How Cinema Advertising Converts To Word Of Mouth Endorsement

Jackie McGarry, head of research at Pearl & Dean, looks at the strength and effectiveness of cinema advertising in encouraging word of mouth recommendations on brands and products…

As consumers we all know that if we have a good experience of a brand or company we will usually be happy to recommend that same product or service to our friends. Likewise, it’s also well known that if we experience poor customer service or shoddy workmanship then we will be very vocal in advising people that we know not to use a particular company. This is an immensely powerful influencer as it can either greatly enhance or undermine a company’s entire marketing efforts.

The reason for this is that consumers trust the impartial recommendation from people that they know. Large ad agencies such as Grey London are even buying companies that specialise in word of mouth communications to capitalise on this opportunity. Rather than leave word of mouth to chance, brands are now working with such agencies to incorporate word of mouth strategies into their marketing mix.

With the explosion in numbers of blogs and user-centric websites such as travel site TripAdvisor, word of mouth has taken on an even wider role in having the power to influence others. A recent worldwide survey by Nielsen found that three-quarters of internet users believe that consumer opinions are the most effective form of advertising.

However, encouraging word of mouth about a brand doesn’t have to sit in silo in a marketing or advertising strategy. It can also be influenced by other media. Our research with TGI shows that cinema is the media that can really get people talking about your brand. Everyone tells people if they’ve seen a good or bad film, and our research shows that cinema-goers are also more likely than heavy consumers of other media, such as TV, to talk about other aspects of their lifestyle.

For example, according to TGI, heavy cinema-goers (those who go to the flicks once a month or more) are 81% more likely than the average person to convince others about cars. However, heavy TV viewers (those who watch over 30 hours a week) are 31% less likely than the average person to be very likely to convince others about cars. This trend of heavy cinema-goers being more likely to convince someone about a particular consumer choice is replicated across various vertical sectors – heavy cinema-goers are much more likely than heavy TV viewers to convince others about alcoholic drinks, food, financial services, healthy living, household products, pharmaceutical products, cars, clothes, toiletries, TV/video equipment and mobile phones.

The TGI data also demonstrates that heavy cinema-goers outperform heavy internet users in terms of giving a large amount of information about clothes, alcoholic drinks, toiletries, cars, TV & video/audio equipment and mobile phones. For example heavy internet users are 21% more likely than the average person to be large advocates of clothes, whereas heavy cinema-goers are 75% more likely.

This research should be music to the ears of advertisers who use cinema as part of their advertising campaign. They are already enjoying a lot of value from cinema as we look to maintain the momentum of the most successful summer Box Office admissions on record. Now, this research shows that the reach of cinema advertising goes well beyond the silver screen since the millions of people who see adverts before the main feature are major influencers on those around them.

Advertisers can capitalise on this correlation between cinema and word of mouth as they know that if they get their brand in front of cinema-goers, those same cinema-goers are likely to refer to that particular brand when convincing others on purchase decisions.

But why are heavy cinema-goers so much more likely to convince others? TouchPoints research shows that heavy cinema-goers (15yrs+) are very socially active, from around 2pm at the weekend they are much more likely to be out socialising than the rest of the adult population. For example, at 9pm at the weekend 44% of heavy cinema-goers are socialising, compared to only 32% of all adults. 30% of all adults are out socialising at 9pm at the weekends and meeting up with friends. However, 35% of heavy cinema-goers are out socialising at 9pm at the weekends, with almost 45% of heavy cinema-goers meeting up with friends at 8.30pm on weekend evenings.

It is possible that it is on such informal social occasions – when someone is out at the cinema or theatre or spending time having dinner or drinks with friends – that people are most likely to be recommending particular products or brands. The fact that heavy cinema-goers are more likely to be out socialising and meeting with friends at this time puts them in more situations where they’re in a position to be offering advice.

In light of the various studies on the power of word of mouth, this research can add a new dimension to the value that marketers see from advertising on certain media. While some media such as cinema lend themselves to influencing the word of mouth arena, others simply don’t generate impacts beyond the immediate audience.