The big screen in a multi-screen world
Ahead of joining the Screen panel at this week’s Media Playground on Wednesday, Simon Rees, CEO, Digital Cinema Media, shares his thoughts on the magic of the biggest screen of them all…
It’s a great time to be a part of adland. On one hand, the market has set incredible challenges through unprecedented acceleration in innovation and technology off the back of an economic dip. On the other, this very acceleration has led to a renewed vigour and pioneering ambition, so it’s very fitting that Advertising Week has chosen London to host its first ever European event.
One of the drivers of innovation in our industry is the changing demands of those who consume media. The proliferation and ubiquity of screens in our daily lives has provided more ways to reach an increasingly sophisticated consumer, both in and out of the home. Coupled with that, increasingly discerning and tech-savvy consumers are seeking the content they want, when they want, where they want, delivered on demand to the device of their choice.
In an age where screens follow us everywhere, media owners now have to be more innovative, more flexible and more responsive to audience behaviour and preferences than ever before.
Preparing for a discussion on Screen at Media Playground this Wednesday, with fellow panellists, Jon Block from ITV, Emma Scott from Freesat, Rovi’s Jon Hewson and Nigel Walley of Decipher, leads me therefore to think about the increasing importance of sustainable innovation.
Digital is now mainstream so our digital business needs to understand how we can evolve to continuously engage the people who fill the seats in our cinemas.
You still cannot beat the big screen for sheer impact and scale, making cinema stand out more than ever in the multi-screen world we inhabit. There is no appointment to view quite like cinema. The very best acting, writing and directing talent is served to paying guests through cutting-edge technology, be that 3D, 4D, HFR or Dolby Atmos.
Even the world’s greatest film directors still cherish the sanctity of the cinema experience. “You walk into an air-conditioned, freezing theatre and soon it starts to get really hot,” says Steven Spielberg.
He continues: “People are having a good time. You’re lifted by it…And all of us go into a kind of lock-step where the audience is just galvanised, almost hypnotised, all watching the same things, all knowing where to look at the exact same time…it’s a wonderful thing.”
Being digital has unleashed a new wave of creativity for cinema, allowing more bespoke media planning through shorter copy deadlines, lead times and more creative avenues through the possibility of copy rotation and new technologies. There is more choice, more freedom and more flexibility for advertisers to tailor their cinema campaigns to fit their marketing objectives.
In a multi-screen world, cinema is the social screen. The screen that we pay to make an appointment to view at, as an immersive, shared experience.
And to echo the great Steven Spielberg, “There is nothing greater than that.”