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!

Report on time spent viewing video among American adults

As consumers have more devices available to watch television content, the question remains how much traditional television is still viewed.  According to research from Nielsen, while video viewing on PCs, smartphones and tablets increase, traditional TVs still have the biggest usage numbers.

MediaPost reports the findings that American adults watch video content weekly on the following devices in these increments:

·        Television: 36 hours and 7 minutes per week

·        Video on a PC (Personal Computer): 1 hour and 30 minutes

·        Video on a smartphone: 13 minutes

·        Video on a tablet: 11 minutes

The reach of these screens with adults breaks down as follows:

·        Television: 87.2%

·        Video on a smartphone: 36.9%

·        Video on a PC: 36%

·        Video on a tablet: 17.5%

Overall, TV still has a large audience potential. Even with the use of DVRs, OnDemand, and streaming services, there is still a significant portion of the population utilizing television.

African-American media usage by the numbers

Part of effectively building advertising plans to reach the intended audience is doing research. Who do you want to reach? What kind of media do they consume? When are the peak times that the audience is navigating media? Why are some media forms preferred over others? How much do they use? Once these questions can be answered, it can help a buyer start plotting in the essential media forms for that particular audience.

For example, Nielsen along with Essence conducted a survey to see how African-Americans consume media. The Center for Media Research reports the following findings from the study:

·        Overall, this audience over-indexes on almost all media forms compared to the general population as a whole.

·        Total time spent on traditional television is about 201 hours and 43 minutes per month. General population is about 141 hours and 19 minutes.

·        About 52% of those surveyed read magazines compared to 22% of the general population. The report shows that print content typically focuses on culture and heritage specific to the African-American community.

·        About 12 hours a week is spent listening to the radio which is double the total audience at six hours a week. Results show that the peak listening times generally are 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

·        Smartphones have about 81% saturation in the market. On average, this is about 7% more than the general audience.

·        Approximately 56 hours a week are spent using apps or mobile Internet browsers on smartphones. Another two hours and 30 minutes a week are spent watching video content on a mobile device.

Knowing the above general criteria will help an advertiser create competent messaging if wanting to reach this particular audience.