Excel Home Videos, one of the most successful players in the home video segment has had a string of back to back DVD successes this year. The publisher is attributing quite a lot of that success to innovative synergy marketing.
Says M.N Kapasi, MD, Excel Home Videos, “Re- releasing DVDs coinciding with the theatrical release of their sequels (Pirates of the Caribbean, X-men), summer releases for children related movies (Narnia, Chicken Little), releasing DVDs relevant to topical events (Goal during FIFA world cup), or release of the documentary titled Cracking the Da Vinci Code during the controversy with the theatrical release has done wonders for these DVDs. Though Synergy is not a new concept in India, Home Entertainment segment here has witnessed scarce activity on this front.”
The success has merited attention from International Studios, who are bullish about the steady growth of the home entertainment segment in India. Says Rajat Jain, Managing Director, The Walt Disney Company (India), “We highly commend Excel’s ‘approach to market’ in this growing segment in India. This is a priority market for us and we continue to work closely with all our associates in growing the kids and family entertainment business. With presence in almost every entertainment media, Disney is best positioned to provide and support synergistic approach for our business relationships in India”
Kapasi added that “Merely coinciding the release hasn’t achieved us the feat. The entire effort has been well coordinated with effective pricing, DVD visibility in stores, innovative Advertising among other aspects”.
The success story began with the DVD re-release of the Brad Pitt starrer, Fight Club few weeks before its Hindi version hit the big screen. Though the Indian Fight Club was a non-starter at the box office, the English DVD did roaring business with the pre launch hype. Then came the biggest success story of the year, The Chronicles of Narnia, the DVD was released coinciding with the summer vacations. This along with some innovative marketing activities aimed at children created history by making it the highest selling Disney DVD in India. X-men DVDs released along side the theatrical release of X Men -3 further stamped the mantra.
Moving ahead, The Da Vinci Code DVD sold 4 times more than when it released a year ago. The FIFA cup world cup saw the most unusual DVD success. ‘Goal’, a movie based on soccer which went relatively unnoticed during its theatrical release, gained tremendously from the soccer frenzy that had gripped the nation. The DVD did well across the country especially in Bengal, Goa and Kerala apart from the metros.
The Theatrical hype and consequent success of the Pirates of the Caribbean, the DVD achieved the number one slot on the charts for over 8 weeks, a first time for any DVD re-release. The Trend continues with release of Pixar titles (Incredibles, Finding Nemo) coinciding with the pre release hype of Cars, the latest Pixar edition, the release of Manoj Shyamlan’s earlier collection alongside the latest Lady in Water.