The end of the advertising film reel
Movies: Good old celluloid is on its way out: Soon, movie theater ads will be displayed digitally. Marketers expect an increase in revenue.
Cinema The good old celluloid has to go: Cinema advertising can soon be transmitted digitally. The handling of cinema advertising is currently complex and relatively expensive. The number of cinemas alone - there are 500 cinemas in Switzerland - speaks volumes: this medium incurs high costs for film copies (not to mention film wear and tear), the booking lead time is around three weeks and controlling is time-consuming, but this will soon be a thing of the past. As Cinecom marketing manager Jean-Claude Bruhin explained to Werbewoche, the cinema advertising marketer is currently investing a "seven-figure" sum to equip its 400 leased cinemas throughout Switzerland with the technology to transmit advertising spots digitally from the second half of 2004. Specifically, each Cinecom cinema will be equipped with an ADSL line, a 16:9 projector and a Cinema Media Player. Each player has an internal drive that can store up to 30 movie soundtracks.
Significantly lower costs
And this is how the Cinecom system works: The booking tool in the Cinecom control center transfers the individual playlists to the individual servers, which in turn send a completion message back to the control center after the screening has taken place.
The advantages are obvious: screening control is greatly simplified and improved, Cinecom saves a "low six-figure sum" annually on shipping costs, and customers no longer have to pay for copying. In addition, uniform standards can be set for lighting and sound quality, reel changes are no longer necessary and the projectors allow cinema owners to use their auditoriums in a variety of ways, for example as lecture or conference halls on mornings, for events and TV broadcasts.
Thanks to digitalization, the booking lead time for advertising customers is also reduced to one week. "If necessary, individual spots - such as a Blick spot with the headline for the following day - can be replaced at even shorter notice," says Bruhin.
And the range is expanding: "We will offer movie premieres as standard, for example," says Bruhin. There will also be the option to select according to the genres action, art, drama, comedy, family and kids.
Even for local customers, the medium of cinema should become more attractive: As projectors are replacing slide projectors, simple animations of up to 15 seconds with or without sound will also be possible in future. Still images combined with a radio spot are also conceivable.
All in all, Cinecom is hoping for increased demand for cinema advertising. Expressed in figures: Cinecom Managing Director and co-owner Matthias Luchsinger expects 10 to 15 percent more sales from the second half of the year: "If cinema also becomes bookable like TV, TV customers will consider advertising in the cinema as well. In this way, we may be able to attract some of the TV budgets to the cinema.
One spot for three media
Cinecom not only markets cinema and TV, but recently also screens. The overall strategy behind this is now suddenly becoming apparent thanks to cinema digitization: the same spot can be used in all three media. The combination of home (TV) and out-of-home media (cinema, screens) is now possible and entire packages can be offered.
Thanks to digitalization, but probably above all thanks to the
Cinecom is currently also in pole position with cinema owners due to its somewhat earlier planning (see box). They seem to appreciate the advantages of the projector, which both simplifies handling and promises additional income, even if they have to pay for installation and maintenance themselves. This was presumably one reason why Mediavision was unable to acquire any further cinema leases in 2003.
Triple delight: Digital cinema advertising spots are more advantageous for marketers, customers and cinema owners.
Significantly lower costs
And this is how the Cinecom system works: The booking tool in the Cinecom control center transfers the individual playlists to the individual servers, which in turn send a completion message back to the control center after the screening has taken place.
The advantages are obvious: screening control is greatly simplified and improved, Cinecom saves a "low six-figure sum" annually on shipping costs, and customers no longer have to pay for copying. In addition, uniform standards can be set for lighting and sound quality, reel changes are no longer necessary and the projectors allow cinema owners to use their auditoriums in a variety of ways, for example as lecture or conference halls on mornings, for events and TV broadcasts.
Thanks to digitalization, the booking lead time for advertising customers is also reduced to one week. "If necessary, individual spots - such as a Blick spot with the headline for the following day - can be replaced at even shorter notice," says Bruhin.
And the range is expanding: "We will offer movie premieres as standard, for example," says Bruhin. There will also be the option to select according to the genres action, art, drama, comedy, family and kids.
Even for local customers, the medium of cinema should become more attractive: As projectors are replacing slide projectors, simple animations of up to 15 seconds with or without sound will also be possible in future. Still images combined with a radio spot are also conceivable.
All in all, Cinecom is hoping for increased demand for cinema advertising. Expressed in figures: Cinecom Managing Director and co-owner Matthias Luchsinger expects 10 to 15 percent more sales from the second half of the year: "If cinema also becomes bookable like TV, TV customers will consider advertising in the cinema as well. In this way, we may be able to attract some of the TV budgets to the cinema.
One spot for three media
Cinecom not only markets cinema and TV, but recently also screens. The overall strategy behind this is now suddenly becoming apparent thanks to cinema digitization: the same spot can be used in all three media. The combination of home (TV) and out-of-home media (cinema, screens) is now possible and entire packages can be offered.
Thanks to digitalization, but probably above all thanks to the
Cinecom is currently also in pole position with cinema owners due to its somewhat earlier planning (see box). They seem to appreciate the advantages of the projector, which both simplifies handling and promises additional income, even if they have to pay for installation and maintenance themselves. This was presumably one reason why Mediavision was unable to acquire any further cinema leases in 2003.
Triple delight: Digital cinema advertising spots are more advantageous for marketers, customers and cinema owners.
Under pressureMediavision, which markets around 100 auditoriums in French-speaking Switzerland, is also upgrading in terms of digitalization. "Of course
Mediavision will also install the cinemas it leases digitally by the end of the year," said Olivier Bloch, Director of Mediavision Suisse. No further information was available. The decision comes as no surprise: both cinema owners and advertising customers are now under great pressure to follow suit. Advertising customers in particular would hardly have been prepared to produce another handful of advertising film reels just because of the Mediavision cinemas. (mk)
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