With Die Another Day, the latest James Bond film, grossing around Rs 550 million in the first three days of its release in India, corporates are making a beeline to associate with the film and its cast.
The promotional partners for the film include big names like ITC for Minto, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd for its premium fuel Speed, Revlon, Reid & Taylor, Raj Travels, Samsonite, Compaq, Omega, Sony Ericsson, Hutchison Max and Brown-Forman for Jack Daniels.
Together, these large corporate giants have already spent close to Rs 7-8 crore (Rs 70-80 million) on Bond-related promotional activities that range from fashion shows, contests, free giveaways to print and electronic media campaigns.
Twentieth Century Fox, on its part, has also spent another Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) on the promotional activity.
Each one is trying to promote its product using the Bond association. So while Sony Ericsson is promoting its latest camera mobile phone using the film, BPCL is trying to build a niche target audience for its premium fuel Speed.
"There is a natural synergy between James Bond and Speed. We waited for six months to build the right association," says S Ramesh, brand manager (Speed), BPCL.
The promoter of the film, Twentieth Century Fox, has allowed BPCL to use shots of the film for their television campaign for which the oil major has spent around Rs 50-75 lakh (Rs 5-7.5 million).
Besides this, the company is also using its network of retail outlets across the country for running a host of promos and contest.
"We want people to get the Bond experience to all the people who fuel Speed," says Ramesh.
And while BPCL is not looking at a 'long-term relationship' with Bond like Reid & Taylor or Samsonite, the promos will continue at least for a month or two.
"The promotional activity for the film has been the longest and the highest compared to any other Hollywood film," a Twentieth Century Fox functionary said.
"Bond is a pre-sold product and perhaps the easiest marketing tool. Which is why every company wants their product associated with it," he says.
Being screened at 261 theatres, the film is the widest Hollywood release across India and has outperformed previous record setters such as Spiderman and Titanic.
