ABOUT THE COMPANY

Priya Exhibitors (p) ltd is a part of the diversified Bijili Group, which has interests in transport, finance and construction sectors all over India. After a downturn in the industry in late 80s when the onslaught of video wars at its peak cinema has now been rejuvenated with the latest international trends in cinema exhibition reaching India’s shores swiftly with the arrival of satellite TV. The capitals cosmopolitan audience is becoming increasingly aware of the advanced cinematic technology that enhances the movie going experience and this has whetted their appetite for watching movies on the “big screen “.

To cater to the increasingly sophisticated tastes of the audience Priya exhibitor Pvt Ltd. totally refurbished the existing cinema in June 1991 including installation of a Dolby stereo sound system. They also gained exclusive rights to screen blockbusters from major distributors mainly Warner brothers, 20th

century fox, united international pictures, small wonder then that the cinema has become the focal point for entertainment in the capital for both the young and old attracting over 30,000 patrons a week. Infact, “Speed” set a national box office world record of Rs.785000 in its first week of screening at PVR (the highest ever for an English film), which is remarkable considering the relatively low price of a cinema ticket in India.

Buoyed by the overwhelming success of the cinema after upgrading, Priya exhibitors ltd have taken he next initial step for setting up the first multiplex in the country in a joint venture with Village Roadshow Ltd, Australia’s leading entertainment corporation.

PVR is a brand name synonymous with state-of-the-art cinema exhibition in India. PVR specializes in developing and operating state-of-the-art Multiplexes.

PVR Cinemas are the leading cinemas in the country with an emphasis on design, technology and service. Over the last three years, PVR has established itself as a very strong brand associated with movies, quality exhibition and youth-targeted promotions.

The company was conceived as a Joint Venture between the Bijli family, headed by Mr. Ajjay Bijli as Indian Promoters and Village Roadshow Limited of Australia, one of the largest multiplex operators in the world with more than 1500 screens under operation.

PVR AS A BRAND

PVR has successfully assimilated the Standard operating business and operational practices of Village Roadshow and set new standards in the quality of exhibition in India. The quality of cinema viewing has made the PVR brand synonymous with high quality cinema viewing in the country. This has enabled them to enter into strong corporate alliance partnerships and co-marketing exercises with leading brands like Pepsi, Evian, Samsung, Whirlpool, Hero Honda, Bharti, American Express, Master Card, Pizza Hut, Cadburys etc. This has generated additional steady stream of revenues for the company.

B U S I N E S S M O D E L

Hedged on Real Estate

Anchor Tenant in FECs

Widened basket of revenue Streams

Service Model No Real Estate InvestmentsRentals: Lower fixed rentals, due to advantage of anchor tenancy in a Mall and in a few cases revenue linked variable rental

Better Lease terms due to recognition as anchor tenancy Enhanced FootfallsTicket SalesCandy SalesCorporate Alliances, Sale of Media spaces

RELATIONSHIP WITH VILLAGE ROADSHOW

In 2002, Village Roadshow was undergoing a strategic and business restructuring worldwide. As part of their worldwide strategy, they decided to concentrate on the Production business and on Exhibition business only in those territories where they have majority control and have the critical mass of screens. In line with this strategy they exited from almost 20 countries worldwide, including India.

Village Road show’s inability to support the growth plans of PVR, the Indian promoters offered to buy out the Village stake and the joint venture was mutually decided to be terminated in June 2002. However, though Village Road show exited as a joint venture partner, the excellent relationship between both companies continues and is reflected by the fact that PVR continues to have an exclusive long term technical and marketing services arrangement with its erstwhile partners on a long term basis.

During the 5 years of joint venture with Village, PVR was exposed to best business and operational practices in the Cinema Exhibition industry and was able to revolutionize the way to go to cinemas.

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGHTS

First mover advantage in the multiplex business in India Updated technology

Premium positioning Plays Hindi, English, Regional & foreign movies Locational strength

Ambience Started the concept of ‘a complete movie going experience’ Market leader Very strong brand equity TOM recall

‘Original’ multiplex Blend of retail & entertainment

WEAKNESSES

High cost perceptions T.A very specific (not mass service)

Disjointed images for all PVR properties Customer retention Parking problems

OPPORTUNITIES

First mover advantageGrowing family spendings on entertainment

Large film industry – over 200 hindi films every year PVR loyalists

THREATS

Competition blooming large Government’s interference Entertainment Tax

Other Multiplexs as competition Other ways of entertaingment Accused of increased crime rate

PiracyNo control over surroundings eg. West Delhi Movies becoming bigger than the brand

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning

Segmentation

On the basis of customer preferences, we may classify PVR under the Clustered category . This is owing to the fact, that out of the entire masses they have clearly defined their target audience and aim to cater to them. Also, PVR is a Concentrated

Market because they only cater to the premium movie-going audience i.e. SEC A and SEC B.

PVR Cinemas has approx. 22 million movie goers per month

Consumer Demographic Segmentation

Age: 61% between 18 and 49 Gender: 47% Males / 53% Female Income: 61% have income over 50KEducation: 55% of adult movie-going audience has attended/graduated college*. Of these adults, 37% have college degrees or higher

Consumer Psychographic Segmentation

PVR Movie Goers are people with high resources and can be classified as “Experiencers” who seek variety and entertainment. Spend a comparatively high proportion of income on fashion, entertainment, and socializing.

“PVR Movie Buffs” generally have the following major tendencies:-

-Go outside the home for entertainment -Participate in sports and other active lifestyles -Hard to reach through other traditional media-lighter television and radio users, but heavy internet users-Receptive to advertising in movie theatres, consider as part of their movie going experience

Consumer Behavioral Segmentation

Usage rate: 1/3 of the population attends the movies one or more times per month.

WHAT?1. What benefits that the customer seeks? – Complete movie-going

experience.2. Factors influence PVR’s demand? – Price, movie, day, time of the day,

day of the week, month etc.3. What function can the product perform for the customer? –

Entertainment.4. What are the important buying criteria? – Price, ambience, placement,

quality service, premium positioning, status symbol.

5. What risks does the customer perceives – risk of being overcharged, risk of being in an emergency like fire at the theater.

HOW?

1. How does customer buy the product? – Online / Telebooking / In person

2. How long does the buying process take? – Simple and prompt

3. How do the various marketing mix elements influence the customer at each stage of buying? – (Explained later in the report)

4. How does product fit in to their lifestyle? – Entertainment product for the premium.

5. How much would they be willing to spend? – PVR had started with tickets being priced at Rs 125 with special counters available for tickets worth Rs 7. Even when all tickets are now priced at Rs 145, there is no change in the amount of customers that PVR receives, which means that people are willing to pay.

6. How much do they buy in one transaction? – Almost always more than 1 ticket. Depends upon the person, movie playing.

Targeting

PVR being the first of its kind has always been a market leader and therefore its offering to the customer is Innovative.

PVR has premium pricing and they target mainly SEC A and SEC B. PVR has brought to its customers the experience of Luxury Cinema. PVR uses the concentrated method as they have target a much focused audience out of he entire masses.PVR witnessed tremendous success Europa Lounge in Delhi. PVR Cinemas has also recently introduced the concept of luxury viewing to Bangalore. Gold Class Cinemas have been introduced for the first time in India, are two ultra luxurious exclusive auditoriums, each equipped with 32 plush and fully reclining seats and generous legroom. Patrons can also enjoy star like treatment at the exclusive Gold Class lounge which provides an excellent pre cinema experience with scrumptious food and beverages

PVR Priya of PVR’s chain use Differentiation method for pricing.It practices different price slabs for different target audience. For instance, they have tickets ranging from Rs 45 (for the youth) to Rs 140 (for the upper class i.e. SEC A).

Positioning

PVR had, and still has a very well planned market position. Its premium positioning affects the customers perceptual positioning. Therefore, they decided on their marketing strategy and pricing, keeping the target market in mind. In case of PVR, they make use of all their tangible elements to prove to their customers that their movie tickets are worth the price they are paying. Also, since some of the other movie theatres (which are not multiplexes) are still offering movies at rates as low as Rs 35, it is the task of its marketer to ensure that PVR comes across as a superior brand in terms of cinema viewing as well as the experience. It’s positioning is evident in its mission statement also which says

“A commitment to deliver the best quality cinema viewing Every where, Every time.”

MARKETING MIX – 7 Ps

SERVICE PRODUCT/ SERVICE PACKAGE

A product (in the marketing context) may be tangible, intangible or both. In case of services, on the contrary, the tangible component is nil or minimal. In services, there is no or very little tangible element because of which they are considered as benefits, which are offered to the target market. First, a service is a bundle of features and secondly, there benefits and features have relevance for a specific target market. Therefore while developing a service product, it is important that the package of benefits in the service offer must have a customers perspective. 5 product levels are as follows:Core Benefit is the MOVIES that the customer comes to a cinema hall for, along with the attendant experience of PVR. The expected product in PVR’s case would be ambience, hygiene, good service, parking, candy bar etc.

PVR has augmented its product offerings:

Luxury cinemaPVR has

brought to its customers the experience of l

uxury cinema. After the tremendous success of

Cinema Europa in Delhi, PVR Cinemas has intr

oduced the concept of luxury viewing to Banga

lore as well. Gold Class Cinemas have been in

troduced for the first time in India, are two

ultra luxurious exclusiveauditoriums, each equipped with 32 plush and fully reclining seats and generous legroom. Patrons can also enjoy star like treatment at the exclusive Gold Class lounge which provides an excellent pre cinema experience with scrumptious food and beverages.

Bulk BookingsThere are special arrangements for bulk bookings (of twenty or more tickets) done by corporates. Details can be filled online and PVR executives themselves get in touch with the concerned people.

E-booking and tele-bookingPVR also provides the factility of e-booking, which was first started by PVR, it has now been copied by Satyam cineplexes as well. It also offers tele-booking

Parties at PVRPVR has also started helping customers in planning birthday/kitty parties at PVR. They have made PVR a wholesome entertainment experience than just a movie watching spree.

Movie newsletter and magazineTo keep its customers hooked on to movies and to PVR, it has also come out with an online newsletter called ‘PVR

Wire’ is directly mailed to the subscribers and can also be downloaded from their website. They have also launched a movie magazine called ‘Movies First’.

Movie vouchersThey have also taken out the unique concept of movie vouchers which people can use as gifts. Many corporates have also started using these as incentives and rewards for their employees.The vouchers are available in denominations of Rs 100 to Rs 350 and a minimum of 25 coupons needs to be purchased to avail of the offer.

The following options are available in Delhi/NCR

The Delhi PVR Movie Money Voucher costs Rs 150/- and is valid right through the week across all cinemas (except PVR Gurgaon - Cinema Europa)

PVR Gurgaon (Cinema Europa) PVR Movie Money Vouchers cost Rs 160/-

The following options are available in Bangalore Classic Mon -Thur : Rs 100/-

All Week (including Weekends) : Rs 130/-Europa Mon -Thur : Rs 130/-

All Week (including Weekends) : Rs 150/-Gold Class All Week (including Weekends) : Rs 350/- + Rs150/- for food

and beverages (optional)

THE SERVICE PACKAGEThe “package” concept of services product suggests that what you offer to the market is a bundle of different services, tangible and intangible, but there is a main or substantive or ‘core’ service and around it are built the auxiliary/peripheral/facilitator. It is important to note that facilitating 3services ate mandatory and if these are left out, the entire service would collapse. Yet another type called supporting services, don’t facilitate the consumption of core services but are used to increase the value and thus differentiate from the competition.

Quality Assessment through RATER in case of PVR

Focused on developing a procedure for quantifying customer’s service quality can be measured in following dimensions:

Reliability – Ability to perform promised service dependably and accurately. PVR is a very well established brand name, and the audience is given excellent experience of the basic product i.e. the movie as well as the other elements involved. Hence, it is very much capable of good delivery of the

service it provides. There is no flaw in the quality of the service and is always delivered on time.

Assurance – Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey truth and confidence.

Since PVR is a high contact organization, the employees are well trained in all areas regarding customer interaction and courtesy. PVR movies being a service, heavily relies on its employees, as they are the only mode of direct communication made with the customers. They are well trained and are definitely able to convey the confidence that the brand name represents.

Tangibility – Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel etc PVR movies have a lot of tangible elements present like the employees (staff), the movie halls, the candy bars, rest rooms etc, all of which are highly maintained and well kept.

Empathy – Caring, individualized attention to the customer.Even though in a service like this customization is not possible, the employees of PVR Cinemas are always very helpful and provide the customers with good assistance whenever needed. From the employees made to sit at the ticket counter to the employee that guides customers to their respective seats in the cinema hall, all employees deliver a very helpful attitude towards the target audience.

Responsiveness – Willingness to help customer with prompt service. The employees of PVR are fast and prompt at delivering their service and are taught to cause as less inconvenience as possible to the customers. If a customer places an order via telebooking / online reservation etc, thedelivery of the tickets is made well before the show timing at the customer’s doorstep. The employees are well trained.

PRICETo many customers, high price means high quality. Services pricing follows the price and practices of pricing of goods and therefore are either cost based or market based. Within these, categories of price may be profit oriented, government controlled, competition or customer oriented. But the characteristics of services do influence the pricing and therefore different methods of pricing are followed in their case.

PVR when started off had a huge advantage of being the only one of its kind in Delhi to begin with. Therefore, they could charge a higher amount to its target audience, as they did not hesitate to pay the sum for the new concept. This high pricing helped them make maximum gains. Also, PVR had, and still has a very well planned market position. Its premium positioning affects the customers perceptual positioning. Therefore, they decided on their marketing strategy and pricing, keeping the target market in mind. Hence, we may say that the pricing as well pays a strategic role in their marketing plans.

In case of PVR, they make use of all their tangible elements to prove to their customers that their movie tickets are worth the price they are paying. Also, since some of the other movie theatres (which are not multiplexes) are still offering movies at rates as low as Rs 35, it is the task of its marketer to ensure that PVR comes across as a superior brand in terms of cinema viewing as well as the experience. The movie theatres market is a Free Market, even though the government in the past regulated it. This allows PVR as the market leader to set its own prices.

Prices that had originally started from Rs 125 (for evening shows) and Rs 90 (for morning shows and weekday plans) have increased to a high of Rs 150 and the lowest is Rs 100. The high pricing however has not led to any change in the footfalls that PVR gets. Even in slighter crowded shows, the occupancy rates as low as 35% reaches PVR’s break-even points.

PVR Priya has a slightly different pricing system, which varies from Rs 45 to Rs 150 for different slabs of consumers. This has been done to mainly attract the youth and to keep the concept of movie going still affordable at one of its chains.

The pricing at PVR Europa is Rs 160 and a Gold Class ticket is charged at Rs. 750. It offers superior ambience, environment, seating, viewing etc in the sum.

PLACE / DISTRIBUTIONServices are generally created and delivered to the buyer at the same time, therefore creation of time and place utilities is a vital function in services marketing. Irrespective of middlemen or direct sales channel, the factor of

location keeping in view the potential markets is the most significant in channel selection and distribution.

The issue of location here plays a very important role, as all PVR Cinema Halls are stationed at good locations in the city, which gathers a large number of footfalls for them every day. PVRs usually open at an eventful yet untapped location, followed by which (as we saw in case of Anupam PVR Saket) other retail chains get opened around it as well. Their places are always well situated and are well linked. PVR does not have any other channel of distribution, as their service is sold solely at their chains. They do not follow any franchisee outlets, even though they indulge in ticket sales online and via telebooking. The only intermediary involved for procuring movies are Indian as well as international movie distributors, by way of whom they acquire the movies.

Distribution of Movies

The Company has also recently forayed into the Distribution of Hollywood film titles in the country through its 100% subsidiary, PVR Pictures. By virtue of its strong brand equity and partnerships with major independent Hollywood studios like Miramax, Newline Cinemas etc. that are not represented in India through their own offices, PVR has managed to procure and distribute titles in the country.

With the advent of the multiplex revolution across the country, the company sees a great opportunity to fill up these upcoming multiplex screens with Hollywood titles. The company has successfully distributed major Hollywood titles like Rush Hour 2 , Wedding Planner , Chicago , Choclat , Spy Kids 2 , Makdee etc.

PROMOTION

Promotion is a very vital part of the marketing mix especially in the case of services. The customer needs to trust or have belief in the service, as he has to pay for it pre-experience. Therefore, it is very important to sell the service in the best possible way. Usually the objective of promoting a service may be to create a brand image, establish a personal relationship with the client and to create an impression of competence, honesty and sincerity to win the buyers’ confidence in sellers’ abilities to deliver the service efficiently. To

promote these, the marketer generally employs indirect selling techniques, as it is usually not possible to use the conventional promotion tools like advertising. Promotion activities like community relations, event management, media blitz, corporate identity programs have relevance. 3rd parties like government, unions and interest groups are important, as they are capable of influencing market access.

PVR as a brand indulges into print advertisements on every Friday giving out the latest movie schedules. Any new developments are communicated to the audience via press releases. Hence there is a strong element of PR involved. Apart from that, they usually have contests pertaining to latest festivals like Valentines Day, New Years Eve, Oscar Movies Week etc. PVR also has a host of online promotional contests associated with movies The latest one relates to the film King Kong.

They are also in collaboration with cellular services like Airtel have SMS-and-win contests and give out free tickets to the winners. Also, PVR attracts a lot of commercial shooting / media coverage via programmes etc which promotes it as a brand in a big way. Organizing Star Events on Premiers of movies like ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ helps PVR relate better with its target audience i.e. the youth. The whole PVR banner and its exterior environment including movie hoardings, banners etc help promote the concept of movie viewing as well as PVR as a strong and successful brand.

PVR also hosts premiere shows with leading movie stars visiting the various PVR cinemas. They also host numerous fun events for children while screening animations etc. Given below are a few such recent promotions:

The star cast of Akbar Khan's resplendent 'Taj Mahal' visited PVR EDM, Naraina, Vikaspuri and Saket, bedazzling the audiences on 21st N ov'05.

A funfilled afternoon was organised at PVR Saket on 3rd Nov'05 during the show of animated movie ‘Hanuman’. Celebrities were invited with their kids.

PVR organized a rendevous with French Cinema from 21st-27th October 2005. The glitterati from the film fraternity including Salman Khan,Katrina Kaif and Nandita Das lit the star studded opening ceremony, along with others as PVR Gurgaon geared up to host and experience the amalgamation of French movies with the multiplex magic.

It also organizes socially responsive events. It organized a movie screening for the children of ‘Kutumb Foundation’ on children’s day. PVR Plaza celebrated the Rose Day with cancer afflicted patients, on 22nd September '05. The event was held in alliance with Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA). Celebrities like Sushma Seth, Manpreet Brar, Anita Kaul Basu and Shivani Wazir Pasreecha and Mrs. Celina Bijli, wife of Mr. Ajjay Bijli-MD PVR Cinemas, were present to greet the children and grace the occasion."

Other promotions:

This was the challenge thrown at Delhites by PVR Cinemas, a pioneer in multiplex development and the largest cinema exhibition company in India, and Radio City 91 FM. The response was overwhelming, with over 5,000 Radio City 91 FM listeners responding to the Challenge. The PVR City Challenge contest, running on Radio City for two weeks now, dares listeners to send in entries on the wackiest thing they would do to win a car (Maruti Alto).

In collaboration with MSN, PVR had a contest for ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ and gave out 2 free tickets to winners for an entire week.

PEOPLEEMPLOYEES, CUSTOMERS and OTHER CUSTOMERS

Service must be fully developed and internally accepted before its launched.

Attracting, developing, motivating, retaining employees

Measure &Reward Offer a vision

Stress team playCompete in

Prepare to

Leverage freedom perform Know the customer factor

PVR indulges in the following for their EMPLOYEES:

• Complimentary ticket on payment of entertainment tax amount at any point of time (2 days in advance) to the employees, subject to availability.

• Tickets to employees are given for: o 1+1 oneself and employees guest o 2 for immediate family i.e. parents, spouse etc.

This has been done to encourage movie going among employees as well as customers.

• Gives 10 national holidays to employees • Makes all employees train at different levels from time to time • Teaches employees to be helpful, polite, courteous to all patrons

and co workers – enthusiasm and cheerful • Report customer grievances to managers • Strict on rules on no smoking, drinking on job etc. • They are given personalized badges – symbolizes that the

employees pride themselves on being a part of the PVR family • Very great importance is given to person hygiene and appearance

– clean uniform and shoes. • Not allowed to make a gesture to ask for any sort of a tip / gift from

customers. • Job performance evaluation at the completion of first 90 days of

employment. They are evaluated once a year on their anniversary of date of joining by individual superiors and records regarding employees’ progress are evaluated.

• Given bright blue uniforms – represents PVR. This is done to ensure uniformity of appearance and to project a well kept image.

• All employees are taught to deal with safety problems like accidents, fire, bomb threat, armed robbery etc.

• Certified first aid course given to all employees • All trainees are made to train at all departments like ticket sales,

computer ticketing, telebooking, sales enquiries, customer service skills, cash handling sales, credit card sales etc.

• Special well kept rooms for the employees • Lastly, it is made sure that all employees represent PVR in the best

way possible and sell it as a strong and well-established brand. All

employees are given full details on what they are representing and informed all about PVR to make them a part of the family.

• On the occasion of Children's Day 2005, PVR created a rememberance for children from PVR's Housekeeping Attendants, Projectionists, electricians, with the movie IQBAL.The children from the NGO "Kutumb Foundation" also were an intrinsic part of the event, invited specially by PVR, to celebrate children's day.

Management Team

The company has a dedicated management team at the corporate level which looks after each area of its business i.e. programming, marketing & event management, operations, business development, projects and finance. It has about 30 employees at the corporate level.

At the cinema level the company has a strong team at each of its cinemas, ably headed by a Cinema General Manager. He has a team of 50-60 employees at each cinema. The total employee strength across all cinemas is about 300 employees.The company has had a good track record of being able to attract top class management talent.

For the customers’ convenience, it is ensured by the organisation that there are no loopholes. In case of any customer complaints, the employees are immediately directed to report the same to their managers. The nature of all employees is very friendly, informed, helpful, reliable, soothing, cheerful

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and youth-like. Therefore, the audience can easily relate and communicate with them.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

Though customers cannot see a service, but they can definitely see various tangible clues of the service offer like facilities, communication, objectives, employees, other customers, price etc. On basis of these, he forms his opinion as they help us to tangibalise the service. . Therefore, it is essential to manage physical evidence.

Atmosphere – helps to shape opinions. The building, layout, colours of interiors, tickets, labels, logo of the organisation etc help to formulate a good unified corporate image / identity.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

AMBIENT DESIGN SOCIALFACTORS FACTORSFACTORS

Aesthetics

Air quality Architecture, Appearanccolour e,Quality ofscheme, Beheviourscentmaterial etc) andDegree ofFunctional number ofcirculationdimensions serviceof design in personnelterms of Quality &layout, quantity ofcomfort etc other

customers

Ambient factors relate to background condition, deign factors, on the contrary are visual stimuli and social factors relate to interactive environment. The service factor has an impact on not only the customers, but the employees as well.

The interior and exterior of the premises is such so as to project a hygienic and well-maintained image at all times. The administration offices, booking offices, candy bars, conference rooms, auditorium, foyers, corridors, wash rooms, staircases, walls, projector room, basement area – all coordinated and hygienically maintained.Both the external and internal ambience is very important and is maintained excellently, as it is important to appeal to existing and even to the potential customers. At PVR, it is equally important to keep employees happy.Therefore, even the employee’s workplaces in the premises are coordinated with the whole hall’s ambience and are lively.

Exterior – the movie hoardings, movie schedules, computerized service, glass entrance, PVR banner, deign of PVR building, parking etc all contribute to the external environment

Interior – Seats, color coordination and combination (blue in case of PVR), hygienic wash rooms, candy bars, corridors, stairs, sound and visual equipment, design of the hall, ambience etc are all included here.

Attention to detail and stress on high quality cinema viewing experience is evident from the unique seating arrangement that ensures unobstructed viewing from anywhere in the auditorium.

Plush, ergonomically designed seats have been installed to provide flexibility and ultimate comfort to guests.

Convenient cup holders have also been installed on every armrest. Edge to edge screens and digital sound will contribute in creating the ultimate movie going experience.

The multiplex has an avant-garde lobby with studio effect interiors. Station concession counters which offer customers a wide selection of the traditional movie going fare of sweet and salted popcorn, hotdogs and soft drinks, as well as candy, nachos, fruit juices and Mineral water.

Peripheral – possessed as a part of service purchased e.g. Ticket, popcorn

Core – Those that cannot be possessed. e.g. The experience of the movie

PROCESS

It was the first cinema company to introduce computerized ticketing through use of international box office software in its cinemas; first cinema to accept credit cards in India against tickets; and the first to offer cinema tickets on Internet with online payment gateway for payment. The company had a turnover of Rs 41 Crores in 2001-02, which is expected to rise to about Rs 60 Crores in 2002-03, and with the growth envisaged, the turnover in the next 3 years is expected to be over Rs 250 Crores.

PVR was the first to install surround sound and Dolby in Delhi.

Gurgaon 7 screen megaplex is equipped with the latest THX approved sound system for the real life sound effects and the state of the art Xenon based projection technology.

SERVICE BLUEPRINTING

Service design is a complex task that can benefit from a more sophisticated version of flowcharting known as blueprinting.

Developing a service blueprint requires identifying all the key activities involved in service delivery and production and specifying the linkages between these activities.

A central aspect of service blueprinting is to distinguish between what the customer experiences front stage and the activities of employees and support process backstage, where the customer cannot see them. Between the two lies what is called the line of visibility.

Standards can be set for each service activity but should be based on good understanding of customer expectations. Below the line of visibility, the

blueprint identifies key actions to ensure that each front stage step is performed in a manner that meets or exceeds those expectations.

Service blueprints clarify the interactions between customers and employees and how these are supported by additional activities and system backstage. Because blueprints show the inter relationships between employee roles, operational process, information technology, customer interactions, they can facilitate the integration of marketing, operations, and human resource management within a firm

Blueprinting also gives managers the opportunity to identify potential fail points in the process that pose a significant risk of things going wrong and diminishing service quality.

Blueprinting the PVR experience

To illustrate blueprinting of high contact, people processing pvr service, we examine the experience of watching a movie in pvr that enhances its core movie service with variety of other supplementary services.The key components that we will include in pvr experience blueprint:

1 Script for each front stage activity2 Physical evidence for front stage activities3 Line of interaction4 Front stage actions by customer-contact personnel5 Line of visibility6 Backstage actions by customer contact personnel7 Identifying failure points

Identifying failure points – Running a good movie experience is a complex business and much can go wrong. The most serious fail points, marked by small F in a circle, are those that will result in failure to access or enjoy the core product. Because service delivery takes place over time, there is also the possibility of delays between specific actions, requiring the customer to wait. A W within a triangle identifies common locations for such waits. Excessive waits will annoy customers.

Blueprint of PVR is divided into three “acts” representing activities that take place before the core product (movie) is encountered, delivery of core product, activities after core product is encountered.

The stage or service escape includes both interior and exterior of PVR ACT 1: Before the core product is encountered

In this particular act, the first act begins with making ticket booking or reservation- either by arriving at pvr in person or on telephone with an unseen employee. Also tickets can be booked online called as arm’s length interaction. If tickets are booked according to first two procedures then impression is created on the evidence of respondent’s voice, speed of response, and style of the conversation and if booked online then impression is made by the outlook of website and how easy it is to book a ticket online. The act concludes with customer entering the respective auditorium and being seated. These six steps constitute our customer’s initial experience of pvr, with almost each involving an interaction with an employee. By the time customers reach the auditorium; they have been exposed to several supplementary services, including booking, eating counter, seating. They have also seen sizable cast of characters, including contact personnel and many other customers.

ACT 2: Delivery of core product

In this act, our customers are finally about to experience the core product they came for, that is to watch a movie. As the customer enters the auditorium it’s important how the employee interacts and guides the way to the customer’s respective seats. Light and sound effects of theater are one of the most important aspects of good movie experience.Also interval time of the movie is important time period to provide service. Because generally during interval time people either go out to eat something or goes to washroom or both. So if they go to eat then most important dimension is not only quality of food and drink, availability, pricing but also how promptly it is served and style of service. Here backstage activities plays really important role like to keep check on availability of food etc and if go to washroom then hygiene is the most important dimension.

ACT 3:

The movie may be over but much still is taking place both front stage and backstage like getting ready for next show. The core service has now been delivered, and we will assume that our customers are happily moving out of pvr. Act 3 should be short. The action in each of remaining scenes should move smoothly, quickly, and pleasantly with no shocking surprises in the end.