 "Look before you film, say brands")
Movies offer a perfect advertising platform for brands, especially destination marketers. After all, Indian films have moved on from the proverbial Swiss back-drop years back. So, what could possibly be a cause for concern for these destination brands? A few things.
The publicity and promotion of different tourist destinations in films also have the attendant risk of a negative portrayal. Worrying over brand protection is the flipside of in-film placements.
While companies are always on guard against unauthorised use of trademarks and brands in films, brand managers are equally cautious while allowing film-shoots on their properties by filtering movie scripts, laying down strict do's and dont's to ensure that the brand is not compromised.
Recently a Tamil movie titled Vai Raja Vai was filmed on one of Royal Caribbean's cruise ship. "The company has turned down (filming) opportunities in the recent past, as for us the disruption of an experience for regular revenue passengers or negative brand connotations is not acceptable. The brand is an asset to the company that has taken years to build at a great cost. Hence, the need to protect its erosion, irrespective of the one-time revenue opportunity," says Ratna Chadha, CEO of Tirun Travel Marketing, and the India representative of Royal Caribbean Cruises.
Apart from a scene that might create a negative image for the cruise industry being a taboo, the company also turns down shooting requests that are not in sync with its policies. So, a movie scene on-board can not have pets as they are not allowed on board. Flashing weapons on board its ships is prohibited too.
Tourism bodies who keenly market their countries and cities to get featured in the world's largest movie industry, too, are wary of the nature of depiction of the local culture. "Films work as virtual brochures and offer more subtle ways of marketing compared to traditional tourism campaigns. Also, through films, we are able to reach a wider and diverse audience. We filter the movies at the script-stage itself. If we feel the script of the film does not adhere to our brand's image, we do not proceed with the project. Also, if the sequences that are required to be shot are opposed to the culture of Oman, then we request the production house to alter the scenes," says Lubaina Sheerazi, the India representative of Oman tourism ministry. In 2013, Balaji Telefilms produced Once Upon A time in Mumbai Dobaara and shot a part of it in Oman. A song from Yashraj Film's Gunday was filmed in the Gulf state last year.
"We avoid violence, or anything risque and anything that falsely depicts the destination. We make sure we are present on location so that no content beyond what is agreed upon is shot at our destinations. We first have a legal contract in place with all parties involved, clearly stating the do's and don'ts," says Ryna Sequeira of Tourism Queensland (Australia). Films such as Singh is King and Shaadi ke Side Effects were shot in the Australian state. When a shooting request involved scenes with an orangutan as the lead in a movie with a big Bollywood star, Tourism Queensland declined it.
Consumer brands wary too
Even FMCG and consumer durable companies take due precautions while partnering with film-makers. "We make sure that our brand is shown in a positive light. For this we ascertain that all brand integrations are pre-approved by Videocon. In the past, we have been associated with super-hit movies like Chennai Express, Ra.One and Hungama. This year we have partnered with the upcoming Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Happy New Year," says Sunil Tandon, group chief marketing officer, Videocon.
Nitin Potdar, partner, J Sagar Associates, says that India still has miles to go in its bid to safeguard against the pitfalls of shooting. "India ranks among the largest producers of films in the world. But an understanding of the rights and responsibilities in the event one is letting out one's premises for shooting is still elementary," he says.
Gowree Gokhale, partner, media & entertainment, Nishith Desai & Associates, says, "What we are speaking of here is risk to reputation. While it is nascent in India compared to the strictures prevalent abroad, people are beginning to take cognisance of the need to safeguard against the risks involved during shooting or filming of scenes. Educational institutions, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, cruise liners and most premise owners now have clauses in place to safeguard themselves from these risk factors."
Some educational institutions insist that names of their institutes should be blurred or morphed and a fictitious name used instead. Some insist that no derogatory scenes (such as those depicting rape, murder or molestation) or acts of terrorism or hijacking be filmed.
According to legal experts abroad, most premise owners are aware of their rights and responsibilities and have water-tight clauses in place. Safeguards against reputation risk prescribes that no such scene can be filmed that can project the premise or the brand pejoratively. For instance, it is not uncommon for studios to seek permission from people who have come into a scene while filming at a public place.
Studios make it a point to seek permission from them once it has been found that they are in the scene even if inadvertently. This is done is to prevent them from seeking damages for being filmed without their permission. For now, it is the larger entities - the brands - which are making the rules of use stricter even as brand integrations turn more seamless.
The publicity and promotion of different tourist destinations in films also have the attendant risk of a negative portrayal. Worrying over brand protection is the flipside of in-film placements.
While companies are always on guard against unauthorised use of trademarks and brands in films, brand managers are equally cautious while allowing film-shoots on their properties by filtering movie scripts, laying down strict do's and dont's to ensure that the brand is not compromised.
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For instance, Royal Caribbean Cruises is careful to not allow scenes like gang violence shot on-board and depiction of a suicide by an actor jumping over-board. Such scenes are deemed as creating negative publicity for the brand, with the potential to do more harm than good.
Recently a Tamil movie titled Vai Raja Vai was filmed on one of Royal Caribbean's cruise ship. "The company has turned down (filming) opportunities in the recent past, as for us the disruption of an experience for regular revenue passengers or negative brand connotations is not acceptable. The brand is an asset to the company that has taken years to build at a great cost. Hence, the need to protect its erosion, irrespective of the one-time revenue opportunity," says Ratna Chadha, CEO of Tirun Travel Marketing, and the India representative of Royal Caribbean Cruises.
Apart from a scene that might create a negative image for the cruise industry being a taboo, the company also turns down shooting requests that are not in sync with its policies. So, a movie scene on-board can not have pets as they are not allowed on board. Flashing weapons on board its ships is prohibited too.
Tourism bodies who keenly market their countries and cities to get featured in the world's largest movie industry, too, are wary of the nature of depiction of the local culture. "Films work as virtual brochures and offer more subtle ways of marketing compared to traditional tourism campaigns. Also, through films, we are able to reach a wider and diverse audience. We filter the movies at the script-stage itself. If we feel the script of the film does not adhere to our brand's image, we do not proceed with the project. Also, if the sequences that are required to be shot are opposed to the culture of Oman, then we request the production house to alter the scenes," says Lubaina Sheerazi, the India representative of Oman tourism ministry. In 2013, Balaji Telefilms produced Once Upon A time in Mumbai Dobaara and shot a part of it in Oman. A song from Yashraj Film's Gunday was filmed in the Gulf state last year.
"We avoid violence, or anything risque and anything that falsely depicts the destination. We make sure we are present on location so that no content beyond what is agreed upon is shot at our destinations. We first have a legal contract in place with all parties involved, clearly stating the do's and don'ts," says Ryna Sequeira of Tourism Queensland (Australia). Films such as Singh is King and Shaadi ke Side Effects were shot in the Australian state. When a shooting request involved scenes with an orangutan as the lead in a movie with a big Bollywood star, Tourism Queensland declined it.
Consumer brands wary too
Even FMCG and consumer durable companies take due precautions while partnering with film-makers. "We make sure that our brand is shown in a positive light. For this we ascertain that all brand integrations are pre-approved by Videocon. In the past, we have been associated with super-hit movies like Chennai Express, Ra.One and Hungama. This year we have partnered with the upcoming Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Happy New Year," says Sunil Tandon, group chief marketing officer, Videocon.
Nitin Potdar, partner, J Sagar Associates, says that India still has miles to go in its bid to safeguard against the pitfalls of shooting. "India ranks among the largest producers of films in the world. But an understanding of the rights and responsibilities in the event one is letting out one's premises for shooting is still elementary," he says.
Gowree Gokhale, partner, media & entertainment, Nishith Desai & Associates, says, "What we are speaking of here is risk to reputation. While it is nascent in India compared to the strictures prevalent abroad, people are beginning to take cognisance of the need to safeguard against the risks involved during shooting or filming of scenes. Educational institutions, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, cruise liners and most premise owners now have clauses in place to safeguard themselves from these risk factors."
Some educational institutions insist that names of their institutes should be blurred or morphed and a fictitious name used instead. Some insist that no derogatory scenes (such as those depicting rape, murder or molestation) or acts of terrorism or hijacking be filmed.
According to legal experts abroad, most premise owners are aware of their rights and responsibilities and have water-tight clauses in place. Safeguards against reputation risk prescribes that no such scene can be filmed that can project the premise or the brand pejoratively. For instance, it is not uncommon for studios to seek permission from people who have come into a scene while filming at a public place.
Studios make it a point to seek permission from them once it has been found that they are in the scene even if inadvertently. This is done is to prevent them from seeking damages for being filmed without their permission. For now, it is the larger entities - the brands - which are making the rules of use stricter even as brand integrations turn more seamless.