For the uninitiated, The Legend released in cinemas last Friday, following several waves of publicity thanks to relentless marketing efforts and endless social media chatter. The latter was aided in great measure by the popularity of the hero, also the film’s producer, thanks to him being the face of his retail megastore ‘The Legend Saravana Stores’.
Reviews for the movie ranged from ones with words of praise for a ‘brave’ effort to rude digs at the unintended humour in scene after scene. The directors J.D.-Jerry were also the ones who scripted the store’s ad films, which featured the owner and film’s hero Saravanan Arul alongside leading ladies of Tamil and South cinema.
If those ads fuelled memes by the hundreds, The Legend must have amplified the face behind the retail stores a few thousand times. It comes as no surprise that a common comment on the movie is that it feels like a ‘three-hour ad film for Saravana Stores’. As some in Chennai point out, with several ‘Saravana Stores’ in business in the market, this movie takes the recall of ‘The Legend Saravana Stores’ a few rungs above the rest.
MediaNews4u.com reached out to the ad and media frat for their views – not on the movie The Legend but the RoI it has delivered for ‘The Legend – Saravana Stores’ with its marketing and PR coverage.
“I don’t think people are going to shop in hordes at Saravana Stores because of this film. What best it can achieve is some additional visibility and familiarity for shoppers who go to the store. People will continue to shop even if this film is a failure or a mass hit. Sales are not going to grow exponentially because of this film. It’s more of a personal brand equity rather than a store equity. Consumers will definitely relate this movie to him and say this was the guy who acted in that film but will it let them loosen their purse strings… I am not sure,” says Anbuchezhian K, a Chennai-based independent marcom professional.
“Saravana stores have always been the common man’s favourite for great deals and competitive rates. This film succeeding at the box office or failing will not have much of an impact on the brand. If anything it may increase the awareness of the brand marginally. Also, considering the trolls and social media impact it could possibly have a detrimental effect not necessarily on the brand but with the ‘legend’,” observes Rajeev Balakrishnan, CEO, Image Advantage Consultants.
The trolls never let up ever since the opportunity arrived with the news of Saravanan Arul starring in a movie. But then, as some point out, the trolling has been on since he appeared in an ad for his stores alongside film heroines in true filmy style. That has never stopped people from going to the store.
“Brand Saravana is all about celebration/festivity, flamboyance, larger-than-life, and all that is beautiful,” says Anup Chandrasekharan, media veteran and former Business Head, Colors Tamil.
He adds, “Nothing is wrong if the ‘legend’ tries movies; he appears and endorses all his ads with beautiful actresses. The vehicle of movies is the next stage of his expression post ads. The brand has only enhanced as he is a mass brand and the best way to cater to a mass audience is by doing a film that appeals to the masses with his persona. He is carefully cultivating and projecting his image and brand.”
“The movie got promoted in all newspapers, written about and spoken about on news channels. He is a showman and loves challenging himself, and this is a new challenge, he is not afraid of experimentation. The way to go, ‘legend’….” surmises Chandrasekharan.
Narendran, brand consultant & author of Amongst Monkeys and The PM Must Die, points to the trend of retail store owners becoming the face of their brands in South India, with examples of The Legend Saravana Stores and Lalithaa Jewellery. It seems to be working, he contends.
It seems to be working for brands in other categories too – founder Padmasingh Isaac appears in ads for Aachi Foods. One also recalls the man who was the face of his brand many years ago and perhaps can be called a pioneer in South retail, late H Vasanthakumar of Vasanth & Co.
“The Legend, starring Arul Saravanan has delivered excellent RoI for the brand. There is nothing called ‘negative’ marketing, I believe all marketing is positive for the brand as long as it doesn’t erode the fundamentals of the brand’s core. According to me, The Legend hasn’t eroded the brand core of Saravana Stores. Saravana Stores are regarded as a mass brand and Arul has added a few more elements like flamboyance, carefreeness to the brand,” adds Narendran.
P Subramanian, Vice President, OTS Advertising, concurs, “The movie provides good value for the invested money and is receiving mass visibility. From a branding perspective, The Legend is a prudent move and brilliant investment.”
The Legend is proof that the legendary adage ‘All publicity is good publicity’ holds, as long as it doesn’t create hate. As industry watchers point out, brand owner Saravanan Arul must be lauded for breaking new ground with this marketing effort.
