Why in-cinema advertising is becoming a hot promotional platform
Just like television, radio and outdoor billboards are favourites as promotional mediums, advertisers are finally waking up to cinema advertising as a promotional avenue. Admittedly, the medium has been around for ages but the surge in cinema patronage from the youth has suddenly brought it into sharp focus. And, for exhibitors and advertisers, it’s a perfectly symbiotic relationship.
Studies reveal that India is one of the largest producers of movies in the world, drawing 4 billion footfalls on an average every year. That is, almost 27 million Indians watch a film every day. Also, according to recent industry reports, 97 per cent of urban youth prefers to watch movies in cinema halls instead of their homes. Besides, cinemas deliver unmatched quality of exposure and cater to a large audience in a region-specific way.
Gautam Dutta, COO, PVR Ltd says, “There are innumerable advantages of advertising in cinemas vis-à-vis other mediums mainly due to factors like cost efficiency, localised reach, captive audience and the strong impact it leaves on the audience’ mind.” To place this in context, the most expensive medium is television, followed by print, radio, OOH and online. Dutta says, “Cinema advertising costs as little as 1/12th the cost of advertising on basic mass media.”
This also offers a differentiated target audience. Since multiplexes exist across the country, brands can target their products according to area and genre of the film too. Dutta explains, “We can separate brands on the basis of their target audience in cinemas. For instance, products like stationary items can choose kids’ films or a condom brand can be advertised when an adult film is playing.”
Consider this: PVR Cinemas partnered with a mattress brand to run a contest during the Wake Up Sid promotions. They asked viewers why the character, Sid, in the film did not wake up. The ad was strategically positioned and stated that sleeping on the mattress was so comfortable that Sid chose not to wake up. This initiative attracted not only film-goers but also gave the brand visibility.
The multiplex also partnered with an insurance company and sold life insurance at the ticket window along with movie tickets during Kal Ho Naa Ho’s release. More recently, Hrithik Roshan will be promoting his film Agneepath at PVR cinemas in Delhi. The film has tied up with a plywood company to leverage the strength of the characters in the film. And when Roshan is present at the venue to meet and greet his fans, the brand’s logo will flash behind him.
The growth in multiplexes and digital cinema exhibition has brought greater transparency in ticket sales. Moreover, with the installation of effective monitoring systems and metrics to determine reach, the cinema advertising market is estimated to see healthy growth in years to come. Most digital cinema companies such as UFO Moviez and Real Image are now selling their advertising inventory in bulk instead of the erstwhile per cinema, per week model, giving advertises the ability to maximise the network effect offered by these players and allowing flexibility of movie schedule.
Dutta notes, “Advertising contributed to almost 12.5 per cent of our cinema revenue and we have grown almost 35 per cent, year on year, over the last 4 to 5 years. Cinema advertising has helped us grow tremendously.”
Since cinema halls present the audience with a happy mindset and a captive environment, the eyeballs that an ad garners are way higher than those garnered by TV, where people tend to switch channels during a commercial break. Also there are various other branding options that brands are presented with, like popcorn branding, foyer branding and ticket jacket branding.
In a time when reaching out to the target audience is a tough task, considering the number of entertainment avenues that exist today, it is important to be innovative. And this is where cinema plays an important role. It helps break the clutter to connect with consumers. It also provides advertisers with the best audio-visual impact you can get, much more than any other medium. All this at an affordable price while also reaching a highly specific target audience.
