by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Going to the movies these days isn’t perceived as the ‘big event’ it once was.
As a child, I remember the excitement of getting my 50c pocket money, which would buy a friend and me bus tickets, popcorn and movie tickets, and still have change left over. A few years later, Ster Kinekor introduced the Kiddies Club. Growing up, the flicks were a great place to take a date, or meet up with a group of friends. Whether it was the drive-in or a cinema, going out to see a movie was always something special.
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But times have changed. Radically. As Faith Popcorn predicted way back in the nineties, ‘cocooning’ has seen people opting for more in-home entertainment. Let’s face it, we are spoilt for choice, from a selection of satellite TV channels to all that the internet has to offer. Why go out, when your comfy couch is at hand, there’s beer in the fridge, your favourite pizza place delivers, and you have a 4K screen that takes up half of your wall?
One of the bigger challenges for the cinema industry has been the ‘small screen’ – the laptop that now doubles as a media centre, and with the availability of illegal downloads and internet streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix about to arrive in SA, cinemas have to fight to keep audiences.
FoxP2 created a quirky but clever billboard campaign that enjoyed considerable user attention, especially amongst this tech-savvy target market. A 63 metre long billboard was placed on one of Johannesburg’s busiest highways. The wording, in HUGE block caps was: “NAME THE MOVIE PLAYING ON THIS LAPTOP”. Beneath that was the call to action: “and you could win tickets to see it on a screen 1795 x bigger.”
Mounted on the billboard was a laptop, with a trailer for an upcoming movie playing. The laptop looks ridiculously small, compared to the lettering on the billboard, and the point is amply made: watching movies on a small screen is no substitute for ‘the real thing’. In fact, FoxP2 claim that only 12% of the people got the answer right.
Cinema chains are working hard to bring that old sense of a special occasion back, working on what it does best: watching a movie in a darkened cinema is a more immersive experience, with 3D and surround sound that makes it that much more engaging. Ster Kinekor has now introduced Imax 3D – an even more high-resolution image, with improved 3D and a digital projection system.
Content-wise, high impact action blockbusters are what gets bums into seats, especially amongst the target market of teens-to-twenty-somethings, who have disposable income and are more inclined to go out to socialise than their older, stay-at-home parents.
Theatres have also been modified to provide a more comfortable experience. Seats are wider and more plush than in bygone years. There is the option of sitting in a “love seat” – a double seat for two without a divider: ideal for a date night.
Loyalty card systems and collaborations with companies like Edgars and Vitality provide incentives for the cost-conscious, providing innovative, value added marketing that incentivises increased attendance.
In an attempt to target a more sophisticated market, Ster Kinekor has rolled out “Prestige Theatres” in three major centres. These are smaller theatres with plush leather seats, little side-tables and an overall more luxurious ambience.
Other innovations include promotions, like free premieres, and special events, like the free screening of ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ on Mandela Day this year.
Getting back to the ad, FoxP2 claims that it produced 131 255 engagements through social media, and Ster Kinekor experienced a 52% increase in cinema attendance for the period. To be fair, I’m not sure how much of that also had to do with the release of some big-budget hits like ‘Gravity’, ‘Captain Phillips’ and ‘Ender’s Game’, but I think it was a well-focussed campaign that was right on message and on target.
Big up to FoxP2 for a really smart campaign.
Ad of the Week, published on MarkLives every Wednesday, is penned by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki), the CEO of Ornico, a Brand Intelligence® firm that focuses on media, reputation and brand research.
If you are involved in making advertising that is smart, funny and/or engaging,
please let Oresti know about it at info@ornicogroup.co.za.
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