How INOX is using its cinema halls cleverly to bounce back to normalcy

• Multiplex chain INOX Leisure now allows you to book an entire theatre for private screenings and all kinds of parties.
• INOX Cinemas' Saurabh Varma speaks to us about the logistics, marketing plan and the future of Cinema.

After being shut for over six months and bearing the brunt of coronavirus, cinema halls across the country opened up on October 15. As different markets slowly opened up, the cinema industry facilitated a safe environment for their consumers as per government mandates.

However, the audience is still wary about going to cinema halls and multiplexes in India are going out of their way to woo consumers back. They are tweaking their marketing strategies to reach to their consumers at different touch points in their ticketing journey and coming up with new ideas to use their premises.

Multiplex chain INOX Leisure has come with an innovative solution to this problem. It has opened up its cinema halls for private screenings. It allows guests to reserve an entire INOX auditorium for a private show, entirely for their family members and friends. The guests get to choose the content of their choice, either from the current playlist, or an old blockbuster. The movies are available in Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada and Gujarati.

“We are planning to organise a lot of live events, invest in alternative content. You can have your birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, organise a planned marriage proposal, they can use the auditorium for any memorable occasion. You can do an office workshop and even organise a wedding. In fact, we also wanted to do an opera in one of our cinemas. So, sky is the limit,” said Saurabh Varma, Chief Marketing Officer, INOX.

Sharing the idea behind these private screenings, Varma added, “With this, we want to make INOX a venue for entertainment that allows you to do a large amount of things that build memories and you cherish it forever. The pricing of these auditoriums are extremely affordable -- as less as Rs 2,999.”

INOX has also tied-up with brand partners like Olympix, sporting channels to screen events in the auditorium. Apart from that, the multiplex is also going to organise video gaming competitions and planning to organise stand-up comedy shows within its premises.

INOX is currently spread across 68 cities in India and is opening rapidly. Word of mouth has already started working its magic and INOX has seen a good response coming in from the audience.

Verma said, “Thanks to Durga Puja, a lot of families approached us in Bengal. Thanks to various supporters of INOX who have spread the word. We have also tied up with local event organisers to reach out to more consumers.”

Moreover, INOX has also tied up with social media influencers and is using social media actively to reach out to a wider audience and win their trust.

For the first three months of the current financial year, INOX reported a loss of ₹73.64 crore, while revenues fell by almost 100%. However, Varma is confident that the audience will come back for private screenings and cinema will be back to normal by March-April.

Voicing his optimism, Varma said, “Cinemas have been providing a mental escape to millions since decades, and would continue to do so in the post-pandemic world. We believe that a large segment of our audiences would feel more comfortable enjoying a movie, with just their family members and friends, or even by themselves. Cinema in India is here to stay. We can see that because of the kind of content that is made available in our country. Every movie is at least made in 5 languages. People are also more accepting of change now. They watch a Tamil movie in Bengal. By March or April, you will see amazing people coming to cinema to catch these movies. So I think the business is only going to grow and that’s our hope and vision we are working towards. We are confident that it will happen. Cinema will also complement OTT in a big way. Films which work in cinema and are watched again and again on other platforms.”

“Corona may come and go, cinema is here to stay,” Varma signs off.

To know more about INOX’s marketing plan and private screenings, watch the interview here: