Movie advertising
beats the downturn
Ad spending rises in 2009, growing by 2 percent
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jun 10, 2010
Unlike virtually every other category of media, cinema advertising actually rose in 2009, its seventh straight year of growth, driven by strong regional and national spending that made up for a dip in local.
Overall spending was up 2 percent, from $571 million to $584 million, according to data released by the Cinema Advertising Council (CAC) earlier this week.
That included a rise of 5.4 percent for regional and national cinema ads, which accounted for 79.4 percent of all spending, up from 76.8 percent the previous year.
Local advertising was down 9.6 percent compared to 2008, accounting for 20.6 percent of the total marketplace.
"I think Main Street got hurt a lot more than corporate America did, and that's reflected in those numbers," says Michael Chico, president and chairman of the CAC.
The top national categories included apparel, entertainment, consumer packaged goods, travel and wireless, and Chico says domestic auto and retail, two bellwether categories, also increased their spending through the year.
The increase in spending was driven partly by smart targeting. The industry reached out to broadcast TV planners hoping to be added to their plans, and they provided Nielsen data to make their argument.
During the week, when television HUT (households using television) levels are at their highest, cinema attendance is at its lowest.
But on weekends, when HUT levels plunge, cinemas fill up.
"We're reaching those hard-to-reach demos on the weekends when they're out with their wallets, shopping, taking in a movie, going to restaurants," Chico says. "It's an effective buy, and folks are catching on to the fact that it's TiVo-proof."
While on-screen advertising continues to account for the vast majority of sales, 93 percent this year, up from 90 percent last year, off-screen programs are attracting advertisers as well, and it goes beyond traditional lobby posters.
Chico says that Screenvision, the ad network where he is executive vice president for sales and marketing, offers a text-message program that invites movie attendees to opt in via an onscreen promotion before the film and then texts them an offer after the movie.
Many lobbies are now equipped with high-tech promotional devices, including Bluetooth posters, 3D screens that don't require any glasses, and digital billboards with motion and sound capability.
That should help cinema advertising to bigger gains this year. Chico says first and second quarter 2010 were up double-digit percentages over 2009.
It may still be some time before local cinema advertising starts seeing gains, however.
"That business really has a short window, meaning that the deals come down a lot closer to when they get booked, so we can't get a great vision [for its recovery]," Chico says. "But we hit budget for quarters one and two."
|
|
|
