Boom time for cinema advertising

With almost 315 screens across 88 multiplexes in the country, cinema advertising in India may just about be taking off. TAM-Adex figures show that in 2004, cinema advertising touched Rs 375 crore (Rs 3.75 billion).

This is a 20 per cent jump over the Rs 355 crore (Rs 3.55 billion) it clocked in 2003. Refusing to predict the growth rate for 2005, a TAM spokesperson says that the growth has been steady at 20 per cent a year for the last couple of years.

It is not difficult to see why cinema advertising may be growing. For starters, the quality of theatres (read audio and video) in multiplexes has vastly improved. So advertisers who shell out upwards of Rs 100,000 for an ad in a theatre, are assured of good quality screening.

Two, it has become easier to deal with the multiplex chains owned by a single promoter. "The chains -- Inox, PVR, Adlabs -- have a presence in different cities. We can place ads in theatres at different locations by dealing with just one person," says a Delhi-based media planner.

Media planners also suggest that advertisers are increasingly looking at select multiplexes as "they promise a certain kind of elite audience."

Agrees Hyundai Motors' manager (marketing) Sanjeev Shukla: "In cinema advertising, we have the power to choose our audiences. If we have a campaign for, say, Sonata, we would advertise in the premium cities and multiplexes. For an entry level car, we could choose smaller cities."

Advertisers in categories such as cellular service providers, automobile brands, lifestyle products, banks, colas and insurance companies, among others, are active in several multiplexes.

"Even if your brand is confined to a region, you can ensure that your ad budget is focused on your target audience," says Lumina Joseph, CEO of Dimple Cine Advertising.

The Mumbai-based firm has worked for clients such as Tata Safari, Reliance Infocomm, Asian Paints and some TV channels too.

Tyrone Ouseph, director at CineMedia, another cine advertising firm in New Delhi, believes that cinema advertising is not restricted to multiplex screens alone.

"The number of multiplex theatres is limited. They are confined to the metros, whereas there are more than 8,000 single screen cinemas available for on-screen advertising all over India."

Ouseph's agency has 45 years of experience in handling on-screen advertising and boasts of an impressive clientele -- a host of Dabur brands, Chevrolet's Tavera and Hyundai Motors.

While Ouseph may not be convinced that only multiplexes attract advertising, he admits that with families following a shopping, movie and dinner routine on weekends, it's good news for advertisers and cinema owners.

"Thanks to the emergence of the new compulsive spending class, it makes more sense to advertise in cinema than ever before," he adds.

Agencies, which buy advertising time from cinema halls sell it to various advertisers directly or through their advertising agencies. The advertising time is sold for anywhere between Rs 500,000 and Rs 15 lakh (Rs 1.5 million) for a 60 second commercial.

Explains Tyrone, "Advertising agencies contact us for all their cinema requirements across the country. We co-ordinate with the agency and the client in selecting cinema screens based on the profile of the brand."

Usually, advertisers use commercials ranging between 15 and 30 seconds on TV, as it is an expensive medium. For cinema, however, the ad films are normally 60 seconds or 90 seconds long.

Dimple Cine's Lumina Joseph predicts that in the near future the multiplex chains in India will undergo a consolidation phase, increasing the advertising options for advertisers. "I strongly feel that very soon advertisers will start creating ads specially for cinema screens."