Cinema Advertising – is the big screen glittering again?

Cinema advertising is a powerful way to reach a captive audience of moviegoers. With large screens, comfy seats and loads of leg room the cinema experience is fantastic.

Cinema advertising is an effective way to promote your brand. Cinema-going numbers are recovering well after they stumbled during COVID. 2021 saw a 48% increase over the previous year, and the recovery continued in 2022 with a 110% increase.

Blockbuster cinema numbers are back

In the UK, Super Mario Bros: The Movie had a stellar opening weekend making £8.7m from screenings at 720 locations around the UK. The three-day weekend opening out-paced Sonic The Hedgehog 2, which took £5m in April 2022. 

The return to the cinema follows impressive figures for the opening weekend of Top Gun Maverick last year. The Tom Cruise sequel took £11.2m at UK screens showing a solid resurgence in cinema-going.

The cinema has a captive audience

One of the main benefits of cinema advertising is that you have a captive audience. Moviegoers have paid money to watch a film and are therefore more likely to pay attention. Cinema advertising allows you to target an actively engaged and focused audience on a large screen.

Large Screen and High-Quality Sound

Cinema advertising offers the benefit of a large screen and high-quality sound. The controlled cinema environment can make your brand or product look and sound more impressive. The cinematic experience is immersive and engrossing, your advert will benefit from being shown at this quality level.

Cinema advertising for Ancestry

Toast produced this cinema advertising canmpaign to coincide with the launch of the film Suffragette.

Targeted Demographics

One of the main advantages of cinema advertising is that it allows you to target specific demographics. For example, if you want to promote a new video game to a young male audience, you can advertise it before an action-packed blockbuster movie. Similarly, age and gender demographics for other films can also guarantee your advert is seen by the target audiences.

Films are in a unique position in the media industry, being one-off productions allows for more experimentation. Films are often made about subjects that TV shows would steer clear of. Films like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Calendar Girls are championing an under served market. 

Affordable and Cost-Effective

Cinema advertising can be more affordable and cost-effective than other forms of advertising, such as TV advertising or radio advertising. You can typically reach a large audience with a relatively small budget. The efficiency offered by cinema media makes it attractive option for small businesses and startups.

High Recall and Retention

Studies have shown that cinema advertising (UK study) has high recall and retention rates. Moviegoers are more likely to remember and recall the ads they see in the cinema. High recall can lead to increased brand awareness and product recognition. 

Another important factor in cinema advertising is the amount of an advert that is viewed. Cinema advertising scores very highly when compared to linear TV of social media video. Having a viewer watch your entire advert is incredibly important, it cements the emotional connection between your brand and the viewer.

Toast can help with Cinema Advertising

Cinema advertising is a powerful way to reach a captive audience of moviegoers. It offers the benefits of a large screen, high-quality sound, targeted demographics, affordability, and high recall and retention rates. If you are looking for an effective way to promote your brand or product, cinema advertising may be worth considering.

Toast can help with the entire process from script to screen. We’ve worked with many brands to capture the power of cinema advertising as part of their marketing campaign.