• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 5, 2008

Screenvision is integrating interactive polling via mobile text messages into its pre-show advertising. Depending on its success, the interactive polling, set to debut in the top 10 DMAs around the middle of the month, may eventually extend to Screenvision's High Definition digital network of approximately 7,000 screens; altogether Screenvision reaches about 14,000 screens, when analog theaters are included.

The first advertiser to associate its brand with the poll feature, Verizon Wireless, is sponsoring polls about the audience's musical tastes. They will then be calculated via a live feed, with the results instantly displayed onscreen in the form of a bar chart.

This is part of a larger Verizon campaign with Screenvision focusing on V Cast, Verizon's service for delivering mobile audio and video content to subscribers, including popular music.

The campaign includes a two-minute movie by Spike Lee with hip-hop producer Timbaland that touches on V Cast's capabilities, as well as messages on plasma screen displays in movie theater lobbies and branded concession items.

The interactive polling is the latest in a series of new features introduced by cinema advertisers. A few months ago, Reactrix, which operates interactive digital displays, signed a deal with National CineMedia--Screenvision's chief competitor--to install Reactrix displays in the lobbies of NCM member theaters. The displays will complement NCM's existing lobby channels, including box-office promotions, concession-stand branding, posters and digital signage, and sweepstakes and giveaways.