
Pictured together outside Roxy Cinema, Boxpark, Bill Fordyce (CEO, BackLite Media, left) is joined – from left to right – by Ahmed Emam (Head of Digital, BackLite Media), Paul Simon Fox (General Manager, Roxy Cinemas), Sufyan Siddiqui (Cinema Manager, BackLite Media) and Ben Sadek (Senior Manager-Sponsorship, Meraas)
Backlite Media are now the advertising partner for Roxy Cinemas at Boxpark, La Mer, The Beach and City Walk.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 16 April 2019: The leading out-of-home company in the UAE, BackLite Media, is proud to announce the launch of its new division; BackLite Cinema. BackLite Cinema will pioneer and innovate cinema advertising to improve traditional cinema advertising by enhancing advertising through location, audience, research, data and mobile technology.
Meraas and BackLite Media have a long-term partnership for advertising management at the key Meraas assets of City Walk, La Mer, The Beach and Marsa Seef. Both companies are pleased to announce an extension of their advertising partnership to now include Roxy Cinemas at Boxpark, La Mer, The Beach and City Walk.
The two companies first agreed on the deal in 2016 and today marks a fresh start to this new alliance. This long-term agreement is expected to grow beyond 2024. The new agreement will provide advertisers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) a targeted marketing opportunity in a unique environment, with multiple consumer touchpoints for entertaining pre-shows or lobby displays.
Bill Fordyce, CEO of BackLite Media, said: “We are delighted to partner with Roxy cinemas as it offers prestigious and highly targeted platform to reach discerning cinema audiences. Cinema has expanded from a traditional out-of-home buy into targeted premium video. Since there is no possibility to skip an ad or switch channels, cinema is as premium as it gets, the sheer impact of watching an ad on the big screen defines cinema to be the medium of choice to strengthen a brand, deliver key messages, increase awareness and attract new customers.”
BackLite Cinema has brought on Sufyan Siddiqui as their Cinema Manger. Sufyan is an experienced cinema advertising professional and a thought leader in the industry. He will be responsible for business development and initiating new partnerships with BackLite’s clients. Sufyan said, “In this day and age, video being the most integral part of advertising campaigns, we at BackLite will help our clients to make the most impactful use of cinema advertising and will create targeted buying routes that will provide an excellent platform for brands to engage with their target audience.”
Paul Fox, General Manager of Roxy, said: “We are pleased to be joining with BackLite Media for this partnership. As Roxy Cinemas continues to develop the cinema experience in both our existing and new locations, we look forward to working closely with BackLite Media who are uniquely placed to bring unique and innovative activations that will further delight our guests”.
Launched in January 2017, Roxy Cinemas is a unique cinematic entertainment concept developed by Meraas, combining lush retro elements with cutting edge audio-visual technology. Located at high quality urban destinations, Roxy presents the latest blockbusters, art-house movies, documentaries and special events – featuring a range of seating and dining options to suit the discerning tastes of movie lovers.
Founded in 1996, BackLite Media is the leading out-of-home advertising company in Dubai and manages the most iconic and premium outdoor signage on Sheikh Zayed Road. Through the partnership with Meraas, BackLite Media also has become a leading digital signage operator providing impactful advertising solutions to many of the largest advertisers in the Middle East.