The advance of digital technology has helped to stimulate cinema advertising and major brands are fast realising that they can deliver their message effectively to movie theatre audiences.
Jack Myers reports that an increasing number of digital projectors are being installed in cinemas across the US. Digital screenings have received positive feedback from moviegoers (see
Cinema Audiences Give Thumbs Up To Digital) and according to research by Nielsen, people are arriving at the cinema an average of 15-20 minutes before scheduled show times, so they are exposed to advertising. The new formats provide plenty of scope for creativity and marketers seem to appreciate the quality, accurate placement and standardised measurement on offer.
Already this year, Regal Entertainment, the leading US cinema chain, has created a digital subsidiary to supply its theatres with the necessary projection systems and Microsoft has offered to help Landmark Theatres, which specialises in showing independent films, upgrade its screening equipment.
These developments have not gone unnoticed by leading brands and according to Laura Adler, vice president of marketing for the National Cinema Network, digital technologies are contributing to “a greater awareness of cinema advertising and the benefits of reaching movie attendees.”
“As the industry and cinema networks have grown and gained critical mass, the advertiser mix has changed from being a local retail medium, and regional and national advertisers have come into the mix,” she added.
Cinema is also proving popular with broadcast and cable companies who regard it as an opportunity rather than a threat. Myers quotes figures which show that advertising from the likes of NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC and HBO increased by almost 50% in 2002. Only automotive marketers now spend more on cinema advertising than broadcast and cable networks.
