The fledgling multiplex advertising business accounts for just Rs 250-300 million per annum today. And though the share of multiplex advertising is less than one per cent of the total advertising pie, it is one the verge of recording an exponential growth in the immediate future. Navin Shah, Business Director of
Cell M (a division of BroadMind entertainment), says, “Look at what satellite television did for the medium — once monopolised by Doordarshan. Look at how FM caused radio to become a force to be reckoned with. Multiplexes will do the same — the entire movie goingm experience has now been revolutionised and marketers will follow as crowds throng.”

Proud owners
With the advent of multiplexes, the entire movie experience has undergone a sea change. Modern multiplexes are high investment
propositions, providing consumers with all the comfort and luxury that they demand. The wide expanses in a multiplex— the parking lot, the foyers, the lobbies — have allowed advertisers to explore new platforms and space to engage the consumer in a favourable ambience and receptive mood.

Multiplexes make targeting a far easier task, as most of their owners are very different from traditional cinema theatre owners.
They are marketing practitioners themselves, and clearly understand the value of databases, of demographics and of targeting. Says Shravan Shroff, Director, Shringar Cinemas, “After the demographic study of the customer is conducted, brands that target particular profiles can be approached with specific proposals. Brands can meet and interact with their consumers at multiplexes — an opportunity that conventional media cannot deliver to marketers.”

Tushar Dhingra, Vice President- Marketing and Corporate Communications, PVR Cinemas, echoes Shroff’s thoughts when he says, “Multiplexes give the marketer an interactive medium to
connect with consumers when they are in a captive, disturbancefree environment.” The views of the spokespersons of Adlabs and E-City Entertainment (Fun Republic) could not be obtained at the time of writing but they would be in consonance with the views expressed above.More...