• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, March 7, 2006

Six Flags announced Monday that it will introduce branded entertainment ads to movie theaters across the country to promote its peak summer season in June and July, including a two-and-a-half-minute film previewing a new Six Flags ride. The short films and related in-theater promotions--including backlit posters, Six Flags coupons distributed at the box office, and concession stand products--will reach viewers at one of three movie chains: AMC Entertainment, Cinemark USA, and Regal Entertainment, which cooperate through sales and marketing firm National CineMedia.

Cliff Marks, president of sales and marketing for National CineMedia, was careful to distinguish between "run-of-the-mill" branded entertainment, often of uneven quality, and the short films from Six Flags: "Many people who talk about branded entertainment are really just doing fancy product placement, and there's nothing particularly entertaining about it. But this is branded entertainment in the truest sense of the word--the consumer will feel like they're experiencing something fun and entertaining."

The Six Flags films are part of a larger ad program implemented by National CineMedia called FirstLook, which shows viewers who arrive at the theater early up to 25 minutes of commercial and branded entertainment on the big screen. According to Marks, CineMedia has access to "world-class content" from Universal, Sony, NBC, and Turner--a fact that backs up his claim that FirstLook is truly branded entertainment, not just branded.

And the theater-going demographic is a logical choice for theme park advertisers, Marks said: "If you put a theater and an amusement park together, it's really a perfect marriage. People who are coming to a movie on a Monday or a Tuesday may very well end up in a theme park over the weekend. They're thinking about having fun with their families, so this is a perfect time and place to reach them."

Movie advertising allows a fair amount of regional targetability: according to Marks, Six Flags is focusing on viewers at movie theaters within 150 miles of a Six Flags amusement park. CineMedia hopes to reach 60 million viewers a month through all three movie theater circuits. Previous studies have also shown that movie-going audiences tend to skew younger and more affluent than the population at large.