• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, April 6, 2012

Screenvision, one of two leading cinema advertising companies, is bringing together the silver screen with its smaller, mobile cousins in The Limelight, a new pre-show package of advertising and entertainment whose “two-screen” configuration combines mobile interactivity with the impact of ads seen in movie theaters.

Moviegoers can participate in the 20-minute pre-show package by downloading the “screenfanz” mobile app, which is currently available from the iTunes store and will become available for Android shortly. The app offers movie information, location-based check-ins for theaters, review sharing on Facebook, trivia contests, and sweepstakes; these features are coordinated with ads and entertainment content shown on the big screen, allowing advertisers to leverage social media as well as measure the impact of their cinema ads more effectively.

Screenvision has already produced a “pilot” showcasing The Limelight’s new pre-show format, with participation by advertisers including FedEx, Nestle Purina PetCare Company, and Allstate, among others. Other ad partners include Ad Council and DoSomething.org, which are both premiering new ads in Limelight.

Screenvision’s main competitor, National CineMedia, launched a new vertical mobile ad network targeting movie patrons in partnership with Mobile Theory in November of last year. “The Mobile Movies Network,” operated by NCM Media Networks, includes both mobile sites and apps targeting key audience segments at the local city and DMA level, with additional segmentation available based on handset and device, carrier, and daypart targeting. It includes a new mobile ad product called Tap2 -- a mobile banner that expands when the user taps it to reveal response mechanisms, including a video player, a map to nearby retail locations, or coupons and promotional codes.

NCM’s “Movie Night Out” mobile app, also launched in 2011, has been downloaded over a million times, according to the company.