Madison Comm to handle media buying account of Fun Republic

Our Corporate Bureau
17 June 2003

Says E-City CEO Atul Goel: "We are delighted to join hands with Madison and we look forward to benefit from its unique experience in the media. The entertainment industry presents some unique and exciting challenges and opportunities in terms of media buying. Typically our marketing and promotional efforts are focused around four entertainment mix and it is imperative that we explore and venture beyond the traditional media to ensure a 'connect' with target consumers. Scientific and well-thought-out media planning and buying processes significantly augment the reach of a company''s marketing budget."

Says Madison chairman and managing director Sam Balsara: "We are happy that E-City chose Madison Media to make their Fun Republic entertainment centres a household name. Promoting an entertainment property is an exciting business and we hope to generate and execute some clutter bursting ideas for Fun Republic."

"Marketing of entertainment properties has become increasingly sophisticated with consumers being bombarded with multiple messages across platforms. Our endeavour is to ensure that brand communications span the spectrum of media consumed by our target consumers in the most optimal way without being overtly intrusive," says Prakash Mirpuri, head (communications and corporate partnerships), E-City.

He adds: "We are exploring the possibility of entering into strategic alliances with key media partners and with a select bevy of brands to enhance the collective reach of our media spend with prime objective of adding value to each of our respective end consumers. To this end, we are offering media opportunities within our centres themselves and have identified a clutch of over two dozen synergistic categories of goods and services, with whom we can partner to share media costs and embark on joint activities."

Fun Republic, Mumbai, is the second in a chain of nationwide integrated entertainment centres being set up by E-City. Situated near the Lokhandwala Complex at Andheri West in Mumbai, Fun Republic has four cinema screens with a total seating capacity of 1,300 patrons. The centre also has over 16,000 square feet of shopping, a food court and a games area.

The first Fun Republic has been in operation in Ahmedabad since July 2001. The next Fun Republic will open in the coming weeks in Chandigarh. The other cities where Fun Republic will roll out are Bangalore, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Indore, Surat, Pune, Lucknow and one more centre in Mumbai.