In big-title clashes, in-theatre advertising wins

Clash of big titles at box office is auguring well for in-theatre advertisers. Multiplexes and brand specialists note that their inventory gets full especially when a big film and festival come hand-in-hand.

Last week, Aei Dil Hai Mushkil and Shivaay were slugging it out at the box-office. Brands say that the trend is only set to grow as both Bollywood and regional films are strengthening their pipeline of films.

“Advertisers are chasing big banner releases. Our demand for inventory peaks during big-bang clashes and we see our inventory being booked at least six months in advance. Going forward, we see more such clashes happening which in turn benefit the industry,” said Siddharth Bhardwaj, CMO, Head of Enterprise Sales, UFO Moviez, a digital cinema distribution and in-cinema advertising platform.

He said the company witnesses at least 15-20 weeks in a year where demand for inventory peaks either due to festivals or even long weekends.

Bhardwaj said captive audience, customised content and audited display are attracting a growing number of in-cinema advertisers wishing for better recall amongst audience.

He said close to 2,500 advertisers are advertising through UFO.

Multiplex chain Inox said that it has registered 11 per cent growth in ad revenue for Q2 YoY backed by a healthy pipeline of films.

Deepak Asher, Director and Group Head (Corporate Finance), INOX Group of Companies, said: “With addition of new screens and a strong pipeline of quality content, we expect to further strengthen our brand”.

Advertising at movie theatres is one of the last few preferences for media planners.

Growing numbers According to GroupM Forecast 2016, cinema advertising would continue to see an upswing, led by brand investments in this medium. While cinema advertising is small, contributing to less than one per cent of total advertising in India, its rate of growth is second to digital at 25 per cent.

Last year, the rate of growth of cinema advertising was 20 per cent.

Brand specialists note that in-cinema advertisers have grown from 60 in 2010 to over 2,500 backed by growth in multiplexes. Most multiplexes have 15 minutes of ad inventory. Most theatres play seven minutes before the film and seven during the interval.

The spot rate varies from ₹3,000-₹45,000 per 30 seconds.

Buzz index Recently, Interactive Television, a unit of WPP, launched Buzz index -- a measuring tool for helping advertisers to make informed decisions for cinema advertising. Cinema in India is considered as second religion but cinema advertising still accounts for a negligible one per cent of the the total AD Ex.

Buzz Index identifies, captures and quantifies the buzz around a particular film across all social media platforms and arrives at a ‘buzz score’.

Ajay Mehta, CEO, Interactive Television, says: “We want to change the way cinema advertising is bought and sold in the country.

“Currently, cinema advertising peaks around 10-12 blockbuster movies and in the absence of any measure of a film's buzz, advertisers miss out on movies which are being talked about by their consumers.

“Buzz Index aims to change that so that even a small movie which is creating buzz and has a possibility of opening well should come up on the radar of the advertiser.”

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