MARKETING OF MALAYALAM FILMS THROUGH NEW MEDIA ANMI ELIZABETH SABU Registered Number: 1424024 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Media and Communication Studies CHRIST UNIVERSITY Bengaluru 2016 Program Authorized to Offer Degree Department of Media Studies ii CHRIST UNIVERSITY Department of Media Studies This is to certify that I have examined this copy of a master’s thesis by Anmi Elizabeth Sabu Registered Number: 1424024 and have found that it is complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the final examining committee have been made. Committee Members: _____________________________________________________ [CHANDRASEKHAR VALLATH] _____________________________________________________ Date: __________________________________ iii iv I, Anmi Elizabeth Sabu, confirm that this dissertation and the work presented in it are original. 1. Where I have consulted the published work of others this is always clearly attributed. 2. Where I have quoted from the work of others the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations this dissertation is entirely my own work. 3. I have acknowledged all main sources of help. 4. If my research follows on from previous work or is part of a larger collaborative research project I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself. 5. I am aware and accept the penalties associated with plagiarism. Date: v vi CHRIST UNIVERSITY ABSTRACT Marketing of Malayalam Films through New Media Anmi Elizabeth Sabu The research studies the marketing strategies used by Malayalam films through New Media. In this research new media includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Whatsapp and instagram. For the past four years there is a new shift in the marketing of Malayalam films. More and more film makers are depending on new media for the marketing of Malayalam films. Through this research the researcher studies the current trends in the new media marketing of Malayalam films. The methodology followed includes content analaysis of the Facebook, Youtube, twitter and Whatsapp accounts of films. The researcher had also done an audience survey to get an idea about the effectiveness of new media in marketing Malayalam films. Keywords: New Media, Malayalam films, Facebook, Youtube, Inststgram, Marketing vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincere gratitude to my Guide, Dr. Chandrasekhar Vallath for his constant guidance encouragement and support. I also thank our course coordinator Fr. Biju K. Chacko, Naresh Rao, Suparna Naresh, Aasita Bali, Amutha Manavalan, Rajesh A. and Kannan S. for their valuable feedback and restless assistance in bringing out this research. I also would like to thank my family and friends for the encouragement and devotion, without whom this thesis would never have been completed. ix x DEDICATION To my loving parents, sister and friends xi xii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures…………………………….………………………………....xiv List of Tables………………………………………………...…...……….…xv Chapter1 Introduction to the Study……………….………………...….…..1 1.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………...1 1.2 Statement of the problem ..................................................................... 7 1.3 Purpose and significance of the study .................................................. 7 1.4 Research design .................................................................................... 7 1.5 Research questions and Hypotheses ..................................................... 7 1.6 Objectives of the study ......................................................................... 8 Chapter 2 Review of Literature ..................................................................... 9 Chapter 3 Research Methodology ................................................................ 23 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 23 3.2 Features of a Good Research Study ................................................... 23 3.3 Types of Research Studies ................................................................. 24 3.4 Qualitative Research .......................................................................... 25 3.5 Quantitative research .......................................................................... 26 3.6 Content analysis ................................................................................. 26 3.7 Comparative analysis ......................................................................... 26 3.8 Research Questions ........................................................................... 27 3.9 Sample................................................................................................ 27 3.10 Questionnaire Development .............................................................. 27 3.11 Data Analysis ..................................................................................... 27 Chapter 4 Data Analysis And Findings ....................................................... 29 4.1 Content Analysis ............................................................................... 29 4.2 Analysis of Facebook pages of higest grossing films………………46 4.3 Actors Facebook Page…………………..……………………….….49 4.4 Other online strategies………………………………………………49 4.5 Audience Survey……………………………………………………50 Chapter 5 Conclusion .................................................................................... 63 5.1 New Trends ........................................................................................ 63 5.2 Facebook, Whatsapp and Youtube ..................................................... 65 5.3 Strategic Ideas .................................................................................... 66 Bibliography ................................................................................................... 67 Online sources:............................................................................................. 67 Appendix ......................................................................................................... 71 Questionnaire: .............................................................................................. 71 xiii LIST OF FIGURES Figure No: Page Figure 4.1: Bangalore Days Poster ..........................................................................30 Figure 4.2: Premam Poster showing the title designed similar to a butterfly ..........34 Figure 4.3: Oru Vadakkan Selfie poster designed in the model of Mobile Whatsapp................................................................................................36 Figure 4.4: ‘Oru Vadakkan Selfie’ poster showing the positive reviews on the movie put up by Facebook users. ..........................................................37 Figure 4.5: Book my show online page showing the film is houseful shared on Facebook page ................................................................................38 Figure 4.6: Facebook posts showing houseful theatres ...........................................39 Figure 4.7: Poster shared by the film page for the contest.......................................41 Figure 4.8: Poster shared by the film page for the contest.......................................42 Figure 4.9: Photo showing the review about the movie by Anna MM, writer, Journalist ................................................................................................43 Figure 4.10: The review given by moviebuzz shared on the Facebook page of Thattathin Marayathu .............................................................................45 Figure 4.11: The post shared on the Facebook page showing the trailer of the film as the top shared video on YouTube India. ....................................46 Figure 4.12: Gender of the respondents .....................................................................50 Figure 4.13: Age category of the respondents ...........................................................51 Figure 4.14: Usage of social networking sites by respondents ..................................52 Figure 4.15: Media used to get Malayalam film related news ...................................54 Figure 4.16: Data showing the number of respondents following film pages of social networking sites. .....................................................................55 Figure 4.17: Data giving the statistics of respondents checking the online reviews ..................................................................................................56 Figure 4.18: Data showing the information of people updating status on social networking sites ....................................................................................57 Figure4.19: Data showing the information of posting of reviews of Malayalam movies by users ..................................................................58 Figure 4.20: Data showing the respond view on the role of online promotion in the Boxoffice success of a film. ........................................................59 Figure 4.21: Data showing people awareness of whatsapp groups for Malayalam movies. ...............................................................................60 Figure 4.22: Data showing information of respondent’s membership in whatsapp group .....................................................................................61 xiv LIST OF TABLES Table no: Page Table 4.1: Total number of official Facebook pages for film ...........................46