Cinema Tops Traditional Media With High Ad Growth

Cinema has topped traditional media with advertising revenue up 11.1% year on year, according to the latest Nielsen Media Research figures, which show a total of £119 million in ad revenue was spent on cinema from January to September.

Cinema advertising growth leads over press, which declined 0.4%, whilst outdoor fell by 1.8% and TV by 4.3%. The revenue results take into account on-screen campaigns only, not the promotional activity in foyers either relating to a cinema sponsorship or events on an ad hoc basis.

Two new advertisers to cinema, AOL and AA, show advertisers moving spend out of press and outdoor into cinema, with AOL simultaneously decreasing its spend in online to reach an entertainment-seeking audience in a new environment. AOL has contributed £2.1 million to cinema so far this year whilst the AA has decreased its television commitment and spent £1 million on cinema for the first time, with recent research proving positive results for the company’s on-screen campaign.

Motoring is the top cinema category, with spend of £24.5 million, followed by telecoms and media and entertainment at £17.7 million and £16.8 million respectively. Media and entertainment also showed a 77% increase year on year. Brands responsible for this growth were AOL, Heart FM and Five, all of which were new to cinema this year. However, Sky remains that category’s leading advertiser with spend of £6 million, promoting features such as Sky+ and Sky HD.

Adam Mills, sales director of Carlton Screen Advertising, said: “The recent NMR results are encouraging for cinema advertising sales, especially in the current market which is particularly competitive and constantly shifting to match the fast-moving consumer trends. Cinema’s share of voice has increased 12.5% year on year to 1.8%, reinforcing our hard work and achievement of advertising revenue growth, which we aim to take through to 2007.”

Mike Hope-Milne, sales director at Pearl and Dean, added: “It’s wonderful to see a medium as responsive, as creative and diverse as cinema gain share given the challenging media environment. These new findings stand as testament to the power of the medium and its ability to really engage with consumers.”

Pearl And Dean: www.pearlanddean.com Carlton Screen Advertising: www.carltonscreen.com