• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 25, 2015

Native advertising has made its debut on the silver screen via new branded content programs from cinema ad network Screenvision.

The programs, custom produced by Screenvision’s in-house 40 Foot Solutions creative shop, are launching as part of Screenvision’s Front & Center preshow package of entertainment and advertising.

The new branded content programs include "Hollywood Today Live," The Gifting Suite, which presents gift ideas through exclusive events involving celebrities.

Developed in partnership with Hollywood Today Live’s BiteSizeTV, the new show will appear seasonally around key gift giving times of year, beginning with fathers and graduates for Father’s Day and college commencements, featuring products from Dell and Norwegian Cruise Line.

A second branded content program, "Name That Flick," is a branded entertainment trivia show. Developed in partnership with @hollywood, the first campaign is sponsored by State Farm and draws on content from two big summer blockbusters.

The third new branded content offering, "A Day In the Life," is also produced in partnership with @hollywood. It allows moviegoers to follow Hollywood doings through the daily reporting of entertainment journalist Charlie Berens and will be sponsored by a major smartphone maker.

A fourth program, "Technically Speaking" with Andy Riesmeyer, takes a closer look at cutting-edge technology and showcases the Ford Edge. Screenvision is also introducing branded in-Show interstitials, which complement other brand messages in the Front & Center pre-show.

At its 2015 upfront presentation May 7, it unveiled Project Lynx, a new initiative to enhance cinema advertising’s capabilities for audience targeting. Lynx incorporates third-party consumer purchase data and data collected through mobile technology, including geo-fencing and beacons, to give advertisers a more precise view of the cinema ad audience.

Screenvision has also announced a partnership with SITO Mobile that will allow advertisers to retarget mobile ads messages to theatergoers’ devices after they leave the theater. The company unveiled new audience targeting based on movie titles and genres, rather than simple MPAA ratings.