A medium not traditionally associated with direct response (DR), cinema is one of the most expensive offline media channels, notwithstanding the challenges of measuring it. Unlike TV, cinema is a lower frequency medium which claims to increase ad recall (remembering the ad) and recognition in an engaging environment, even with the same TV creative. But, with year-on-year (YoY) figures for cinema revenues and admissions increasing at the rate of 2% and 5% respectively, is there any way it can viably work for customer acquisition?

Well, recent technology advances have seen the emergence of Cinemapper, a cinema proximity planning tool which allows for national campaigns with a local spin for every region, city, town or cinema across the UK. As 97% of cinemas in the UK are within 1 mile of a retail location, this bespoke cinema and retail mapping system allows us to input customer data and business information to target specific locations pertinent to the client.

Focusing on audiences as well as locations, we can also use Personicx data which uses FAME (Film Audience Measurement and Evaluation) and TGI (Target Group Index) to index the most efficient sites that reach our core audience. In addition to this targeting, there is the flexibility in the creative deployment to place a tailored 5 second end frame with a localised message.

All Response Media Viewpoint

Due to its price premium, Cinema is rarely part of the conversation for us; costs per thousand (CPTs) and attribution complexities don’t justify the investment. Above that, it isn’t typically considered a medium that drives direct sales in the absolute, but we know in the context of a multimedia strategy it can be effective.

For an affluent urbanised audience, it is a brand building media, but with the technology behind planning a campaign becoming increasingly sophisticated we can reduce wastage and target key areas. Retail clients can use specific end frames to push store information and for clients that want to target specific regions, we can use audience data and a tailored message to potentially add incremental cover as part of a hot house multi-media campaign.

Brands could look to track a campaign like this through an incentivised offer or competition supported by other touchpoints in this environment, amplifying a campaign. Opportunities include reverse ticket adverts, sampling, experiential builds, (digital) 6 sheets, washroom posters and cinema sponsorships. Whilst not revolutionary, this tech does allow for increased consideration for the medium at the very least as the levels of targeting improve.