MEDIA & MARKETING:THE CINEMA advertising business has endured a tough couple of years.
Last year, advertising revenues fell by 15 per cent, largely because cinema tends to be used for big-brand advertising and such campaigns have been severely impacted by the recession. Neither did it help that cinema admissions declined last year, though this year has seen a rebound.
The advertising market on cinema screens in Ireland is controlled by Carlton Screen Advertising, which sells advertising for 71 cinemas and more than 400 screens. It may shortly be the only vendor of cinema ad space as it is believed Carlton is about to acquire the rights to sell advertising for the Galway Eye and Vue LiffeyValley from the UK cinema advertising company Pearl Dean.
Carlton is fighting more aggressively for ad revenue, says general manager Eoin Wrixon, and hit movies can make his job a bit easier. Despite critical brickbats, Sex and the City 2has been a big box-office hit in Ireland and cinema viewers have been targeted with a vast array of ads.
Although there’s no legal cap on the number of ads that can be screened, cinema owners and Carlton have agreed a nine-minute limit. There are also strict guidelines around alcohol advertising.
Ireland has the second highest per capita admissions in the world and the attraction of cinema as an advertising medium is that people are consuming the message in a positive social environment. And unlike when they’re watching TV at home, the audience can’t skip the ads with a remote control.
According to research conducted for Carlton last year, one-third of TV users now have a personal video recorder (PVR) and most PVR users skip the ads all or most of the time. The study claims only a quarter of those aged 25-44 will watch the ads on TV. But despite the captive audience cinema can offer, advertisers are still put off by the cost of producing a cinema ad.
Typically it costs about €4,000 to make a make a 35mm film version of a TV commercial that can be shown in cinemas. However, that production cost is coming down due to digital.
According to Paul Moran, managing director of media buyer Mediaworks, a six-week campaign of consecutive activity with a 30-second ad in all the cinemas represented by Carlton has a rate card cost of €73,000, including production costs. An advertiser can also book their ad to appear before a selected film but they will pay a premium to do so.
Moran says: “There will always be certain movies through the year which will reach a broader audience but ultimately most of the people who go to the cinema are aged between 15 and 24.
“The expense definitely puts off advertisers. Even if you are targeting 25-44 year olds, it’s a big ask to justify cinema.
"Advertisers will generally showcase their highest quality adverts in cinema. With a functional TV ad with low-production values, we would be reluctant to run that in cinema. There is also the question of the number of people in situ in the cinema for the ad screenings. Then what if the ads are not even shown? Two girls from our office went to see Sex and the City 2in different cinemas and at both those screenings the ads were not shown. That can happen and that's for the agency to monitor."
Graham Spurling, a director of the Movies@ cinema chain, says advertising revenue is crucial to his company’s business model.
"Advertising income has flattened in recent times but is still reasonably buoyant. The cinema business is recession- resilient rather than recession- proof. We are totally product- driven and so far this year there have been strong movie releases. And summer looks good with the release of Toy Story 3."
