Screen plan
Cinemas picked by catchment and ticket price. Ads run before the film and, in many halls, at the interval, sold per screen per week in 10-second units.
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Advertising · Cinema · On-screen and lobby
Cinemaadvertising
Since 201565+ in-house team6 cities
Cinema advertising for jewellers, car dealers, schools, restaurants, healthcare groups and developers. Cinema works when it is bought by cinema, not by city. Pick the screens near your buyers.
A strategist calls you in one working day.
/ 01 Cinema advertising
An audience that came to watch.
A cinema ad is seen by people who paid to sit down and watch, so it should be bought by cinema, not by city. PromotEdge books on-screen ads and lobby branding in multiplexes and single screens across India, with proof that your ad played and a count of the enquiries it brought.
Most buyers we meet are jewellers, car dealers, schools, restaurants, healthcare groups and real-estate projects. They want to be asked for by name, and a big screen helps people remember you before they compare prices.
Unlike TV, you pick the exact cinemas, so a jeweller pays only for screens near its showrooms. It works less well for B2B (business-to-business) products with few buyers, such as those from industrial manufacturers. One screen for one week is also quickly forgotten. If that is your budget, we will say so and suggest local digital ads.
- 2015working with Indian brands since
- 65+in-house team: strategy, creative, media and tech
- 4pillars under one roof: strategy, advertising, digital, on-ground activation (BTL)
- 6cities: head office in Kolkata, teams in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Guwahati and Bhubaneswar
/ 02 What you get
From screen list to the last show.
Rates and booking
Per-screen weekly rates for each property, negotiated and booked through our media partners. Single-screen towns are booked through the digital networks.
CBFC certification
We apply for your ad film's CBFC certificate and build the waiting time into the plan.
Cinema-ready film
Your ad film converted to each network's projection format, with sound checked for a hall. If it isn't made yet, our team can make it.
Lobby branding
Standees, posters, counter branding and lobby screens, printed and installed within the PromotEdge group.
Lobby activations
Sampling stalls, displays and test drives in the foyer, where the cinema allows them.
Screening proof
Play-out reports per week, dated lobby photos, and enquiries and cost per enquiry for the cinemas you chose.
Joined to search and social
The same team runs your search and social, so a cinema burst shows up in local enquiries.
/ 03 What usually gets in the way
Hurdles at the cinema,and the way through.
“The cinema refused to play our ad.”
It is usually a missing CBFC certificate or a wrong file format. We apply early and deliver the film in the format each network asks for.
“We paid for a whole city, and most screens were far from our stores.”
We choose by catchment, matching each cinema to where your showrooms, dealers or project sites are.
“The ad ran to empty halls, or with a film our buyers skip.”
We read shows and the release calendar, and lean towards weekends, evening shows and films your buyers are likely to watch.
“Nobody can show the ad was ever screened.”
You get a play-out report or screening certificate for each property and week, checked against the booking.
“The lobby standee looked tired by the second week.”
Lobby material goes up to each cinema's rules and is checked during the run. We replace damaged pieces.
Not sure which cinemas sit near your buyers? Send us your store list and we will map it. Get a free growth plan
/ 04 How we work
From briefto the big screen.
- 01
Brief and catchment
What the ad must do, your cities, dates, budget, and where your stores or dealers sit.
- 02
Screens and weeks
A shortlist of cinemas with screen counts and weekly rates, read against the release calendar.
- 03
Certify and convert
We apply for the CBFC certificate and convert the film for projection.
- 04
Book and deliver
Screens booked for the chosen weeks. The certified film and any lobby material reach each property before the first show.
- 05
Check during the run
Play-out confirmed property by property, lobby branding photographed, problems raised with the cinema at once.
- 06
Report
A closing report by property and week, with QR scans, a campaign-only number and enquiries near each cinema.
We believe in process. Good results should repeat, not happen by luck.
Tell us what’s not working. We’ll send you an honest one-page growth plan, free.
Go deeperMore on this
How we deliver it, and why
How your business model changes the plan
A retailer or clinic with several outlets buys cinemas around each outlet. A new D2C (direct-to-consumer) brand uses a launch burst with a QR code. A dealer-led B2B maker usually gets more from digital ads aimed at its dealers' towns.
- Start from your map, not the chain's package. People mostly buy close to home, so screens near your store do more of the work. A shortlist of cinemas by neighbourhood.
- Read the release calendar before booking. Each film brings its own crowd, and festive weeks sell out early. Weeks matched to the people you want.
- Start the CBFC application in week one. A cinema will not play an uncertified ad, and the waiting time is not ours to control. A date plan that allows for it.
- Convert the film and test the sound. A big screen and cinema sound show flaws a phone never does. A cinema-ready file.
- Ask for proof by property and week. Without it you are paying on trust. Play-out reports and dated photos.
- Give every cinema its own way to be counted. A QR code or campaign-only number shows which screen made people act. Enquiries per cinema.
Go deeper: who sets the rules in Indian advertising
The bodies
ASCI, the Advertising Standards Council of India, was founded on 21 October 1985 by 43 members from advertising and media. It says it exists to keep Indian ads "decent, fair and honest". AAAI, the Advertising Agencies Association of India, was founded in 1945 and calls itself the apex body of the advertising industry.
Source: ASCI history page and AAAI website, read 10 October 2026
AI in cinema advertising: today and next
Today: Google Veo
Google's Veo can make video from text or from an image, with sound, at 1080p and 4K, and marks its clips with SynthID, Google's mark for AI-made content. That is enough for a rough storyboard film to test an idea.
Source: Google DeepMind, Veo page, read 10 October 2026
Next
Our view: first cuts will get faster. The finished film still needs the CBFC certificate and a sound check in a real hall. Want us to look at where AI could cut your film's cost? Ask us.
Planning around a festive release? Tell us the dates and we will work back from them. Talk to us
/ 05 Industries
Where this works best.
01
Construction equipment
Contractors trust the machine their peers run on site more than any brochure.
02Building materials
The person who pays for the cement is rarely the one who picks the brand.
03Industrial & manufacturing
Procurement checks you out long before your sales team is invited to talk.
04Automotive
A buyer's interest fades fast when the enquiry reaches the right showroom late.
05Real estate
Enquiries are easy to buy, but the sale is won or lost at the site visit.
06FMCG
Your ad works for a rival if your product is missing from the shelf.
/ 06 Cost
What cinema advertising costs.
Screen time is sold per screen per week. Certification, film conversion and lobby production are separate lines, and each property's rate is in front of you before you book.
What affects the cost
- The chain and property: a metro multiplex costs far more than a small-town single screen
- Number of screens and weeks
- Ad length, counted in 10-second units
- Slot position, such as the one just before the film
- Festive and big-release weeks, which cost more
- Lobby branding, activations and production
How we quote
- You tell us the city, the buyers and the weeks you have in mind
- We check which cinemas sit near your showrooms and which films run
- We write a screen plan: properties, weeks, ad length and slot
- You get a quote within 2 working days, each cinema's rate on its own line
What you get in the quote
- Cinemas and screens by city, with weeks and slot position
- Each property's rate, as quoted by the cinema or network
- Certification support and film conversion
- Lobby material and activation costs, if you want them
The CBFC charges its own certification fee. To compare quotes fairly, ask every seller for the same screens, weeks and ad length.
/ 07 What happens next
What happensafter you ask.
For projects we think we can help, this is how it goes.
- 01
A strategist calls you
In one working day: a 30-minute call with one of our strategists about your business and what is not working.
- 02
You get a 1-page plan
A short, honest plan: what to fix first and what we would do. It is free.
- 03
A quote, if you want one
If you want to go ahead, we send a quote within 2 working days.
We confirm the timeline in the quote. Contracts start at 3 months, with 30 days' notice to stop.
Brands and people are named only as public examples. They are not PromotEdge clients or endorsers unless stated.
Keep exploring
Related pages.
The same work in your city and your industry, and the services that go with it.
What people say
In their own words
“PromotEdge has been a unique creative group amongst unique creativity world. …”
Rajat ChatterjeeHead Business Development at Birdman Chemeng Pvt Ltd.“I commend PromotEdge as a content and advertising partner. I applaud their top-notch team, swift problem-solving, and outstanding digital media work for my brand. I express my happiness and eagerness for a long-term partnership.”
Priyanka GuptaDirector at Nitya Gold & Diamonds“I really want to thank Sayantan and his team from PromotEdge because what I find good in them is that, the team. When the team is wonderful, the outcome will definitely be wonderful. …”
Abhijit BhattacharyaFormer Captain Indian VolleyBall Team; and Founder of Brahmaputra Volleyball League
No pressure. No sales pitch.
Tell us who you want to reach.We'll show you the plan.
Straight answers.
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Screen time is priced per screen per week, usually in 10-second units. The rate depends on the chain, property, city, slot and the films that week, so a metro multiplex costs many times a small-town screen. PVR and INOX merged in 2023 and price the same way. We quote each rate at actuals.
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Yes. Under the Cinematograph Act, any film shown in a public cinema needs a CBFC certificate, ad films included. Apply online well before your first booked week, because cinemas won't play an uncertified ad. Check the Board's current process when you apply, and build the waiting time into your dates.
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Usually, yes, after two steps. A finished TV ad needs a CBFC certificate for cinema, and a conversion to projection format with the sound checked for a hall. Some brands also cut a longer version for cinema, since the audience is already seated and watching.
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It plans which cinemas and weeks to buy, books them, gets the ad certified and converted, and proves it played. To choose one, ask for a screen plan by cinema and week, not a chain-wide package, and ask who handles the CBFC certificate and the play-out reports.
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It is advertising in the foyer: standees, posters, ticket and food-counter branding, lift wraps and lobby screens. People wait there before the show and at the interval, so it suits launches, offers and products to look at closely. We print and install it within the PromotEdge group.
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Ask for a screening certificate or play-out report for every property and week, and dated photos of lobby branding. We collect both and check them against the booking. Then we count the response: QR scans, a campaign-only number and enquiries near each cinema.
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Often, yes. You choose the exact cinemas, so a showroom, clinic, school or housing project can reach nearby families without paying for a whole city. Plan on two to four weeks in the same cinemas, with a QR code or campaign-only number so the response can be counted.
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Yes. Our servicing team is based in cities across India, and slots are booked with the chain or its ad network, so your city doesn't change the booking. We work hybrid and remotely, visit regularly, and place our team at your venue when needed. Our in-house team of 65+ does the work.