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Right from the time you buy the movie ticket, till you step out of the multiplex movie watching is like an absolute experience: the great picture quality, sound, even the popcorn you pop in are all part of the package.

Things obviously havent changed overnight. Its taken a whole decade to make the huge difference. And there is little doubt that one player has a huge role in bringing about this change to the world of entertainmentPVR Cinemas.

The journey started with PVR giving India its very first multiplex in Delhi in 1997. PVR now has an unmatched 101 screens across the country. Infact, technology has been a key enabler at PVR right from its inception. Says Atul Luthra, head of IT, PVR Cinemas, Use of technology has always been key to us right from the day PVR was started. At present, all our twenty-six cinemas at various locations are connected to each other by BI applications at the backend.

It has not only helped make all data automated at PVR but has also given a centralized control, which helps monitor the functioning of this network of halls. We can see data across all the PVRs, which helps us have a better perspective on things, adds Luthra.

CRM in Entertainment
With the introduction of online booking, which now constitutes 13% of PVRs ticket sales, and more competition from other players, there was an increasing need to be more customer driven.

Atul Luthra, head of IT, PVR Cinemas

Launched Indias first multiplex in India PVR Anupam, Delhi Introduced THXapproved three way surround sound system with real life sound effects and projection facility with latest Xenon based technology First to offer computerized and online ticketing with kiosks, mobile based ticketing service, and first to accept credit card based ticketing in cinemas

We were receiving a lot of complaints from people who were booking online. A lot of times payment was deducted from their credit cards but the ticket was not booked. So all this need to be checked manually at the backend, which was a difficult task, says Luthra.

Need for automation was felt to minimize this manual interface, and addres faster solutions to customers problems. The other things that pressed PVR to go further with technology and continue to be a pioneer in the field of entertainment was the need to have speedy reaction time to customer mails, increased advanced online bookings, and customer feedback which was many a times hushed up at the cinema manager level.

We also wanted to check if there is a pattern in the customer feedback. We wanted to be sure about how and what we do is being received well, and also the fact that we wanted to have snapshots of longer periods, says Luthra.

All this and much more prompted PVR to go live with its CRM program, last year in April. PVR zeroed in on Microsofts application, while an IT team internally handled the project.

The company is also planning to make the bookings done at the box office automated, and launch RFID. Right now the footfall is so high, so we will take some more time to do that.

Meanwhile, currently PVR is working on its new website with a fresh look, which it will be coming up with in another two to three months. We have planned a lot of things for online. In a months time we will also be collaborating on networking sites Facebook and Orkut, adds Luthra.

The company has already launched its digital screens in Delhi and Mumbai, Recently PVR opened a multiplex in Mumbai comprising seven mainstream digital auditoriums. The new multiplex has 2k digital cinema, compliant with DCI technology, and advanced sound and picture quality.

In these times of recession, which has not spared the entertainment industry either, Luthra says, technology is helping them in get an edge over other players.

Urvashi Kaul
urvashik@cybermedia.co.in

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