Vine: The Next Movie Marketing Tool?

Modern day marketing summons the presence of a mobile strategy in the marketing mix and has always been a tough nut to crack.

All marketing efforts are, and always have been, meant to be disruptive. Marketing that doesn't disrupt, doesn’t drive interest. In the age of digital disruption, staying relevant is not the key. Making an impact is. Albeit using compelling story-telling. What does it take to tell a powerful visual story?

Enter a slew of new visual sharing platforms. Instagram, Vine, Snapchat, Flipagram. These apps are designed to be entirely visual and natively mobile.

But what has really caught the attention of digital dream merchants is worthy of commendation. Considered the fastest growing app in the world, Vine is the emerging Twitter supported video app that thrives on crisp, creative video content, that too in 6 seconds. And Bollywood marketeers seem to have found another platform to hype their wares.

Are we speaking of uncharted waters? Not quite it seems, read on.

To ensure maximum buzz generation for the teaser launch of Detective Byomkesh Bakshy in the most unconventional way, makers of Detective Byomkesh Bakshy (a film made by Dibakar Banerjee & YRF), released three six second pre-teaser videos. Keeping the detective route intact, each of the videos served as clues for the build up of the teaser launch. A teaser like a teaser should be. This was the first time ever a Bollywood film released movie assets on Vine.

Another interesting application of the tool was implemented by Mary Kom, a recently released sports biopic. Fans of Mary Kom saw an extensive live event coverage through the usage of this platform. As good as a virtual entourage. Will more and more Bollywood films capitalize on 6 seconds of fame? Wheels have been set in motion and only time will tell.

But guess what, they’re not the only films to experiment with the video app. A couple of leading Production Houses have joined the bandwagon as well and have begun publishing content creatively.

Why the platform works?

Vine’s principal advantage lies is it’s limitation: the six second video limit. Brevity prompts creativity. It pressurizes content creators to be concise and creative at the same time. It’s a tool that allows a Bollywood marketeer to demonstrate emotionally engaging moments in flat seconds. That, in itself, is a powerful tool. Another merit lies in it’s platform. Since it’s primarily mobile, it serves the purpose of reaching the consumer on his mobile. Icing on the cake: a young-savvy audience base and an unmatched international exposure. A new technology, a new platform and an opportunity that equals a wide, wide sea.

Platform Limitations?

A handful. Once uploaded, there’s no tagging or editing capability. There is no monetization either thus presenting Bollywood marketeers with the challenge of creating monetized value. Unlike other social networks and platforms who’ve already established themselves in the Indian markets, Vine is relatively new on the digital horizon and is yet to make a mass appeal.

Different platforms lend themselves to different forms of content. Will Vine become the next big viral marketing tool for movie marketing? We’ll leave it for the Bollywood marketeers to explore.

It’s the era of short attention spans and short lived interests. Long live short form content!