• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, July 17, 2009

Sprint is mounting a multi-part cinema advertising campaign this summer, with what might be termed "broad" and "narrow" components. The "broad" part, which invites cinema-goers to rate (or "r8," in textois) the movies they see, is intended to reach as many people as possible to promote the new Palm Pre. Meanwhile the "narrow" part targets cinema-goers who are already Sprint subscribers with a loyalty program that rewards them with coupons for free upgrades at the concession stand.

The Palm Pre campaign, scheduled to run at National CineMedia theater affiliates through Sept. 10, offers cinema-goers a year's worth of free movie tickets as incentives to participate in mobile polls soliciting their opinion about the movies they're about to see. In addition to the in-theater component, the Sprint campaign also uses NCM's lobby promotional channels, including digital displays and static posters, as well as placement on NCM's consumer Web site, www.NCM.com (launched in November, the Web site works in tandem with NCM's FirstLook feature, a pre-show mix of movie previews, entertainment content and advertising that is distributed digitally to theater chains affiliated with NCM). The poll results appear on the Web site and also a mobile "r8 it" app.

For the "narrow" part, Sprint has partnered with NCM's main competitor, Screenvision, to create branded promotions using digital kiosks in 500 movie theaters around the country, offering Sprint subscribers downloadable mobile coupons for freebies at the concession stand. The targeted campaign plays to the behavioral characteristics of mobile subscribers, who are more likely to go to the movies than non-mobile subscribers. Of course, the campaign is only "narrow" in a certain sense: While the rewards program is restricted to Sprint subscribers, the highly visible kiosks will doubtless attract the notice of non-Sprint subscribers as well.

Sprint's latest campaigns build on earlier collaborations with NCM and Screenvision, including public courtesy announcements for NCM asking patrons to turn off their cell phones, and pop culture polls with Screenvision, which also offers mobile downloads of movie trailers.