Cinépolis plugs into DOOH with 350-screen ad blitz across 100-plus cinemas

NATIONAL: Cinépolis India is moving decisively into cinema advertising, rolling out a nationwide network of digital screens across its multiplex lobbies in a partnership with dooh specialist It’s spotlight.

The deal will see more than 350 led screens, video walls and digital displays switched on across 101 Cinépolis properties in 63 cities and 23 states and union territories, creating one of the largest in-cinema advertising networks in the country.

Under the arrangement, It’s spotlight will operate and commercialise the inventory, giving brands access to programmatic buying, real-time optimisation and performance metrics such as impressions, audience profiles and footfall data.

“Cinema environments offer advertisers access to audiences in a focused, lean-forward setting which is distinct from outdoor and transit media,” said Cinépolis India managing director Devang Sampat. As dooh gathers momentum and brands look beyond cluttered social and digital platforms, he said, cinemas offer a sharper way to reach young and urban consumers.

The timing is deliberate. India’s out-of-home advertising market was worth Rs 5,920 crore in 2024, according to the EY-Ficci M&E report, with digital OOH expected to rise from 12 per cent to 17 per cent of total revenues by 2027.

It’s spotlight founder and director Virkaran Singh, said cinema screens sit “at the intersection of attention, intent and experience”, offering advertisers premium, highly engaged audiences at national scale through a single buy.

With 449 screens already under its Cinépolis, Cinépolis VIP and Fun Cinemas brands, the exhibitor is betting that its lobbies can become as valuable to advertisers as its auditoriums, turning footfall into a high-impact media channel.