Digital Cinema Media Releases Study Proving Cinema's Unique Value to Advertisers

In Digital Cinema Media’s (DCM) latest industry research, Building Box Office Brands: Volume III, Kantar Millward Brown demonstrates that using cinema alongside TV is the most influential AV combination for brand building metrics. Campaigns employing TV and cinema as the AV media channels, contribute on average 1.58% to total brand KPI. The next best performing combination for brand building was TV, cinema and online video* at 1.3%, followed by TV alone at 1.09%, and finally TV and online video at 0.72%.

Analysing Kantar Millward Brown’s AdReaction data the study also investigates how receptive audiences are to different AV channels and further analysis of its extensive CrossMedia databank reveals new insights into how cinema can complement and add value to AV plans. Partnering again with Benchmarketing, the publication also highlights how cinema advertising drives positive longer-lasting effects on sales by analysing the adstock levels (memorability) of the three core AV channels – TV, cinema and online video.

Zoe Jones, Marketing & Insight Director, Digital Cinema Media, said: “AV advertising can help brands gain fame and top-line growth and, while understanding the effectiveness of individual channels is important, we are also aware that advertisers want to understand how to make their media mix more effective. We asked Kantar Millward Brown to analyse its databank to investigate how the different mix of AV channels used may influence the total impact of a campaign and where cinema sits within that. This report shows that cinema can help brands reach receptive audiences, deliver impact on key brand metrics and ultimately drive longer-lasting sales effects. Cinema’s offering as part of an AV plan has never been more powerful.”

The three key takeaways are:

1.     Cinema delivers the most receptive audiences.

Gen Z (16-19 year olds, 44%) and Gen Y (20-34 year olds, 34%) rate cinema ads as the AV advertising format they are most positive towards, ahead of TV and online video. The older Gen X audience (35-49 year olds) is also very receptive to big screen advertising with cinema achieving a net positive score of 31%, coming in just behind TV (33%).

2.     Cinema delivers unbeatable impact within the AV mix

Including cinema in the mix helps campaigns deliver greater impact on total brand KPI performance compared to any other AV channel or combination. Across all five brand building metrics analysed – salience (awareness), love, difference, consideration and recommendation – cinema (2.0%) delivers unbeatable contributions per person reached, followed by TV (1.4%) and online video (0.7%).

3.     Cinema drives longer-lasting sales effects

Cinema campaigns are memorable and have a longer-lasting effect on sales across all four sectors analysed. For All Services, which includes Charity, Entertainment & Leisure, Finance, Retail, Telecoms and Travel & Transport, TV (63%) and cinema (62%) deliver significantly stronger ad stock levels than online video (50%).This further supports the findings of Building Box Office Brands: Volume II which highlighted that cinema delivers £7.73 for every £1 invested for services brands, a significant return comparable to that of TV (£7.09).

Jane Ostler, Managing Director of Media, Digital and Brand Z at Kantar Millward Brown, added: “With advertising facing many issues such as ad avoidance and brand safety, longer-term brand building has never been more important. Our partnership with DCM clearly demonstrates the brand-building power of AV channels and cinema’s unique and integral role as part of a multi-screen strategy.”

Karen Stacey, CEO, Digital Cinema Media, concluded: “This study has shown that cinema is a real ‘triple threat’ being able to provide brands with the opportunity to reach audiences at their most receptive, which in turn delivers unbeatable impact per person across core brand-building metrics and ultimately increased memorability that leads to longer-lasting sales effects. Cinema is a true ‘appointment to view’ channel which can help build box office brands and should be considered as part of any AV media plan.”

* Online video includes VOD, YouTube Video, Facebook Video and other social and online video channels.

The Methodology

Kantar Millward Brown

This study focused specifically on the contributions that paid AV media channels deliver for advertisers per person reached, with results reported across the metrics for cinema, TV and online video. Kantar Millward Brown analysed 269 campaigns from across Europe (of which 136 are from the UK) by splitting them into groups based on the AV strategy each campaign used. As with Volumes I and II, results again focus on the five brand-building metrics that Kantar Millward Brown highlight as drivers of brand growth: Brand Salience (Awareness), Brand Love, Brand Difference, Brand Consideration and Brand Recommendation.

Memorability – Benchmarketing

Benchmarketing has amassed a robust databank of over 800 UK cases and for this study focused on four core product sectors: retail, telecoms, travel & transport and all services across cinema, TV and online video. The adstock results focus on the prolonged effect of advertising on consumer purchase behaviour – how memorable an exposure is – to understand what impact advertising on difference channels has on sales over time.