Tanishq makes its screen debut
Business World —June 20, 2005

You wouldn't call it an unwarranted intrusion. Branded jewellery maker Tanishq's association with Amol Palekar's Paheli seems completely fitting, with both the maker of the film and Tanishq, harping on a common theme - a woman's right to choose. In-film branding, which brought in about Rs 200 crore for film companies last year, is not new. But Tanishq's way of doing it seems just a little more tasteful than that pause in Hum Tum which was a 'Kodak moment'. Or two lovers sipping Coca-Cola in Taal.

So, instead of making annoying distractions, the fact that Rani Mukherjee is wearing Tanishq baubles is advertised before the film's launch, not within it. Says Tanishq's head of marketing Ruchira Puri: "We don't intend to focus on the brand in the film. But through our pre-launch campaigns - that has involved both the print and the electronic media - we want to take the message across." The Rs 570-crore Tanishq, a Titan brand, has had a chequered history. It was launched in the mid-1990s with a bang in international markets, but failed to take off.

Around late-1990s, Titan decided to take the brand local. The last five years have seen a turnaround for Tanishq and that explains the brand's interest in further tying in with local flavour, found abundantly in films. The idea was born out of a survey Titan Industries did on Indian women. Says Puri: "The survey showed that Indian women, despite taking rapid strides toward modernity, remain gatekeepers of Indian values. They are, in fact, refashioning those values to suit their new lifestyle."

The proof came from the modern woman's embracement of the classic in her dress, jewellery and life in general. "We couldn't ignore this evolving attitude of our customers. So, we wanted that someone who came to us to buy trinkets should also come to us for buying heavier, classier jewellery," she adds. That needed Tanishq to communicate, and what better way to do that than through a film. That the film is Paheli should help. The film is based on Duvidha, a story by the Gyan Peeth-awarded Rajasthani writer Vijay Dan Detha.

The story is set about a couple of centuries ago, and revolves around a theme that could well be considered revolutionary for that age: women's emancipation. Palekar, who displayed an easy flair for touching a chord with the masses as an actor, is expected to take it beyond Detha's erudite readers. Tanishq has decided to have alliances with a series of films in future. And it has reasons to do so. Ever since the publicity campaign was launched, footfalls in Tanishq stores have almost doubled.

Speaking of conditions of the alliance, Puri says "these films should appeal to modern women and should give us an opportunity to showcase our designs". How much of this subtlety pays off in terms of actual earnings will be known much later. But for now, Tanishq's formula should certainly make today's unabashed hardsellers sit up and take note.