Cinema Advertising

Now, this may be a surprise to some people but I love Cinema Advertising, always have, always will. I believe this is a very underrated advertising platform as I think it is potentially one of the most powerful. I am definitely one of those people who will get to the cinema early or run if I am late so I can catch the adverts. By cinema advertising I do not mean the regular adverts which are shown on TV as well, I mean the specific adverts which have been made for cinema. Therefore I do not mean the horrendous phone adverts before each film, or the 10 car adverts you will see, but the adverts made only for cinema, that use special effects and you won't see anywhere else. Although I work in digital advertising and I agree this is the most upcoming and shows the most potential of the moment you cannot fault the power a cinema advert can have on you. Below I will be talking you through some of the reasons I find it so interesting.

It Gets Your Attention

Think of a cinema. A large dark space, a single focus point and silence. There couldn't be a more perfect way to attract your audiences' attention. Not to mention you will not only be getting the attention of one person, but a mass amount of people who have been squeezed into that one space. Once the advert is playing there is no distraction as there is only one focal point in the whole room. For however long your advert is, you will have their undivided attention and focus. There will be no other noise as someone will most likely shush anyone who talks, and you will not notice the people finding their seats as it will be dark, unless you are one of those people who put their phone on the highest brightness setting to find your seat. 

Personal

Once it has grabbed your attention, it will become a very personal message. Everything in a cinema advert is heightened, sound and size are magnified and it almost becomes an advert which is directed at you because of the scale of it. Although it may seem overwhelming, it could be seen as someone almost reaching out and speaking to you because you feel as if you are the only person in the room, making the advert just for you. Because it is dark, you can sometimes feel like you are the only one there, unless of course you are in front of the kid throwing popcorn. This type of direct messaging can sometimes be the most effective and the message of the advert is more likely to stay with you if you feel it is personal. 

Effects

Cinema advertising has the potential to have incredible effects, ones that regular TV advertising doesn't. For one the sound of a cinema advert will be a lot better. It has the potential to be played out of different speakers at different times to target various parts of the cinema to keep you entertained and interested. The lights and colours of cinema adverts will also be bigger and bolder as the screen is so large and it is a dark room. Everything will be heightened and seem so much better than a regular advert. A good cinema advert done well has the potential to be fantastic and leave a lasting impression on the audience.

Lasting
I remember a specific advert- A Radio 1 Cinema Advert, and it stuck in my head throughout the film. I was amazed by the sounds and visuals and being a radio advert this was very important. I remember coming out of the cinema and thinking more of the advert than the film, and that's saying something. A good cinema advert will be unique, you will only see it in the cinema so it will have a lasting effect on you as you will not be constantly reminded of it. This could either be a positive or a negative, a positive in that it is unique to cinema and it will always be that special experience, or negative in that you will never be reminded of it.

Specific Audience
This platform can be extremely targeting. You as an advertiser know exactly what time of person will be in that cinema, roughly what age range, whether they will be with their group of friends or partner depending on the movie type, what type of person they are depending on the genre and how many people you will be targeting due to ticket sales. Targeting and showing your advert to a bunch of people who are more likely to take note and be interested by it is extremely important and by doing this in a cinema it will be so personal and powerful. You can also potentially measure the effect of the advert, by and call to action or increased website activity after the film has been shown.

Potential
I believe that cinema advertising also has a lot of potential. Understandably at the moment it is just sound, lighting and the scale of the advert which give it the wow factor. However, maybe one day we could see cinema advertising becoming interactive, the more 3D films that are coming out leaves great potential for 3D cinema adverts, which would be incredible and visually beautiful. Other effects which could have potential could involve wind of water machines like in some interactive theatres currently, thought not everyones taste, this type of advertising may have to be suited to a specific audience and film.

The video below is the Radio 1 Cinema Advert I talked about earlier. This is the first cinema advert I remember thinking how good the effects were. The advert itself is showing the different DJ's on the radio, and in itself that seems a quite long winded and boring job to do. The advert though, being put in cinema sounded incredible, all the different voices echoed through the cinema, and the constant light changing and colourful lines was visually great. This is actually the first time I have watched it back since seeing it in the cinema many years ago and it is so weird watching it back. I didn't remember the advert actually being that long, so in the cinema I must have been so entranced I kept watching. Obviously on a YouTube video it is not going to look the same as it would on the big screen, but try and use your imagination and picture this in the cinema.

Stats

Views: 21,463

Likes: Disabled

Posted: Jun 23, 2008

The next advert is a Lego Cinema Advert, which is aimed at children. The advert is perfect for a children's film as it will entertain and amaze them. The advert is set up as if the lego people are in a cinema as well which will attract the children and make the lego people seem real to them. It is also cleverly done because parents will most likely take their children to the cinema, and after seeing this advert they will ask their parents for the lego city harbour. 

Stats

Views: 41,298

Likes: 10

Posted: Aug 12, 2011

Now, I'm not sure if this was released in Cinemas, but researching Cinema Adverts, I stumbled upon it and remember being so amused when it first came out last year. It  also involves a cinema, which it somewhat topical, so I thought I would share it with you.

Stats

Views: 13,559,967

Likes: 41,989

Posted: Sept 22, 2011

So, that's it. My reasons for loving Cinema Advertising. I know that was a bit of a ramble, and I commend you if you are reading this now! Next time you are in a Cinema, try and spot the adverts which have been made specifically for Cinema and see if you think they have utilised this medium to its best potential. And for all you people who skip the Cinema adverts, you're missing out!

Cya x