Theater Ads Don't Stop Moviegoers

Thursday, March 16, 2006

"The bottom line is people say they hate commercials, but in reality they go to the movies they want to see no matter what," said Adrienne Becker, senior vp and general manager of Nielsen Entertainment, who presented the report during the annual ShoWest convention of movie theater owners.

The data were culled from a survey of more than 2,000 frequent, Web-savvy moviegoers--defined as those who saw 10 or more movies in the theater in the past year and who either bought a ticket online or searched for movie information online.

The respondents ranked the importance of what lures them to a particular movie. The No. 1 draw was an impressive in-theater trailer, followed by a friend's recommendation and then a particular actor.

"One of the most amazing things (about this study) is where television and Web advertising came into play," Becker said. "The television advertisement or Web advertisement is still valuable based on the results of this analysis with the younger demographics. However, they are not nearly as powerful as the trailer or a friend's recommendation."

Most significantly, those older than 35 reported that commercials are among the least influential factors, ranking only ahead of the movie's director, an Internet posting and newspaper content.

As for a theater's attributes, those surveyed picked cleanliness and ambiance as the most important.

"As an exhibitor, control what you can control," Becker added, citing the upscale ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood as a perfect example of following that strategy.
Becker said exhibitors "must recapture the younger demographics as part of this moviegoing experience." She added, "Igniting passion in the moviegoing experience for them is going to be the key to changing the trends we are seeing now."

Source: Hollywood