Baahubali Case Study: Lessons for Digital Marketers
‘Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?’ became a household topic of conversation, thanks to the energetic team of Baahubali. Many fan theories came out along with some companies to promote their brand using this topic trying.
Two years before the release of the first part, a digital media marketing team worked tirelessly to build its online presence and generate interest in the film, 2013. Team Baahubali went on to create the first Telugu hashtag (#) on Twitter.
Baahubali has over 37 Lakh likes on the Facebook page, 2.54 lakh followers on Twitter, and 5.49 lakh subscribers on Youtube and still increasing day by day. It has become a great digital marketing case study that highlights how innovative digital marketing campaigns can enhance a product’s market success and help in meeting the organization’s desired goals. Digital marketing tools are immensely helpful in understanding the audience responded very well which gives way to continuous improvements and channelizes the campaigns in the right direction.
Digital Marketing Strategies Implemented;
- Even before the release date of the 1st part, the hype was created for the movie behind the scenes and the making of Baahubali videos
- Since the release of the first part, the film was in the collective memory of people. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are current digital marketing trends. The digital marketing strategy team worked hard to create the recall of the brand amongst the viewers which was necessary for the sequel’s success
- The beginning and the conclusion both had a gap of almost 2 years, but the Marketing team ensured people do not forget the hype and made the question a trending topic on the social media platform. “Why did Kattappa kill Baahubali?” was a trending topic and it was related to a billion-dollar question of the century
- Live video streaming along with #tag promotion on social media were the 2 most used strategies by team Baahubali
- Even after the release of both the movies, the team did a great job to create interest amongst the audience for the movie for a long time, which can be related to one of the bench-marking in the film industry using social media marketing
- Regular updates on social media about the film along with On-Set pictures were shared
- Producers share pictures showing the curiosity amongst people for the film which also helped for the promotion, in popular terms called vine videos on Twitter.
- Posting casting requirements on social media like Facebook, and showing, how the curiosity has been related to the movies?
- Interactive quiz on storygag.com- Set as a great example of post-release digital media marketing. The question included, Which Baahubali character are you? This helped in getting high engagement. Some lucky winners were rewarded with exclusive merchandise.
- Mostly video ads & motion posters were promoted using #tags which were made trending from 2013
Corporates and other production houses can take a leaf out of Baahubali’s marketing strategy to tap into the immense potential of the digital marketing space.
Video ads are increasingly emerging as one of the most effective digital marketing trends to create brand awareness. Live video feature started by Facebook followed by Twitter’s Periscope and Instagram’s Stories has become the hottest thing in social media marketing. Facebook’s growth has jumped immensely after the launch of the live feature and on New Year’s Eve, it reached record numbers. Instagram stories help brands create a teaser and short excitement amongst consumers related to their products.
Most companies are widening their focus in digital media marketing and more innovation by social media platforms is helping brands reach out to their customers more effectively. This has led to the tremendous growth of the industry and also to companies relying on the platform. A wide range of digital marketing tools is also emerging in the market as a result. Many digital marketing training centers have been birthed alongside which are gateways to exciting careers around the same.
The immense success of the Baahubali franchise can be equally credited to its social media team along with actors and directors. Baahubali has opened doors for the film industry to leverage digital marketing trends for better box office collections and social media marketing of their films.