Silver Screen Has Golden Lining: Ads Found More Effective Than TV's

Moviegoers find them infuriating. Lawmakers are thinking about outlawing them. But new research shows that cinema advertising - ads that appear on-screen before movies in theaters - may be effective for the very reason people are so incensed by them: they can't be avoided. How effective? The study, which was conducted by TNS and sponsored by Screenvision, found that moviegoers who saw in-theater adverting were 44 percent more likely to remember them than consumers who saw it on TV.

The study, based on a November 2004 survey of 2,000 moviegoers in New York City, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Houston, and Charlotte, also found that moviegoers are 70 percent more likely to correctly identify the advertised brands in cinema ads than in TV commercials.

Jason Brown, senior vice president of sales for Screenvision, said the study was done to prove the effectiveness of in-cinema advertising. "The results clearly demonstrate consumers bond with brands they see advertised in-cinema, driving consideration and purchase intent, leading to brand trial and loyalty," Brown said. "Our clients commit a lot of money to our market leading network, so it's our responsibility to demonstrate that the trust of our clients is well placed."

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The survey of some 2,000 moviegoers -- ages 16-49 and split evenly among men and women -- was conducted in three phases in New York City, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Houston, and Charlotte in Nov 2004. Moviegoers who saw in-theater adverting were 44 percent more likely to remember the ad than consumers who saw it on TV, the report found. Moreover, consumers who saw cinema advertising were 70 percent more likely to correctly identify the advertised brands.

Brown attributed the cinema ad's effectiveness both to moviegoers state-of-mind at the time of viewing, and to the quality of the advertising in movie theaters. "First you have a far more engaged audience who're rapped up the 'event', and then you have the high quality, movie-like ads that advertisers come up with to heighten the experience."

Though, not all moviegoers have welcomed the advent and consequent rise of in-cinema ads. The industry's use of the term "captive environment" hasn't helped matters. Indeed, so many consumers have expressed displeasure with the ads that government representatives have gotten involved. Earlier this year, Connecticut state Rep. Andrew Fleischmann, a Democrat from West Hartford, proposed a law requiring that theaters report both the time previews start as well as when movies begin, in order give moviegoers more freedom. New York City Councilwoman Gail Brewer also recently introduced a bill calling for ads that make preview and start times more clear.

Brown defended the ads, explaining that they have been largely responsible for keeping movie ticket prices down compared to other forms of paid entertainment. "Some people think movie tickets are too high these days, but they'd be in for a real shock if the revenue we bring wasn't there to subsidize the business."

Cinema advertising pulls in about $400 million a year and was actually the fastest growing ad medium in 2003 as revenues rose 37 percent, from $259.3 million in 2002 to $356.1 million in 2003, according to the Cinema Advertising Council, a trade association serving the industry. The council represents the National Cinema Network, Regal CineMedia, and Screenvision: the three companies that control nearly 75 percent of the nation's movie screens. Matthew Kearney, president and CEO of Screenvision, also serves as the president of the Cinema Advertising Council.

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