21st century – the age of Smartphones! Varied Media Platforms! Instant access to almost everything!
You wake up to the umpteen notifications on your news feed or promotional messages on the phones.
So to make a mark on billions of people, marketing is the new genius.
TRAILERS– Four to five minutes’ snapped view of the bigger picture. And we all love watching movie trailers, don’t we?
YouTube probably owes a majority of its business to trailers. The present scenario is that this is an art form in itself now, sealing the fate of the picture much before the release. But this was not the case since start.
These short film previews have seen series of changes to reach this level. From simple casting to hay-wire snippets to stylish dance-song sequences to the mysterious bits, and today a mixture of all these to get the audience running to the theaters in the first week, trailer have come a long way.
Audience easily waited to watch these trailers either in the theaters or on television screens as promotional advertisements. They enjoyed knowing that a new film is set to release with such and such star cast.
But today, the trailer launch is given equal importance as the film release. Months before the release date, the trailer is out to create the buzz around the film. With cut throat competition, huge amounts are being spent on making your trailer the most viewed and downloaded.
Roadblock Advertisement-
In 2009, My Name is Khan Trailer was shown for the first time on television sets. At a fixed time of 10:00 pm, all the Star network channels aired the trailer. This kind of roadblock across the Star-Network does not come cheap for sure. The strategy obviously worked for the film!
YouTube–
When the audiences were waiting for Bollywood trailers on television sets or theaters, YouTube stood out as the alternative.
All the big films thrive on using YouTube channels nowadays to release the first look. Be it the Hindi trailer to Baahubali- The Conclusion (17,838,536 views) in 24 hours or the Tubelight teaser (15,779,834 views), within approximately 4 days, the numbers prove the craze.
Read More: Baahubali 2 Trailer Has Come At The Perfect Time
Live Chat Trailer-
The people behind Bhaag Milkha Bhaag planned a live chat trailer launch. They ran a contest to video chat with the actor and director, before the trailer release.
And by the end of the chat, the winners of the contest and Farhan Akhtar and Rakeysh Omprakash together launched the trailer in an online live chat, for the first time. Interesting, isn’t it?
WhatsApp the Trailer-
By the year 2014 every film started releasing its first preview online before the theaters and idiot boxes.
Yet again the creative Red Chillies tapped into the then most popular social media- WhatsApp and decided to WhatsApp the Happy New Year Trailer to the viewers while releasing simultaneously on YouTube. But once the video was passed into the WhatsApp web, who needed YouTube downloads! The trailer got
But once the video was passed into the WhatsApp web, who needed YouTube downloads! The trailer got more than 4 million views in just 24 hours, using yet another unconventional digital platform. We just love WhatsApp!
Reality Shows- More than a month before the release of
More than a month before the release of Tanu Weds Manu, the cast visited the reality show Master Chef. They took part in the Grand Finale of Master Chef to disclose and promote the fact that their film’s first preview is set to release. To
They took part in the Grand Finale of Master Chef to disclose and promote the fact that their film’s first preview is set to release. To publicise, even the trailer release, the star cast visited a reality show. New!
Twitter Tales – Releasing the trailer on Twitter might not be unconventional. But when one filmmaker releases the trailer of another filmmaker’s film, it surely is a great deal. On 8
Releasing the trailer on Twitter might not be unconventional. But when one filmmaker releases the trailer of another filmmaker’s film, it surely is a great deal. On 8
On 8th April 2015, Karan Johar launched the Trailer of Kunal Kohli’s ‘Phir Se’. Any trick to get into the mind space of the audience!
Trailers have also become a way of celebration.
On completing 1000 weeks of DDLJ, Yash Raj Films came out with a new trailer to celebrate this grand occasion. It was as if the film was being re-released with a new trailer gaining popularity on digital media.
And with the new trailer, moviegoers fell in love with Raj and Simran all over again!
Superman vs. Batman, that released in 2016 released its trailer a year early. This started a lot of discussion about the film and raised the curiosity of the viewers and made them anxious for the release.
But at the end these are just trailers, cause remember, Picture toh abhi Baaki hai mere dost!
Other Recommendations:
http://edtimes.in/2016/09/5-things-i-got-from-the-ae-dil-hai-mushkil-trailer/
http://edtimes.in/2017/04/half-girlfriend-gonna-half-cringeworthy-half-disgusting/