FilmIndia (1940)

FILMINDlA April 1940 which are popular. Because it Is just a criminal waste of money to advertise in a medium without a good circulation. In our film industry, advertising has become more a blackmailing racket than a commercial necessity. And once again the producers are to blame for it. They must first decide v/hether they are in this business of production for their health or not. At present I find the producers advertising indiscriminately in a hundred useless media without any circulation. New dailies, seasonal periodicals, film weeklies and monthlies with paltry circulation can easily be eliminated from the producer's publicity budget. If in retaliation these papers choose to blackmail the producers, the producers should remember the one fundamental fact that very few people read these papers and the blackmail therefore becomes ineffective. Publicity to be effective must be sensibly distributed and the only index for doing so is the circulation meter. THREE MAIN HEADS In a brief article like this, it will be impossible to discuss all the problems of publicity. However, let me summarise the main aspects to provide some guidance to those serious producers who mean business. Film publicity can be divided m three main parts: 1. Institutional Publicity. 2. Advance or Pre-release Publicity. 3. After Release Publicity. 1. The Institutional Publicity is the general advertising campaign of the producer, always active, giving his production plans, plots, themes, names, stars, and studio news, by paid advertisement copy, pictorial display or free studio news in different trade magazines and periodicals. It is primarily intended for the trade and for the active film fans who read this specialized film literature. This publicity is intended to create a constant good will of the film fans and key up their desire upto the time of release. The media for this Institutional Publicity should be provincially representative film periodicals with good circulation. 2. Advance or Pre-Release Publicity should begin a fortnight before the release of a picture in a key city. This is the time when the dailies and the news weeklies step in to boost the picture. At this stage the advertising campaign has to be carefully planned, studying the subject of the picture to be advertised, the probable audience reaction, its appeal to a particular class of society, the possible media of approach, the methods of approach, the percentage of exaggeration that will be convincing, but at all times by being honest on the description, qualitative, of the product advertised. Space buying should be done on an increasing scale till the largest possible space within the limits of the budget is reached on the first day of the release. 3. After Release Publicity depends to a large extent on the audience reaction to the picture in the first few days. If a certain aspect of the picture appeals to a large section of the audience, a wise publicity man will exploit that aspect more thoroughly in his future copy. It is the primary duty of the publicity manager to study audience reaction by mixing up with the people and asking questions. How many of our publicity managers do that is beside the point. Space buying at this stage is a simpler matter. A weekly flare of big space in the prominent dailies with a few inches every day to advertise the programme timings would suit an average good picture which has drama and material enough to appeal to the public. But the once-a-week big copy must be unusual to leave a week's memory behind. PUBLICITY MEANS SELLING But publicity is not merely a selection of the right papers and buying space according to a schedule. Publicity means selling. And to sell, it must be effective. And to be effective it must be correctly written. And to write it correctly, the publicity man must dispassionately evaluate his own product, weigh his chances of permissible exagge The latest technique of teaching English as practised by Damuanna on Meenakshi in "Ardhangi" a Huns Picture. 44