaming point of view, I believe that we hit the bull's eye with Ra.One.

Rajesh Iyer

Business director, Liquid Thread

Brands are falling over each other in trying to get into relationships with Don 2, thanks to the results of brand associations with Ra.One.

Each year, Khan has one large movie that differentiates itself from the rest. Ra.One's marketing has worked as far as the box office is concerned. As a consequence, the movie should have worked for the brands as well.

The disappointment is how some brands seemed to think that the association ended with their signing a contract with the film. They thought little of how to leverage the association beyond the logo presence.

However, a few did succeed. Western Union Money Transfer's spots were highly visible as they were skewed towards prime time and high-impact buys. McDonald's, Nerolac and Cinthol Deo used the association smartly by linking it to sales.