Dil Dhadkane Do - movie marketing the social way

Today,  a movie's doesn't begin and end in three hours. It begins much earlier; across social media platforms. Dil Dhadakne Do began its journey a year in advance with Riteish Sadhwani's post.

Dil Dhadakne Do has gone through various marketing  phases on social media before it releases on 5th June 2015.

Shoot Location Updates

On Facebook, the cast put up pictures of locations, fun posts and on shoot moments. Users were constantly updated on what was happening on the sets of Dil Dhdakne Do.

Post Zoya Akhtar's previous success Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, this film was bound to create curiosity. These constant updates capitalised on that, built a relationship with their users, long before the film was to come out.

Unveiling the movie poster

Dil Dhadakne Do (DDD) set the ball rolling, when they unveiled the teaser poster, following which the offical poster was shared on social media. They had a countdown when unveiling the official poster, creating excitement, a sense of anticipation among its users. As a very important piece of information was divulged with the users (fans), it made them feel important. The excitement for DDD was officially on!

On Twitter, they unveiled multiple posters through a contest #14DaysToDDD which was also trending.

Introduction of characters and movie trivia

Movie Trivia were shared through various posts. Characters and the entire cast was introduced. Certain actors also spoke about their experience on the sets. This momentum was built for the ultimate surprise - the trailer.

Posts on Dubsmash videos of stars, memes with typical dialogues and dialogues of the movie were also shared. The launch of their songs were also talked about across social media platforms. Anushka Sharma also held a live twitter conversation with the excited fans.

Cast at The IPL Finals

The movie integrated their excitement into the IPL finals which garnered a tremedous response on Twitter. Minute by minute updates by the Dil Dhadakne Do cast created buzz on Twitter.

A contest to meet the stars of Dil Dhadakne Do has also begun on Facebook.

Smashed it !!!!!!!! Champions again !!!!!! #MI #DilDhadakneDoAtEden @FarOutAkhtar @AnilKapoor @ritesh_sid pic.twitter.com/DgfnYvzJJ3

— Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) May 24, 2015

A successful move? 

We already know, social media has the potential to reach out to a large audience bracket - from the already interested ones to the potentially interested ones.

Realising this, movies have taken to social media marketing, an effective strategy for both - fans and the movie. As exclusive information is shared, the fans feel privileged which results in more people talking about the movie.

The ROI for social media activities with respect to a movie is more visible  and can be justified, with box office sales, increasing fan pages, increasing song downloads, increasing conversations. The ROI is visible across both short term and long term campaigns. However, when it come to a movie, it's easier to capitalise on the on going momentum to the fullest. In a long term camapign, the added objective is to sustain the excitement.

In the case of DDD,  the campaign appears to be working on the parameters of likes and shares and not by the number of responses.

Also a few things worked for DDD

- Zoya's previous success already built the base for curiosity

- The prominent cast

- Bollywood films already have an established fan base.

What really added to the above advantages, was the systematic break down of the campaign. The added objective of sustenance became effortless as equal importance was attached to each phase. Also, integrating their activities with ongoing events helped build on their visibility quotient enormously.

Although, there could have been more live conversations and real life trivia of the stars. At the end of the day, every Bollywood fan wants to know their favourite stars on a personal level. Social media makes that possible. Why not capitalise on it, to the fullest?