• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 14, 2001

Karen Bannan presents an interesting article in the New York Times revealing the importance of yet another advertising medium… the movie theater. And significantly, for planners, buyers and merchandisers, not just the screen. She points out that advertisers present their products at the ticket counter, the concession stand, in the lobby, in the restroom and out into the parking lot with in-house radio.

According to industry estimates some form of advertising is shown on about 24,000 of the nation's 37,000 movie screens. Exit polls have found that as many as 80 percent of theatergoers can recall the subject of an advertisement they have seen in a cinema — four to six times the number who can typically recall television commercials. And many of the viewers are in the demographically desirable 18-to-49- year-old group.

Advertisers have been using movie screens as a promotional vehicle since the mid-1980's, whether with still slideshows or filmed advertisements before the lights go down, says Bannon. And Chuck Battey, President of National Cinema, is quoted as saying that they limit the number of slots to a slide ad shown every six and a half minutes while viewers are waiting for the pre-show countdown.

The Screenvision Cinema Network has completely sold all of its available slots for November, and expects to sell out for December, too. Andy Greenfield, chief executive officer of the Greenfield Consulting Group, says "The movie theater is normally a wonderful vehicle for advertising, and now it's an unusually wonderful vehicle because of what it represents to people — an escape."

You can read more here.