• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 15, 2009

Cinema advertising revenue rose 5.8% in 2008 compared to 2007, from $540 million to $571 million, according to the Cinema Advertising Council. The organization did not release a quarterly breakdown of the revenue figures. However, the overall growth stands out in a year when total advertising spending fell 2.6%.

Dave Kupiec, the president and chairman of the CAC, cited new ad offerings and the continued consumer appeal of cinema during a recession as reasons for the medium's success.

"There are some things about cinema that are very strong and impactful, that advertisers have become increasingly aware of," according to Kupiec, including increased recall for video ads that run in cinema and on TV versus ads seen on TV alone.

He says movie theaters offer "entertaining pre-shows and a very engaged audience with eyes glued to a 40-foot screen. Its impact is obvious." Perhaps most important, the medium has become easier to use with the implementation of large-scale digital content distribution systems, which allow cinema advertisers to test and modify ad creative and make highly targeted ad buys.

Advertisers are also showing interest in new lobby ad platforms, including digital signage, backlit posters, promotions, and in some places, holographic displays. "These allow [advertisers] to reach the moviegoer at multiple touchpoints, close to the point of purchase," he adds, when the cinema is co-located with a mall.

Together, these features have drawn some new advertisers to cinema ad platforms, including greater spending by consumer packaged-goods, health and beauty products, and foreign import automotive in 2008, per Kupiec.

For all its advantages, cinema advertising is still a relatively small part of total ad dollars -- representing just 0.5% of a total $136 billion spent in 2008, according to Nielsen. The leading cinema advertisers, National CineMedia and Screenvision, both hope to persuade television advertisers to move some of their video budget to cinema. In February, the CAC released the results of a study showing that the combination of TV and cinema advertising -- versus TV alone -- boosted conversion rates from 24.7% to 50%.

Through May, movie ticket sales were up 13% compared to the same period in 2008, while attendance is up 10%, according to Hollywood.com.