• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, February 23, 2012

National CineMedia, which operates an ad network in close to 19,000 screens, expects to continue running more ads in 3D, although growth does not seem to be keeping pace with the number of films released in the emerging format.

Ads in 3D are “a small but growing part” of NCM's business, CEO Kurt Hall said on an earnings call Thursday -- and can yield CPMs that are 50% to 100% higher than other business. 

Hall said National CineMedia (NCM) was hurt by the economic slowdown late last year. Money was possibly pulled out of the ad market as advertisers committed so much in the TV market for the fourth quarter.

NCM plans to hold an upfront sales period -- along with a May 16 presentation -- to sell advertising for this year’s October-November period and to grab some would-be TV dollars.

“We’d like to get some of that money, so we’re not so exposed,” Hall said.

Separately, he said: “Our national ad business did not meet our growth expectations for 2011.” In the fourth quarter, ad revenue was down 2.4% to $101.3 million. (Profits for the company declined from $11.6 million to $6.7 million.) Still, for the full year, ad dollars were up 1.8% to $386.1 million.

The company lost business from the Army National Guard in 2011 as the Iraq war wound down, although it did add 31 new clients and saw an improvement in regional business with car dealer associations and state lotteries.

Hall noted that NCM has an opportunity to pick up business, as advertisers have taken options on commitments for the coming April-June quarter with networks.

Political advertising could also help this year. Politicians are not likely to turn to in-cinema advertising, but their ads could lead to a tight local ad market that could crowd out some advertisers, which would go looking for other platforms.

“We believe that we will see some indirect benefits as advertisers seek alternatives,” Hall said.