As advertisers grapple with shrinking marketing budgets against ever-increasing sales and customer acquisition targets, there is greater pressure on marketing dollars to work harder than ever before. When you add continuous innovation to marketing and media platforms, advertisers have more communication vehicles than ever before to romance their target audience – and consumers have more communication vehicles than ever before to listen to (or ignore) these messages. We continue our series in investigating the roles certain marketing channels play in driving business growth for advertisers. We explore which communication vehicles are known to be more effective in driving sales and customer acquisition, and which marketing channels typically achieve higher return-on-investment. In studying the roles various marketing channels play in driving key performance targets across a number of verticals in Australia, it is possible to draw some overall conclusions. Previous issues have explored TV, Radio, Newspapers and Magazines. This issue puts the spotlight on Cinema.
When you consider the nature of Cinema as an advertising medium, it is easy to see how Cinema advertising drives awareness, appeal and consideration of brands, products and services effectively. Unlike media such as TV and Radio, Cinema usually enjoys a captive audience pre-feature. The audience is more likely to pay attention to the messages before the feature starts which tends to be a mix of advertisements and coming attractions. The large size of the screen and loud surround sound also helps in arresting attention. And with technological advancement enhancing the movie-going experience, the way advertising messages are communicated through the Cinematic form will only get more exciting and engaging to consumers.
The long format associated with Cinema advertising spots makes the act of storytelling more conducive than other media formats. Like a mini-movie before the main movie. Therefore products or services which require ‘stories’ or ‘experiences’ to be created about them (such as travel destinations, motor vehicles, consumer electronics, home entertainment, high-end luxury goods, employment, education, etc.) perform very well in relation to brand awareness, familiarity, appeal, consideration and sales when Cinema is included in their multi-media campaigns.
Cinema can be more cost-efficient in achieving an advertiser’s marketing objectives compared to other media formats. In addition to spots being less cost-prohibitive compared to other media that can boast wider reach, Cinema advertisers can target specific consumer segments by looking at movie genres. The social component usually associated with cinema-going guarantees a concentration of like-minded consumers in one place.
I hope these observations about the role Cinema can play in your marketing strategy has been valuable. Please watch out for the next issue which puts the spotlight on the medium of Outdoor or Out-of-home.
For further information about media effectiveness or how you can optimise your marketing strategy, please feel free to contact Clare by emailing ClareF@thriveplus.com.au