Cinema Advertising Stands Strong

Cinema advertising is often overlooked by many marketing departments and booted from their media mix. Video Advertising Bureau released some data that might make marketing managers change their minds about the big screen.

According to VAB, box office ticket sales saw an eleven percent increase from 2014 to 2016. Perhaps this is due to the rising median household income amounts. From 2010 to 2015, the median HHI has increased from $53,569 to $56,516. With an increase in HHI comes an increase in disposable income which has grown from $11,515 in 2010 to $14,281 in 2016 (referring to personal disposable income).

Demographically, heavy movie goers tend to be young, multicultural, affluent, educated, and professional. The majority of these people are ages 18-44, employed, home-owners, college educated, and making over $50k per year.

So, what’s so special about cinema advertising? Well, beyond the fact that you’re speaking to a captive, engaged, willing audience; cinema advertising drives consumer action. Many steady cinema advertisers like Vans, Shazam, esurance, LG, Infiniti, and Hotels.com see an increase in website activity when cinema is a part of their media mix verses when they’re not on the big screen.

On top of that, consumers are choosing to spend leisure time watching movies at a theater more often than other activities like attending a sporting event, going to the zoo, or having a picnic.

It might be time to rethink that marketing mix and see how your brand on the big screen can make a difference.

Cinema Advertising Rakes in the Ad Revenue

The cinema industry has high hopes for the future; and rightfully so with a 13% increase of ad revenue in 2015, topping $700 million for the first time.

The Cinema Advertising Council (CAC) recognizes the consistency of movie-goers. In fact, there have been at least 1.25 billion movie tickets purchased every year for the past 22 years! Katy Loria, CAC President and Chairman, notes that, “it [cinema advertising] delivers millennial audiences whose consumption habits compared with past generations are different and elusive… except for movies.”

Theater ads have high viewability in front of captive audiences, as well as the ability to target specific demographic and geographic consumers.

In addition to the ordinary cinema ad on the big screen, with the development of new data and technology, advertisers are beginning to connect brands with consumers before, during, and after the movie experience.

While cinema advertising is growing nationwide, the strongest area of growth is amongst national and regional brands. Two hundred fifteen new brands jumped on the cinema bandwagon last year. Overall, national and regional brands make up 77% of cinema ad revenue. 

Movie Theater Advertisements Are Here to Stay

Most of us have probably been to the movie theater recently and seen a few advertisements on the big screen before the movie begins. This emerging media platform doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. In fact, theater advertising companies like National CineMedia (NCM) have seen an increase in companies opting to advertise in theaters.

According to MyersBizNet data, cinema advertising revenue totaled $743 million last year and is expected to increase by roughly $20 million this year.

Theater advertising spots are often longer and far more expensive than spots on television. So why advertise there? Well, moviegoers seek out their entertainment opposed to people watching  television  that may very well be a passive activity or mere background noise while cooking dinner or cleaning house. The audience at a theater is captive and engaged. According to Cineplex research, “42 percent of consumers who are moviegoers have a stronger emotional attachment to film than to major televised events, TV shows, magazines and radio.”

The strategy with most cinema advertisements is that it is incorporated with other mediums to reach consumers multiple times.

It is clear that this cinema advertising is here to stay. NCM recently unveiled new tools that they plan to use to make theater advertising even more effective including Audience Targeting Optimizer software that will help brands create media schedules based on movie genres that resonate with target audiences. NCM stated it is working with, “…Rocket Fuel on its new Cinema Accelerator product that will help marketers reach moviegoers online and on their mobile devices, using first-party data like movie ticket purchase data.”

So, as you buy that $10 movie ticket this weekend, be prepared for some long and engaging advertisements. You might even get lucky and see one in 3D!

Screenvision to launch "Front & Center"

A part of the movie-going experience is watching the preshow entertainment. According to MediaPost, Screenvision is changing it up for audiences and will launch “Front & Center.”

Screenvision is one of the leading national cinema advertising networks. The new preshow “Front & Center” will run 20 minutes prior to the feature presentation. In the 20 minutes, there will be three entertainment blocks that will include advertising opportunities like custom branded segments, sponsorships, interstitials, trivia, custom promos, and music. In addition, there will be opportunities for interactivity with movie patrons through partners like Shazam.

The preshow recently launched with a few partners like FX’s “The Americans,” NBC’s “Crisis,” “Believe”, etc. The intention is to create a better platform to promote entertainment programming and unique advertising opportunities.

Cinema Advertising Council commissions research to measure ROI

Not only do advertisers have to be constantly versed in new research to help make sound media judgments, vendors have the same responsibility. This is especially important since there are so many choices for audiences to consume media. In fact, many vendors commission research to accurately depict the media landscape.

The Cinema Advertising Council recently did just that by having the research director for the New York University Stern Center for Measurable Marketing observe the Return on Investment (ROI) of a campaign consisting of theater ads, national broadcast television, cable, local television, and syndication. MediaPost reports that the two most prominent theater advertising networks, Screenvision, and NCM MediaNetworks were both part of the campaign.

The study observed the link between budget spent and incremental sales. This showed cinema ads as having a 37% higher ROI than similar ads on TV. Having this information can help cinema companies better champion the product to advertisers.

While there are a variety of factors that can help increase sales like creative, audience targeting, geographic targeting, day-parting, the base of every campaign is know the target audience. That knowledge comes from research.

Cinema advertising network to roll out new consumer interactive products in 2013

National CineMedia (NCM) has changed up a few advertising tactics in order to increase total revenue spend according to MediaPost.

As one of the largest cinema advertising networks in America, the vendor has begun the process of phasing out the Fathom Business Events operations. With events revenue fading out, NCM will invest in new products in order to increase total revenue.

One new product will be an interactive video display called a “Monster Wall.” The wall will be approximately 8 feet by 10 feet and encourage people to interact with it by way of game and entertainment content. “Monster Wall” will also house interactive advertising content for moviegoers, which will give advertisers another way of reaching potential consumers. So far, it’s being tested in large markets. Should it be deemed successful, it will be dispersed across the network’s other theaters.

Another initiative rolling out later this year is FirstLook Sync, which is a second-screen capability with smartphones. The idea is to have movie audiences interact with the movie content through this technology.

With all of the upcoming changes this year, NCM is estimating a 1-4% increase in total revenue compared to 2012. 

See a Super Bowl ad in a theater near you

In the few weeks between the New Year and Valentine’s Day, advertisers and Americans alike look forward to one major event- The Super Bowl. For some, they watch it for the sports, others for the entertainers, and lastly, for the commercials. If the highly anticipated commercials were released earlier than February 3^rd, would it take the fun out of it? Kia Motors America apparently doesn’t think so.

According to MediaPost, Kia is going to release its Super Bowl commercial early in movie theaters. This will be the second year the car-maker has implemented this strategy. The ad will be released in two parts across 19,000 theaters nationwide through the NCM Media Networks. The first part will be a :15 teaser running Friday, January 25^th to lead up to the full :60 spot premier on Friday, February 1^st. The ad will run during the FirstLook pre-show program. Titled “Space Babies” the commercial will promote Kia’s 2014 Sorento CUV.

Running a Super Bowl commercial in theaters prior to the actual game has never been done before until Kia. To see the effectiveness of this strategy, NCM Media Networks and Nielsen did some post-game research from the 2012 game. People who only saw the ad during the game had a 46% unaided recall rate. For those who saw the ad in the theaters prior and on TV during the game, the unaided recall rate increased to 70%.

What you can take from this is a strong strategy can pay off. Letting people see your Super Bowl commercial before the event can help generate awareness and anticipation. 

What else is playing in the movie theaters?

Media vendors are continually creating new products to best serve a target audience to the advertisers. The theater slide company National CineMedia (NCM) has recently branched out to other big screen products in addition to online and mobile ventures.

According to MediaPost, NCM has made a few deals to present movie-goers with more entertainment during the pre-show. The company is working with the comedy website Funny or Die in which advertisers have the option to incorporate their brands into the content. The Funny or Die comedy shorts will now be part of NCM’s “FirstLook” pre-show package and will be available for online and mobile consumption.

Other new pre-show content includes music video and entertainment footage from Vevo and a feature called “A Taste of the Movies.” This cooking segment will feature a celebrity chef preparing meals from well-known movies. All of these new in-cinema additions allow for product integration.

In order for vendors to offer advertisers access to active audiences, media platforms have to keep a constant eye on what consumers are doing.  A lot of that today leads to cross platform initiatives.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

Theater company looking for ways to grow ad revenue in 2012

Television broadcasters are already planning out its upfront for this fall’s programming. This year, National CineMedia (NCM) will be hosting one of its own.

According to MediaPost, the NCM upfront is an initiative to get some of the designated TV dollars from advertisers. Since the national sales for fourth quarter 2011 were down for the company, it is working on other opportunities to gain business.

Another point of revenue that NCM noted was that 2012 will be a heavy year for political advertising. Many advertisers that typically utilize television may get bumped out. In the past, political has not used a lot of in-cinema ads; therefore, NCM will be an outlet for those pulling TV dollars until the end of the elections.

While 3-D advertising is not a large part of NCM’s business, it is another avenue for growth. Namely, the cost per thousand (CPM) for a 3-D theater ad is an estimated 50% to 100% higher than traditional ads.

Overall, NCM’s ad revenue was down for national sales during 4th quarter in 2011, but the entire year saw a 1.8% gain. With the initiatives in place, NCM is looking for all growth in 2012.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

Theaters turn to mobile apps

Smartphones are becoming more readily available to the American public. That being said, other forms of media have embraced the new device as a way of reaching the masses. According to MediaPost, the cinema advertising company National CineMedia (NCM) has recently launched a vertical mobile network.

NCM is working with Mobile Theory on The Mobile Movies Network, which utilizes both mobile sites and apps to target consumers at the local city and DMA level. The Mobile Movies Network uses Tap 2 which is a new mobile ad product that allows the mobile banner more interaction with users like response mechanisms, video players, maps to theater locations, and coupons and promotional codes.

The purpose behind this network is to increase consumer engagement and measure response.

Overall, media has been interacting with on another for some time. However, with the addition of online and mobile media, advertisers should expect a lot of overlap. This can be advantageous in that advertisers will be able to reach consumers with a strong cross-promotional platform.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

The New York Times does a throwback to the newsreels of cinema

It can be easy to forget outdated or unused forms of media when the world is constantly releasing new ones.

In our society, we typically look for the “Next Big Thing;” whether that is in music, television, or technology, we anticipate constant change. Sometimes, old ideas are reintroduced as new much like with The New York Times (NYT) preshow for movie theaters.

According to mediabistro.com, the NYT is starting a new program called “Times in Cinema.” This will run in certain independent movie theaters. The show will be about ten minutes long and will cover topics like lifestyle, arts and travel. Material for the show will be derived from the archives of the NYT.

Once this information was released, some compared the move to the pre-TV era newsreels. While the intention behind the newsreels of the 1930s and 1940s was to update people on current events, this adapted rendition is more to put the NYT product in front of its readers.

It can be easy to forget outdated or unused forms of media when the world is constantly releasing new ones. However, sometimes going back to the basics can help an advertiser reintroduce its product or service to the target audience.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

2010 marked a strong year for cinema advertising

Why is cinema advertising revenue growth a big deal?

Media platforms in America have worked to steadily increase advertising budgets and revenue since the economic downturn in 4^th quarter 2008. According to MediaPost, one platform outperformed all others in 2010.

With total ad spending growing 6.5%, cinema advertising saw a 12.7% revenue increase during the last fiscal year. 2010 marked an earnings of $658 million reported the Cinema Advertising Council. All revenue reported included commercials airing before the previews, lobby digital video, sampling, audio programming, special events, concession-based promotions and other lobby-based promotions.

Total revenue was broken out between national and regional ad sales and local ad sales. Local claimed about 19.8% while national and regional garnered about 80.2%.

Why is cinema advertising revenue growth a big deal? It shows that in a financially tight economy, enough people are seeing the movies to warrant advertising dollars being funneled towards cinema ad sales. In fact, it was said that enough 18-34 year olds go to the movies on Friday and Saturday nights, that cinema advertising would be the largest TV network.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

Food company giant experiments with a new kind of cinema advertising

Ad creative traditionally is formed to target a specific medium audience like print, radio and TV; therefore, it makes sense to use that logic with cinema advertising.

Cinema advertising has evolved from running static slides to full audio commercials. Now, the food giant Kraft has made the next step forward with cinema original creative.

According to Advertising Age, back in May, Kraft launched a sequence of two- and three-minute branded content specifically for the National CineMedia theatres. The vignettes revolved around some brands like Oscar Meyer Lunchables, Cadbury’s Stride Gum and RITZ Crackers.

A National CineMedia spokesman considered this move by Kraft an example to other advertisers to not just repurpose existing TV commercials, which have become the norm, but to create ads that are more targeted and specific to the theatre-going audience.

The mini-movies are not planned to air on TV anytime soon, but they have been uploaded online. In the first two weeks, the Oscar Meyer’s “Alien Field Trip” short received over 47,000 views.

Ad creative traditionally is formed to target that specific medium audience like print, radio and TV; therefore, it makes sense to use that logic with cinema advertising.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

Take advantage of the blockbuster sensations through theatre advertising

Have you caught the Twilight fever or been enthralled by the latest James Cameron masterpiece? It seems that everyone is talking about the biggest blockbusters hitting the theatres week after week.

Avatar, the new James Cameron sci-fi spectacular has raked in over $554 million dollars at the U.S. box office alone and the latest Twilight Saga: New Moon flick drew in over 18.9 million viewers on the opening weekend. The Twilight opening weekend numbers smashed the highest ranked television premiers including Sunday Night Football, Dancing with the Stars and CSI by well over half a million people.

You don’t have to spend millions of dollars in order to capitalize on these huge blockbusters. Theatre advertising is a very cost-effective way to reach a broad and captivated audience. According to TwelvePlus MRI research, 56% of moviegoers 12+ are between the ages of 25-54 years old. The average cost of theatre advertising ranges from $50-$2,500 per week depending on the market you are in.

Theatre slides provide a way for advertisers to get their message up on a large screen in a full color, often digital format. When you combine a captive audience with an engaging message on the big screen, it’s no surprise that screen slides have a high recall rate. According to the Nielsen New Media Research, there is a 66% recall rate for on screen entertainment slides. Add the high recall rate and a record breaking blockbuster together and you can create the perfect advertising formula for your company.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

Retailer created a live cinema ad for a new promotion

Incorporating outside-the-box ideas to traditional advertising venues can create a unique and memorable campaign.

AdvertisingAge reported back in late October that the department store Daffy’s attempted the first live cinema ad in New York City’s Ziegfeld Theatre.

Prior to the showing of “Amelia,” 10 dancers came out on stage and entertained the moviegoers for three and a half minutes. While the dancers performed, images flashed on the big screen to complement the overall presentation. Near the end of the dance, it was revealed that the whole production was an ad for Daffy’s. The ad campaign consisted of dancers performing the “Fitting Dance” in which they heaped on clothes to show that they had too many clothes because of the good deals at Daffy’s.

Part of the promotion included giving the moviegoers a 20% off coupon for the store.

ScreenVision was the advertising vendor for Ziegfeld Theatre’s and modified the pre-show program to fit in the ads. The ads only ran October 23rd and 24th with a few more performances in November. Daffy’s planned to utilize the footage from the live ads and create a traditional 30 second spot to run in select theatres starting around Thanksgiving.

When utilizing outside-the-box advertising, it is important to know where the primary audience resides like how Daffy only chose certain theatres to run the 30 second spot after the initial one theatre live ad. It avoids unwanted spill.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

3-D Theatre Advertising meets with some hesitation in this down economy

Theatre advertising can be a great, creative way to reach massive audiences in specific target areas.

With the advancement of technology, 3-D film releases have re-emerged in the marketplace. This re-emergence has given advertisers a chance to duplicate the success with 3-D commercials leading up to the feature presentation. However, there seems to be a split opinion of the success of the new advertising platform.

The in-cinema sales group National CineMedia (NCM), which has yet to run any 3-D ads, has talked to marketers about the new concept. While the NCM believes in the product, it has stated that there is doubt on whether advertisers will pay more per spot and more for production costs. If advertisers will not pay more for the new technology, the in-sales groups will fail to make a profit.

One of the company’s competitors, ScreenVision began selling the 3-D advertising space in May.

As of August, there were 2,744 screens that could show 3-D movies, which breaks down to 7% of all US screens. Theatre owners are able to charge more per showing for a 3-D film, which can aid in driving business.

In-cinema executives believe that once the recession has reversed, there may be a market for advertisers paying higher prices for 3-D theatre commercials. Until then, it will remain a novelty and a well-watched advertising option for theatre advertisers.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

Movie goers are emotionally attached to cinema advertising

In a media-gorged society, it is difficult to fully engage people’s attention. In a dark theatre where a giant screen is the dominant focal point, your advertisement can truly compete for the target audience’s full attention.

According to MediaPost, cinema advertising company ScreenVision commissioned a study by NewMediaMetrics. This study was to rank the assorted media by the amount of “emotional attachment” each created with the audience in regards to an advertisement. Results showed that cinema advertising had the highest level of “emotional attachment” for products advertised.

“Emotional attachment” was found to be 25% higher in cinema advertising than TV advertising in people who often shop at JCPenney’s. In addition, people who have shopped for electronics in the last six months were 45% more emotionally attached to cinema ads than the other 16 out-of-home advertising subcategories.

If debating about including theatre advertising in an overall media plan, movie attendance is higher during the summer months and the fourth quarter holiday season. Theatre advertising can also be geographically targeted to reach the best customer prospects.