Toilet Ek Prem Katha - a clean digital marketing strategy

Social Samosa takes a look at Toilet Ek Prem Katha’s strong marketing strategy, which includes riding on the Swachh Bharat wave, collaborative content with influencers and getting celebrities to do fun activities on social media as a part of the film endorsements.

After a well-strategized promotion, Toilet Ek Prem Katha, starring Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar has finally hit the screens today. It is a story where Bhumi leaves her husband Akshay on the first day of their marriage after discovering that he doesn’t have a toilet. The story is about a fight which he does to get his wife back home and change the age-old beliefs that a toilet can’t be made inside the home. The film talks about the need for sanitation and an end to open defecation.

Owing to the subject of the movie, it has already created a lot of buzz, including appreciation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is also closely associated with the PM’s ‘Swachh Bharat’ project. There was also news that the film will get associated with Indian Railways and the latter will allow the team to brand the toilet doors of select trains and station platforms with its posters.

The movie got a huge fillip from Bollywood celebrities who promoted the film through quirky and fun videos on Twitter, urging the audience to go and watch the film and relevant sanitation brands getting associated with Toilet Ek Prem Katha. In addition to these, the protagonists of the movie Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar appeared extensively in press conferences and also in front of the public eyes.

On August 7, Akshay Kumar unveiled 24 toilets over 24 hours in Instagram, in partnership with CAYA Constructs. Kumar and Pednekar also met the Chief Minister of the Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath to extend their support to his cleanliness drive by taking up brooms and sweeping a school in Lucknow. As per reports, the CM ordered the movie tax-free in the state as well.

Trailer launch

Riding on the nation’s love for cricket, the film launched their trailer during the mid-innings show of India Vs South Africa Champions Trophy on June 11. On YouTube, the trailer has clocked a whopping 29 million views since then.

The anthem for the Toilet song titled ‘Toilet ka Jugaad video’, hummed by Akshay Kumar himself has garnered 4 million views on YouTube in such a short time.

Associated closely with Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

According to reports, right after Akshay Kumar was honored with the Best Actor award at 2017 National Film Awards; he met Modi and informed him about his upcoming film. On Twitter as well, PM appreciated the actor, which is inspired by Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Swachh Bharat Twitter handle has been promoting the movie as well.

Celebrity promotions

Almost the entire Bollywood fraternity came forward to promote ‘Toilet Ek Prem Katha’ through fun videos and Twitter messages, where they urged the audience to go and watch the movie. They lauded the subject and hoped the problem of open defecation to end soon with the movie.

Alia Bhatt & Karan Johar

Varun Dhawan

Richa Chadha

Manish Paul

Karanvir Bohra

Arjun Kapoor

Ranveer Singh

Sidharth Malhotra

Brands

A lot of brands have tied up with the movie and the association is being promoted extensively across television, print, radio and social media.

Reportedly, brands like PVR, Air Asia, PayTM, Astral, Cleanmate, Kajaria, eBay, Pee Safe, and Croma are associated with the movie. The objective behind the tie-up is to promote the message that open defecation is unhealthy and sanitary hygiene cannot be compromised.

Below are a few brands and their promotional activities on social media

Tie-ups with content creators

MissMalini

MissMalini along with the cast of Toilet Ek Prem Katha released a funny take on what couples do before and after marriage.

FilterCopy

Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar appeared in the FilterCopy video where they enacted the weird thoughts which we have while we are in the toilet. To add to it, the worst feeling when we realize that we have forgotten to take our phone to the loo. The channel further invited people to comment on the video, sharing how they while away their time when they are stuck in such a situation.

WittyFeed

WittyFeed released their video titled ‘Toilet Pe Charcha’ with Akshay Kumar and Bhumi where they speak their heart out about the funny toilet activities.

Republic TV

Republic TV’s Editor-in-chief had 10 questions for Akshay Kumar in a 13-minute video as part of the promotion of his film. The discussions revolved around women safety, his martial class teachings, the stereotypes which still exists in the portrayal of women in films, the pay gap between actors and actresses even today.

Facebook Live

The press conference for Toilet Ek Prem Katha was streamed live on Facebook. Just before the release of the movie, Akshay also went to the Facebook office for a live chat with the audience.

The film has done a fabulous marketing job by riding on the Swachh Bharat initiative and getting a thumbs up from the Prime Minister, it surely grabbed enough eyeballs before the release itself. Whether Toilet Ek Prem Katha will do well at the box office or tackle the open defecation problem only time will tell.

What is your thought on it? Do let us know in the comments section below or write to us at team@socialsamosa.com.