• by Erik Sass , June 11, 2012

Cinema advertising is going mobile with a series of new partnerships and products from leading cinema ad networks. Screenvision has joined forces with Hipcricket to bring more mobile interactivity to the movies.

The new Screenvision pre-show program, The Limelight, incorporates Hipcricket’s “Ad Life” platform in a two-screen configuration that allows patrons to participate via SMS and play interactive mobile games as part of the pre-show package of entertainment and advertising.

Moviegoers who download Screenvision’s Screenfanz app can earn points towards free movie tickets and snacks through the Hipcricket loyalty program.  

Screenfanz also offers movie information, location-based check-ins for theaters, review sharing on Facebook, trivia contests and sweepstakes that can be coordinated with ads and entertainment content shown on the big screen.

Lee Heffernan, senior vice president of marketing for Screenvision, stated: “Rather than serving static ads, we are providing a richer, more engaging experience for movie-goers during the pre-show period.”

Lionsgate, one of the first big advertising clients to employ the system, used SMS, MMS and Mobile Web to drive traffic for "The Hunger Games," which saw a record number of tickets purchased via mobile devices on its opening weekend.

Last November, Screenvision rival National Cinemedia launched a new vertical mobile ad network targeting movie patrons in partnership with Mobile Theory. “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.

NCM’s “Movie Night Out” mobile app, also launched in 2011, has been downloaded over 1 million times, according to the company -- offering moviegoers reviews, trailers, show times, theater locations, ticketing by Fandango and social integration with Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, among others. 

NCM recently expanded its mobile marketing capabilities with the introduction of CinemaSync, which uses image and audio recognition technology to sync with other cinema advertising elements -- including digital lobby displays, posters, and concession materials -- to deliver a variety of content, coupons and other deals and offers to theater patrons on their mobile phones.