Impresario in early IPO talks; SOCIAL powers Rs 800 crore business

New Delhi: Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality, which runs brands including SOCIAL, said it is in early discussions as it works towards a public listing.

“We are on the way to IPO. These conversations are exploratory at this stage.” The company said the talks are at a preliminary level.

Impresario began with Mocha in the early 2000s and has since expanded into a wider portfolio of hospitality brands that target urban consumers.

“What began with Mocha in the early 2000s, one of the country’s community spaces, has evolved into a portfolio of brands that now define urban culture across cities. Today, Impresario is an Rs 800-crore company, with SOCIAL emerging as the strongest engine of that growth,” said Divya Aggarwal, Chief Growth Officer, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality.

Since launching in 2014, SOCIAL has expanded into 57 outlets across 10 cities, contributing the largest share of the group’s revenue and continuing to scale through a mix of deepening presence in existing markets and responding to new neighbourhood demand.

“What’s driving this momentum is not just outlet growth, but the cultural role these spaces play; as places to belong, gather, and participate, not just dine,” she added.

Tale of monetisable walls

Enter any SOCIAL, and your eyes will land on them almost instantly. Big ones. Small ones. Hanging from ceilings. Tucked between pillars. They flash brand campaigns, cheeky one-liners, menu drops, drink promos, and meme-style festival announcements. It feels like a live feed stitched into the walls. But make no mistake, it is monetisable!

“The idea of these in-house digital screens is to communicate better. Instead of too many signboards, we became digital-first. The screens are monetisable. We work with partners and sell this space. It’s because today’s audience, especially Gen Z, is always scrolling. Their attention span is very low, five seconds, as per recent reports. When you are sitting with friends, you are more likely to absorb what a brand is trying to say. Ultimately, for every marketer, it’s a game of frequency into reach. These screens help build that frequency. It’s not about buying a screen. What we sell is an idea. The screen is just one touchpoint,” said Agarwal. 

It is advertising, yes. But it does not feel like a hard sell. It feels native to the room. That distinction is important when your core audience can smell inauthenticity in seconds.

Fit is the first filter for collabs

“My brand already has high awareness. For any collaboration, the brand fit has to work both ways. Both brands should speak to the same TG, have similar ethos and nuances. A misfit brand cannot collaborate with Social. Partnership is based on an idea.

Everything else from the screen, social media, and in-store is a channel. It’s always about ideas and brand fitment first. Monetisation is one part, but doing something right for the audience is more important,” said Agarwal.

That is why you will see collaborations with names like Hindustan Unilever, Nestlé, Tata Motors, Maybelline, Spotify and Netflix, but rarely a brand that feels out of place. “If brands want experiential marketing, Social is definitely a space they consider. We work with large brands like HUL, Nestlé, Tata Motors, Maybelline, Spotify and Netflix, but only when there is clear brand fit. Partnerships of every kind are something we keep doing. But it always has to be right for our brand.”

Cultural moments are treated the same way. During cricket season, SOCIAL does not just put up a screen and call it a day.

“IPL season is less a marketing moment and more a national ritual with our signature IP ‘Doosra Stadium’, one of the few cultural experiences that still brings people together across cities and communities. So, rather than approaching it as a one-off promotion, we look at it the way we look at all cultural formats, creating participation, shared energy, and community-led experiences that feel organic to the SOCIAL universe.”

Create brand moments, but make them tangible!

For SOCIAL, experiential marketing is not about plastering a logo on a wall. It is about turning a pop culture moment into something you can physically step into.

When ‘Kho Gaye Hum Kahan’ explored the anxiety of being constantly online, SOCIAL did not just promote the film. It translated the theme into a lived experience inside its outlets. “The movie’s concept was ‘go offline,’ which fits perfectly with Social Offline. We actually took guests’ phones and put them in a box, encouraging them to talk to each other. That was the idea.” The activation was simple but sharp. It forced a behavioural shift, even if just for a meal. The brand did not just echo the film’s message. It made people feel it.

Similarly, while partnering around The Traitors hosted by Karan Johar, SOCIAL went beyond themed décor or standees. It recreated elements of the format across outlets, allowing guests to participate in mini versions of the game. “We became their offline partner and created mini versions of the show experience across Social outlets.”

Music fandoms have become another powerful lever. “Shared interest is a very important spark. People want to talk about what they love with others who love the same thing. Fanverse is what we call that whole experience, whether it’s Taylor Swift, Karan Aujla, Linkin Park or Louis Tomlinson. When artists like Yungblud come to our space for a merch pop-up during Lollapalooza, it creates a cultural moment. These experiences are more than monetisation. They are reasons for communities to come together.”

In an industry where community is often a slide in a pitch deck, SOCIAL insists it is foundational. “Community has become a keyword for many brands today. For Social, it has been in our DNA since 2014.”

Even its media strategy reflects where its audience lives. “We are a digital-first brand. Most of our marketing spends go on digital platforms. Around 60% of our marketing and advertising spends would be on digital.”