Recently rebranded Screenvision Media has rolled out the Connected Cinema experience, which the company says provides the ultimate canvas for brand storytelling. Through new tech alliances with MovieTickets.com, Timeplay, Shazam, EdisonX and Branded Entertainment Network, Screenvision Media is extending and harnessing the unrivaled impact of cinema’s premium video with the ability to engage with consumers before, during and after their movie-going journey. The announcement was officially made at the company’s Upfront event at the Skylight at Moynihan Station.
“The cinema advertising industry is booming, and brands are definitely taking notice. We have further strengthened our big screen impact with the roll-out of our Connected Cinema experience, and paired with our recent rebrand into a more encompassing media company, have created the ultimate storytelling canvas for brands to engage with consumers during every touch-point of their movie-going journey,” said John Partilla, CEO of Screenvision Media. “When you combine fantastic content with cutting edge technology and more precise targeting, all within a completely immersive environment, you are able to deliver something so compelling, it just can’t be ignored.”
For the sixth consecutive year, broadcast TV ratings have continued to decline, while cinema remains strong and stable. With a record-shattering 2015 box office and an equally incredible movie slate for 2016 and 2017, cinema continues to provide unparalleled premium water cooler content. This content, viewed on a 40-foot screen in a captive and unskippable environment by a young (median age of 29), affluent and tech savvy audience, ensures brand messages are impactful and resonate.
In 2015, the cinema advertising industry experienced a 15.6 percent increase in national/regional revenue with revenue topping $700 million, and was declared the fastest growing legacy spending category, with projected annual growth of 5.1 percent. On the heels of this prolific growth trajectory and agency/brand demand, Nielsen is enabling agencies to evaluate the power of cinema on an even playing field with other mediums with the recent launch of Nielsen Media Impact and the Total Media Fusion. Together, these solutions provide a granular view of cinema, television, video streaming, online, mobile, print and digital place based media behavior for brand audiences. The insights provided go beyond demographics that can be used to plan, optimize and measure cross-platform campaigns that deliver more effective results.
“Cinema is very well-positioned to respond to the increasing demand for premium video. As the industry’s recent revenue reports indicated, cinema advertising is no longer at the precipice of change – the line has been crossed. We are excited to help brands realize the full potential of cinema’s unrivaled impact with our elevated Connected Cinema offerings, and continue to show them that not all impressions are created equal,” said Katy Loria, executive vice president, CRO, Screenvision Media.
Under the Connected Cinema umbrella, Screenvision Media is offering consumer brands the ability to fully engage with target audiences during every step of their movie-going journey. In an alliance with MovieTickets.com, a leading global provider of remote movie ticketing, Screenvision Media now enables these brands to begin engaging with consumers from the inception of their cinema experience – when they search for movies and purchase a ticket. Consumer brand advertisers will also be given the opportunity to extend the reach of on-screen campaigns to the digital platforms of MovieTickets.com and Hollywood.com.
This relationship enables MovieTickets.com to provide aggregate front-end insights to Screenvision Media by connecting moviegoers and specific movies to purchase behavior, as well as back-end analytics to elevate campaign success measurement. The addition of this data to information gathered through mobile technology alliances with SITO Mobile, Mobiquity Networks and Gimbal, will augment insights and enhance on-screen targeting.
To extend in-theatre engagement, Screenvision Media forged an alliance with Timeplay, which puts the moviegoer in the driver’s seat to control and impact the action on the screen through their mobile device. Brands will be able to integrate into Screenvision Media’s Front & Center preshow with interactive experiences such as branching video and multi-player gaming with leaderboards and prizes. The platform will be rolled out in 1,000 screens by January 2017.
Brands will not only be able to integrate into Screenvision Media’s Front & Center preshow but also into 2017 blockbuster films themselves through an exclusive alliance with Branded Entertainment Network. BEN is an interactive platform that provides end-to-end access to the world’s most premium film, TV, OTT, digital, music video and celebrity content. This relationship enables brands to find branded integration opportunities based on budget, demographic and other variables within Hollywood film and premium videos, and to seamlessly integrate into films in a meaningful and authentic way.
Additionally, Screenvision Media announced a renewed alliance with Shazam, one of the world’s most popular apps used by hundreds of millions of people each month to magically connect to the world around them. In addition to tapping into Shazam’s enhanced audio and visual recognition capabilities, Screenvision Media will be working exclusively with the company on the creation of branded Shazam Sessions. These segments will give brands the opportunity to align themselves with top musical artists for creation of on-screen content.
Screenvision Media will continue to enable brands to tap into new opportunities outside of the theatre through an exclusive alliance with EdisonX with the creation of a virtual Movie GiftShop. Like many who attend a sporting or musical event and purchase a souvenir, moviegoers often want to buy products seen in or inspired by the movie that they have just seen. Using unique Shop-the-Movie technology from EdisonX in association with major studios, the virtual Movie GiftShop will enable moviegoers to purchase licensed products, DVDs and soundtracks, as well as products inspired by the movies they’ve watched, on their mobile device the moment the credits roll.
Finally, comScore (formerly Rentrak) has developed an exclusive product that will enable Screenvision Media to better inform targeted programming for advertisers, as well as provide attribution regarding product purchases following consumers’ cinema experiences.
During Screenvision Media’s Upfront presentation, the company continued to emphasize its commitment to the art of storytelling. As part of that, the company announced an industry-first original branded content programming created by Screenvision Media’s in-house content studio, 40 Foot Solutions, and developed in association with actor/producer Greg Grunberg and his production studio, Bandwagon Media. The pilot, Movie Nights, features five young emerging actors with millennial followings as friends who, no matter what is happening in their lives, meet at the movies every Friday night. Each participating brand will have the opportunity to integrate into the episodes as the sixth character and create a running theme or storyline across the series.
In addition, as unveiled earlier this month, Screenvision Media has enlisted creative powerhouse, Sir John Hegarty, to be the company’s Creative Chair in Residence. Within his new role at Screenvision Media, Hegarty, along with the backing of 40 Foot Solutions, will provide creative counsel and direction for key advertisers who are interested in developing unparalleled big-screen campaigns.
“Our commitment to the craft of creativity and storytelling is a driving passion within our company, and we take great pride in helping brands marry the art of the story with the science of data and technology. We believe that this approach will enable brands to truly break through the media clutter, and are very excited to avail brands to these new offerings,” said John McCauley, chief strategic development officer, Screenvision Media.
The theme of Screenvision Media’s Upfront event this year was Impact Like No Other. To bring this theme to life, the company took over the Skylight at Moynihan Station and transformed it into a fully immersive Connected Cinema experience for attendees, complete with interactive replicated working sets from some of 2017’s hottest upcoming movies, including Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ Kong: Skull Island (March 10, 2017), Warner Bros. Pictures’ The LEGO Batman Movie (February 10, 2017), and Marvel’s Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (May 5, 2017).
The upfront event was produced by Empire Entertainment, and a showcase of the upcoming movie slate was produced by Screenvision Media programming partner, @Hollywood. 40 Foot Solutions produced other on-screen elements for the show, and Christie Digital provided interactive, user-driven video walls throughout the event space. In addition, SITO Mobile, Gimbal and Mobiquity Networks provided state-of-the-art location services utilizing a combination of beacons, geo-fencing and data capabilities throughout the event to demonstrate the power of data and targeting in real time.
Screenvision Media screenvisionmedia.com
TimePlay timeplay.com
Shazam www.shazam.com