After the teaser poster created a storm on Sunday 29th July (on Sanjay Dutt’s birthday), the makers of Bhoomi released the main poster and it has created even more curiosity about the film. The poster which has an intense looking Sanjay almost glaring with eyes full of anger and his hair and face covered with mud has got everyone talking about the film, which is directed by Omung Kumar and produced by Bhushan Kumar and Sandeep Singh.
This is Sanjay Dutt’s first film after he came out of jail. With his head held high, he gives a deadly stare and his perfectly shaped beard is covered with blood.
Bhoomi is a Bollywood revenge drama that centers on the relationship between a father and daughter. The cast will also include Aditi Rao Hydari and Sharad Kelkar.
Director Omung Kumar says, “When the teaser poster came, I had said that people will want to know more & more and this poster is the testimony to Sanjay’s amazing way of transforming and portraying different characters & intensity.”
Producer Bhushan Kumar adds, “This poster is just a slice of the magic of Sanjay Dutt and the intensity of his role in Bhoomi.”
Bhoomi is scheduled for release on September 21 across cinemas in the UAE.
Please Note: The movie release date is subject to change.
Sources: Koimoi.com and IMDb
Jab Harry Met Sejal – featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma, will release in UAE and Gulf countries on Thursday August 3, ahead of its release across Indian cinemas on August 4. Shah Rukh, who enjoys a massive fan following in the Middle East, took to Twitter to announce the news. “Enjoy Jab Harry Met Sejal in theatres in UAE-GCC, 3rd August onwards!” wrote the 51-year-old star, alongside the poster of the film. Shah Rukh also released his last outing, Raees, in Egypt and Jordan, on February 22.
Imtiaz Ali, the director of Jab Harry Met Sejal, is known for taking his viewers to exotic locations, with a keen sense of camera work – previous work include Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal, Rockstar and Tamasha. Jab Harry Met Sejal is shot in locations such as Prague, Amsterdam, Vienna, Lisbon and Budapest and will be the first film where we witness the collaboration of Shah Rukh Khan and Imtiaz Ali. This film will also be the third time Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma will be starring alongside each other. Anushka Sharma debuted with Shah Rukh Khan in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and also worked with him and Katrina Kaif in Jab Tak Hai Jaan – which was the last directorial project of legendary Bollywood director Yash Johar, father of Karan Johar.
Storyline: The story revolves around Harry and Sejal’s journey across Europe. A search for Sejal’s engagement ring makes Harry understand love and relationships better. Sejal experiences new found freedom, security and solace in Harry’ s company and in between all of this – there is love, life, lies, thrill, fantasy and the search for the voice within.
Watch the official theatrical trailer below:
Don’t miss out on aligning your brand alongside this Mega Bollywood blockbuster starring Shah Rukh Khan. Contact a member of our sales team for more information.
Source: FilmFare.com
Double roles are always fascinating in Bollywood, as it takes a film to extra heights by adding some ‘masala’ to the story. It also provides actors with the platform to push themselves and show audiences their versatility. From veteran actor Dileep Kumar to Shahid Kapoor, every actor has done films with double roles at least once in their career – which demonstrates the enthusiasm of double roles in Bollywood film.
Be it in the form of twin brothers, a father-son duo, or just plain reincarnations, double roles are always fun – both for the actor and the audience.
As Bollywood continues to release a number of exciting blockbusters this year, we look at some movies where a host of actors such as: Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Arjun Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan, promise to deliver a double dose of fun with their twin acts.
Mubarakan
Produced by Sony Pictures Network Productions and directed by Anees Bazmee (Sing is King and Welcome Back), Mubarakan is an upcoming Indian romantic comedy film starring Anil Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Ileana D’Cruz and Athiya Shetty. The movie will release across cinemas in the UAE on July 27 2016.
Arjun Kapoor – who played a double role in his previous blockbuster (Aurangazeb), will yet again take up a dual role portraying characters Karanveer Singh and Charanveer Singh.
Reloaded
Starring Sidharth Malhotra (Kapoor & Sons) and Jacqueline Fernandez (Housefull 3 and Dishoom), Reloaded is an upcoming Indian action movie, which is a sequel to 2014’s blockbuster Bang Bang – starring Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif in lead roles. The movie is expected to release across cinemas in the UAE on August 24 2017.
Playing the role of a man with a mission – featuring hand-to-hand combat scenes, Sidharth will take on double roles – playing 2 distinct characters in the movie.
Judwaa 2
Judwaa 2 is an upcoming Indian Hindi action-comedy directed by David Dhawan. The movie stars Varun Dhawan (Dishoom) who will step in the shoes of actor Salman Khan for the new version of the 1997 film Judwaa – which witnessed Salman Khan portraying double roles. Judwaa 2 will release across cinemas in the UAE on September 28 2017.
To further add to the excitement, rumour has it that Hrithik Roshan (Kaabil) and Karan Malhotra (director of Agneepath) are in talks of signing on a romantic comedy movie together where Hrithik will play double roles.
With Bollywood’s promise of double fun in 2017 – bringing fresh entertainment to Bollywood lovers across UAE, advertisers should not miss out on aligning their brands across these blockbusters.
Contact a member of our Sales Team for more information on cinema advertising opportunities.
Sources: Times of India, Hindustan Times, ieEntertainment, DeccanChronicle
The trailer of one of most anticipated Indian movies of 2017 – Baahubali: The Conclusion, released on March 16 2017. Needless to say, the trailer took fans of Indian cinema by storm – especially those who anxiously awaited the sequel to Baahubali: The Beginning.
Similar to Baahubali: The Beginning, cinema audiences can expect some high voltage drama in the second installment of this highly successful franchise. However, the trailer does not reveal any clues to the movie’s storyline. Instead, it teases fans to actually watch the movie in order to have their many questions (having watched the first installment) answered.
Staying true to the story and mystery surrounding the prequel, the second installment aims to pick up the pieces and mend the tale of two brothers torn apart by power and jealousy.
With such anticipation and excitement for the release of Baahubali: The Conclusion in the air, let’s look at some highlights from the movie’s trailer.
Incredible VFX
While the first movie won praise and appreciation for its stunning visual backdrop, Baahubali 2 will push the boundaries even further. Judging by the new trailer, the movie seems to surpass everyone’s expectation of being a promising visual masterpiece. Apart from the fantasy-like kingdom of Mahishmati and the breathtaking backdrop, it’s evident that much effort has gone into enhancing the scale, vision and action sequences of the second installment of this franchise.
Answers the most crucial question
Baahubali: The Beginning ended at the climax where Baahubali’s most trusted and loyal right hand man (Katappa) drives a sword through him, leaving audiences with an unanswered question – Why did Katappa kill Baahubali? After 2 years of waiting, the question that left many baffled will finally be answered in Baahubali 2.
Glorious battle sequence
Audiences are rest assured that a war will be waged and blood will be spilled on the battlefield – as the trailer gives us a peak of how it all plays out. However, after vowing audiences over with the ‘Kalakeya War’ in the first installment, the makers of the sequel have gone all out to make sure things only get bigger, better and bloodier!
Final face-off
Baahubali 2 will see the rise of Baahubali’s son – who sets out to avenge the death of his father. As the trailer nears its end, we get a glimpse of a face-off between the antagonist and much older Bhallala Deva (portrayed by Rana Daggubati who acted in The Ghazi Attack) engaged in combat with Baahubali’s son.
Who will rise and who will fall? Will the son suffer the same fate as his father or will he rise to take his rightful place on the throne? These are some of the questions that will keep audiences on their toes till the release of the movie. Baahubali: The Conclusion will release across cinemas in the UAE over the weekend ahead (April 27) in 4 languages (Telugu/Hindi/Tamil/Malayalam) – catering to a larger cinema audience.
As the most anticipated movie of the year with an enormous following, the release of Baahubali 2 will guarantee to fill cinemas across the UAE with large audiences – mainly Asian expats and UAE nationals. It’s not surprising that most advertiser are rushing to align their brand with this movie – taking advantage of an amazing opportunity to reach their target audience.
Missed out on booking advance spots for your brand with Baahubali 2: The Conclusion? Contact a member of our Sales Team for more information on availability, locations, and packages.
Sources: TimesofIndia, IndianExpress
Three ‘Mega’ actors – who coincidently share the same surname, have ruled Bollywood for over than two decades.
Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan are deemed the unchallenged trio of movie idols, delivering 9 of India’s 10 highest grossing films of all time – each competing to out-do the other with increasingly greater global revenue records year on year
The three actors have established themselves as the ‘World’s Most Reliably Bankable’ box office successes – collectively accounting for hundreds of millions in ticket sales and more than US$1 billion in theatrical revenue in the past 5 years.
As we await their upcoming movies in 2017 – Shah Rukh Khan in ‘The Ring‘ (anticipated to release in August 2017), Salman Khan in Tubelight (anticipated to release on 22 June 2017) and Aamir Khan in ‘Secret Superstar‘ (anticipated to release in August 2017), let’s take a look at some interesting and lesser-known facts about these Bollywood idols.
Shah Rukh Khan
Salman Khan
Aamir Khan
But the most interesting and phenomenal fact shared by the three Khans of Bollywood is the year they were born –1965.
With Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan surpassing US$ 1 billion in revenue – from 9 straight movies, and Aamir Khan delivering 3 straight blockbusters – ‘3 Idiots‘, ‘PK‘ and ‘Dangal‘, advertisers – targeting Asian and Bollywood loving UAE Nationals, should not miss out on the chance to align their brands with upcoming blockbusters of these three ‘Bollywood Kings’.
Sources: Forbes, DESIblitz, The Times of India, MovieNasha
According to a study by ASSOCHAM-Deloitte, Bollywood contributes to about 43% of the total box-office collections of the Indian Cinema Industry. Additionally, with a number of Indian nationals living overseas, Bollywood has become India’s cultural export that unites the world through the common interest of entertainment – with people from the streets in Addis Ababa humming Bollywood songs, to cinemagoers in the US, UK, Australia, Canada and the UAE flocking to cinemas to watch the next big Bollywood blockbuster release.
In the quest to attain a stronger global following, Bollywood has become more progressive and innovative over the years in terms of movie scripts.
Bollywood’s trend of biopics has been well received by cinema going audiences – doing tremendously well at the worldwide box office. Owing to this trail of success, more Bollywood filmmakers seem to be adopting projects based on real life incidents and working on scripts based on real life characters.
Some remarkable movies such as ‘Gandhi‘ (1982), ‘Mangal Pandey – The Rising‘ (2005) and ‘No One Killed Jessica‘ (2011) have paved the way to represent these real life stories on a cinematic platform – shedding light on people who aren’t spoken of anymore, but haven’t been forgotten.
Here is a list of some successful biopic movies made in previous years, along with upcoming blockbusters based on real life characters.
Bhaag Milka Bhaag (released in 2013)
A sports drama based on the life of Milkha Singh – an Indian athlete who was a National Champion Runner and an Olympian. Farhan Akhtar took on the lead role, with Sonam Kapoor, Meesha Shafi and Divya Dutta in supporting roles. The movie was inspired from the book titled ‘The Race of My Life’ written by Milkha Singh and his daughter Sonia Sanwalka.
Mary Kom (released in 2014)
Hailing from the beautiful land of Northeast India, boxer Mary Kom’s notable life is narrated through this biopic. The film stars Priyanka Chopra in the lead role as a flyweight-boxing champion – recognized on a global platform. The movie was a massive success with positive reviews from both critics and audiences.
Manjhi: The Mountain Man (released in 2015)
This movie is a heart touching story based on the life of Dashrath Manjhi (A.K.A ‘The Mountain Man’) – a laborer who lost his wife due to the lack of access to reach medical attention, when she slips and falls from the top of the Gehlour mountain while bringing him lunch. Enraged and heart broken, Manjhi carves a way through the heart of Gehlour Mountain using only his hammer and chisel – so no one else has to face the sorrow of losing a loved one in the same way.
Continuing to this success, 2016 witnessed more movies produced and released on real life characters. Some of the movies that performed well – on a global scale (as well as cinemas across the UAE) are:
Airlift
Akshay Kumar plays the lead role as Ranjit Katyal – a Kuwait based businessman who carried out the biggest civil-operation by evacuating Indians based in Kuwait during the Iraq-Kuwait war. ‘Airlift’s‘ worldwide box office collection was approximately US$34 million.
Neerja
‘Neerja‘ is a biopic starring Sonam Kapoor in the lead role and is based on the life of Neerja Bhanot – an airhostess on Pan American Flight 73 who was shot dead by terrorists when they hijacked the plane in 1986. She was awarded the highest Indian bravery award – ‘Ashoka Chakra’, for immense bravery after she sacrificed herself and saved the lives of many passengers and fellow crew members. ‘Neerja’s‘ worldwide box office collection was approximately US$20 million.
M.S.Dhoni: The Untold Story
This biopic tells the story of Mahendra Singh Dhoni – World-cup winning captain of the Indian cricket team, and reveals the less known journey of an ordinary ticket collector who rose to be a trophy collector. ‘M.S.Dhoni: The Untold Story’s‘ worldwide box office collection was approximately US$24 million.
Dangal
Inspired by true events based on the life of Mahavir Singh Phogat – India’s senior Olympics wrestling coach, ‘Dangal‘ tells the story of how Mahavir Singh Phogat opposed the conservative and male dominated society to train his daughters in the world of professional wrestling. Based on recent admission updates, it has been confirmed that ‘Dangal‘ (which released in the last week of 2016) did approximately 590K admissions in the 4 weeks it screened across cinemas in the UAE.
With amazing responses and accolades for this genre of movies, 2017 continues to witness more biopic blockbusters lined up for release:
The Ghazi Attack
Some wars are fought under the spotlight, while some wars are remembered as we commemorate soldiers who gave up their lives for peace. Then there are wars that are unheard of – the wars fought by unsung heroes.
‘The Ghazi Attack‘ (which released on February 16 2017 in the UAE) – stars Rana Daggubati and Taapsee Pannu, is an epic underwater Tale that tells the story of such a war – fought by unsung heroes who portrayed immense courage and undying patriotism aboard the Indian submarine S-21.
Sachin: A Billion Dreams
Anticipated to release across cinemas in the UAE on May 25 2017, the film is based on the life of Sachin Tendulkar – Indian cricketer, capturing both his cricketing career and personal life in substantial detail.
Padmavati
Anticipated to release across cinemas in the UAE on November 16 2017, ‘Padmavati‘ is based on the life of the legendary queen – Rani Padmavati. The story is inspired by an epic poem ‘Padmavat’ and relays the historic siege of Chittor by Alauddin Khilji who is mesmerized by Padmavati’s beauty.
Dutt
Expected to release across cinemas in the UAE in December 2017, ‘Dutt‘ is an upcoming biopic based on the life of one of Bollywood’s most successful actors – Sanjay Dutt, who acted in critically acclaimed movies such as ‘Khal Nayak‘ (1993), ‘Vaastav‘ (1999), ‘Munnabhai M.B.B.S‘ (2003) and ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai‘ (2006) to name a few.
With tremendous movies based on biopics and many more blockbusters lined up for release, Bollywood is definitely a stream to invest in for advertisers targeting Asian & Bollywood-loving UAE audiences.
Sources: Free Press Journal, The Economic Times
Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), the conglomerate behind Mall of the Emirates, opened its Dh2.6 billion Mall of Egypt in Cairo on 2nd March 2017.
The two-level mall will house some of MAF’s popular experiences – such as Carrefour Hypermarket, Little Explorers, Magic Planet, Ski Egypt and the first VOX Cinemas in the country.
VOX Cinemas – Mall of Egypt will be the BIGGEST cinema in Cairo (in terms of screen count), featuring 21 screens including the following experiences:
4 Gold Class Screens
1 4DX Screen
2 Kids screens
As the exclusive cinema advertising partner of VOX Cinemas, Motivate Val Morgan congratulates VOX on the launch of their new cinema multiplex in Cairo and proudly welcomes VOX Cinemas Mall of Egypt into our ever-growing circuit.
Contact our Account Manager in Egypt for information on cinema advertising opportunities at VOX Cinemas Mall of Egypt.
Source: VOX Cinemas, Majid Al Futtaim and The National
With over 14 million cinema-going audiences in India – on daily basis, Indian movies have definitely seen a rise in its financial capacity – resulting in production and release of more movies each year.
Indian films – especially blockbusters from Bollywood, have seen exponential global growth in demand over the last couple of years – gaining high recognition across many international markets such as the US, UK, and Australia. Additionally, this recognition has not limited itself to the western parts of the world, for it has also garnered massive followership across cinema-loving audience in the UAE.
Marked by its vibrancy and melodramatic plots, Indian movies attract varied demographics in large numbers to cinemas across the UAE. Apart from the acceptance of other Indian language movies – which includes Malayalam, Tamil & Telugu movies, there is no denying the popularity of Bollywood movies in the UAE.
Understanding this need for entertainment, Bollywood has increased its capacity of producing more blockbusters on a yearly basis – ensuring these blockbusters release across cinemas in the UAE.
As Hollywood continues to release a number of blockbusters throughout the year – attracting large audiences with movies such as ‘Jungle Book‘ (Approximately 750K admissions in UAE), ‘Batman VS Superman‘ (Approximately 540K admissions in UAE) and ‘Captain America: Civil War‘ (Approximately 460K admissions in UAE), we take a look at some Bollywood blockbuster releases of 2016 – that exceeded expectations in terms of admissions, and was highly applauded by cinema-going audience across UAE.
Dangal
‘Dangal‘ released on December 22 2016 in the UAE – attracting approximately 330K admissions in its first week of release in the UAE. Aamir Khan and his four female wrestlers delivered more than a brilliant performance, for it also delivered a strong message – girl power. The movie ran for over 4 weeks in the UAE with a total audience admission of approximately 600K.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil‘ released on October 27 2016 in the UAE and reveals the journey of two characters – Alizeh and Ayan, as they navigate through life, love and heartbreak. Apart from the emotional, yet beautiful storyline, the movie also gives insight into love – the shape it takes in one’s life and the way it changes a person. The movie ran for 5 weeks in the UAE with an approximate admission figure of 220K.
Dear Zindagi
‘Dear Zindagi‘ – released on November 24 2016 across cinemas in UAE and conveys the story of a girl who gains a new perspective on life and understands that true happiness lies in finding comfort in life’s imperfections. The movie attracted approximately 150K admissions in UAE.
M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story
This biopic movie released on September 29 2016 in UAE and tells the untold story of Mahendra Singh Dhoni – World-cup winning captain of the Indian Cricket Team. It reveals the less known journey of an ordinary ticket collector who rose to being a trophy collector. The movie ran for 4 weeks in the UAE and drew approximately 100K admissions.
Befikre
With the movie’s storyline set in Paris, ‘Befikre‘ tells the story of a free-spirited, contemporary love story of two young people who believe in living life to the fullest. The movie released on December 8 2016 in UAE, ran for 2-3 weeks and attracted approximately 85K admissions.
Shivaay
‘Shivaay‘ released in UAE on October 27 2016 and is the story of an innocent Himalayan mountaineer who transforms into a mean destroyer in order to protect his family. The movie ran for a period of 2 weeks in the UAE and drew approximately 50K admissions.
Please Note: We do not have figures for two of the biggest Indian movies that relapsed in the UAE – ‘Sultan’ (Hindi) and ‘Kabali‘ (Tamil – which also released in multiple languages).
With an amazing lineup of upcoming blockbuster releases in 2017, Bollywood is indeed a one-stop shop for brands aiming to achieve greater brand awareness among Asian audiences and Bollywood-loving UAE nationals.
Interested in aligning your brand alongside Bollywood’s next biggest blockbuster release? Contact a member of our Sales Team for more information.
Sources: Constative.com, Khaleej Times, FlickeringMyth
Bollywood’s seed for a successful year was rooted at the start of 2016, with numerous blockbusters lined up for release from one of the most loved movie industries across the UAE. Towards the end of 2016, it was quite evident that Bollywood delivered above expectation – well-essayed stories releasing one after another.
Q1 of 2016 saw some amazing movies such as ‘Airlift‘ (worldwide collection of US$34 million), ‘Neerja‘ (worldwide collection of US$20 million), ‘Kapoor & Sons‘ (worldwide collection of US$22.7 million) and ‘Rocky Handsome‘ (worldwide collection of US$53 million).
Q2 witnessed blockbusters such as ‘Fan‘ (worldwide collection of US$28 million), ‘Housefull 3‘ (worldwide collection of US$29 million) and ‘Udta Punjab‘ (worldwide collection of US$15 million) – all of which kept the pace of Q1 releases.
Q3 blew us away with movies such as ‘Sultan‘ (worldwide collection of US$88 million), ‘Dishoom‘ (worldwide collection of US$18 million), ‘Rustom‘ (worldwide collection of US$32 million), ‘Mohenjo Daro‘ (worldwide collection of US$18 million) and ‘M.S.Dhoni: The Untold Story‘ (worldwide collection of US$24 million).
Towards the end of Q3, our appetite for Bollywood movies kept growing and so did our expectations – and as always, Bollywood did not disappoint.
Q4 gave us ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil‘ (worldwide collection of US$35 million), ‘Dear Zindagi‘ (worldwide collection of US$20 million) and ‘Befikre‘ (worldwide collection of US$19 million). Talk about a humongous and amazing line-up!
However, the most exciting and well-timed climax of this well articulated story of 2016 was the release of the mega blockbuster – ‘Dangal‘, which released across the UAE December 22. Aamir Khan and his foursome of female wrestlers delivered more than a brilliant performance – a strong message of girl power. With such power-packed performances, it was no surprise when the movie won the hearts of UAE cinemagoers – grossing over US$116 million worldwide. ‘Dangal‘ ranks the second highest grossing movie in Bollywood of all time – earning AED16 million (US$4 million) from just the first day of release in the UAE.
2016’s Top 10 Bollywood Grossers – Overseas
As we ready ourselves for yet another fantastic line-up from Bollywood in 2017, this Indian cinema industry has yet again managed to keep our hopes high with early releases of two eagerly awaited movies – ‘Raees’ and ‘Kaabil’.
‘Raees‘ – the story of a cruel and clever bootlegger, raised above the expectations of cinemagoers across UAE, collecting a worldwide total of US$37 million (to date) – as the movie is presently screening across cinemas around the world. Shah Rukh Khan (A.K.A ‘The King Khan‘ of Bollywood) plays the lead role in the movie that has received thundering applause across the region.
‘Kaabil‘ – another riveting spectacle from the father-son team, delivers a heart-clenching story of a blind lover seeking revenge. The movie has been well received in the UAE with a worldwide collection of US$23 million. Hrithik Roshan’s passionate performance has won him much acclaim and a massive following across UAE cinema audiences.
Here’s glimpse of what other Bollywood movies 2017 holds:
Vishal Bharadwaj’s romance drama ‘Rangoon‘ is on the horizon with the highly anticipated duo Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut set to awe UAE cinemagoers when the movie releases on Feb 23 across cinemas in the UAE.
From Jhansi and Vaidehi Trivedi comes ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania‘ (releasing March 9) – starring Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan, which will be a mix of comedy, drama and romance.
Further down the line is the release of ‘Jagga Jasoos‘ (April 6) starring Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif. The comedy will be a treat for cinema lovers who enjoy a musical twist.
Some other Bollywood movies releasing across 2017 include ‘Baadshaho‘ starring Ajay Devgan (releasing May 11), ‘Raabta‘ starring Sushant Singh Rajput (tentatively releasing June 8), ‘The Ring‘ starring Shah Rukh Khan (tentatively releasing August 10), ‘Golmaal Again‘ starring Ajay Devgan, ‘2.0‘ starring Rajnikanth & Akshay Kumar and ‘Tiger Zinda Hai‘ starring Salman Khan (tentatively releasing December 21).
As Bollywood promises to outperform 2016 – delivering ultimate entertainment for Bollywood loving cinemagoers, don’t miss out on the opportunity to aligning your brand with these big titles.
Contact a member of our Sales Team for more information.
Sources: Khaleej Times, Gulf News, Box Office, MVM Movie Planner
While many marketers still struggle to figure out the right approach towards Millennials (Generation Y), a new generation – Generation Z (Gen Z) – is growing behind the scenes. In 2015, Gen Z accounted for an estimated 26% (1.9 Billion) of the total global population – with this share expected to increase to 40% in 2020. In the UAE, Gen Z accounts for an estimated 22% of the total population – currently at approximately 9.2 Million.
So, who is Gen Z and what makes them so important to the world of advertising?
Gen Z comprises of 16-19 year olds who are today’s communicative, confident and complex consumers – which makes them a very demanding target audience for advertisers to reach. Gen Z is not the largest segment of the global population, nevertheless, its youthful nature inevitably means it’s the fastest-growing segment.
When compared with Gen X (35-49 year olds) and Gen Y (20-34 year olds), those of Gen Z are unquestionably the largest consumers of social media – with an average of 60% actively connected across various online channels.
It is also worthwhile noting that ‘Cinema‘ is the preferred medium to reach out to the consumers that make up Gen Z – the junior first jobbers, apprentices and students.
Despite their digitally dominated media consumption, it has been found that Gen Z finds traditional ad formats such as cinema advertising impressive and more positive. With this in mind, brands (on a global level) have started to channel more of their products through cinema to effectively reach this particular target group.
According to a recent study conducted by Millward Brown: ‘AdReaction – Gen X, Y and Z‘, Gen Z is leading the world in their love for cinema.
With Gen Z being ardent followers of movie celebrities and with film-makers offering a strong lineup of movies each year, one of the most important marketing notions to consider is the constant attraction towards cinema for this young demographic, which forms part of their socializing activities over the weekend.
The study (conducted in the UK) proves that consumers from Gen Z respond better to cinema ads, than the global average of similar-age consumers, with an acceptance level of nearly six in ten compared to just over half.
The study also refers to an interesting marketing strategy for brand interactions. Gen Z shows higher positive responses and interest in marketing campaigns – which they may be invited to participate in or voice their opinions, making off-screen cinema advertising ideal for reaching this younger generation.
With Gen Z having greater levels of independence – in terms of catching the latest blockbuster releases without having their parents tag along, and more of an appeal for cinema, it has been a prudent decision for advertisers to consider reaching out to this segment through various cinema advertising offerings.
With the decline in television and radio consumption and the fact that this generation is more passionate about movies, 38% of Gen Z indicate that movies make them more positive to advertising – proving cinema ads are more powerful and effective for this generation.
In conclusion, since Gen Z is a growing target audience who prefers cinema over other traditional advertising mediums, and with this year’s strong line-up of blockbusters, advertisers will truly agree that cinema advertising is a force to be reckoned with.
Sources: FBIC Group, MediaPost, Contently.Com, Kantar Millward Brown
