Screenvision Announces A First For Cinema Advertising At Debut Upfront Presentation: Aligns Buying Process With TV Model, Including Demo Guarantees Supported By Nielsen's Cinema Audience Reports

NEW YORK, April 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Screenvision, a national cinema advertising leader, announced a first for the cinema advertising industry – a true alignment of the buying process with TV, including a commitment to offer demo guarantees supported by Nielsen's Cinema Audience Reports to the national advertisers participating in the 2013 Upfronts. The announcement was made today at Screenvision's first-ever Upfront presentation, themed "Front and Center," before 600+ advertising and media executives at New York's landmark Ziegfeld Theatre.

"The media industry is at an inflection point, as advertisers are aggressively seeking out audience replacements to mitigate the significant ratings decline across broadcast and cable TV," said Travis Reid, Chief Executive Officer, Screenvision. "In contrast, moviegoing attendance has been very consistent over time, and in fact increased 6% in 2012 to 1.36 billion attendees."

"Over the past year," continued Reid, "we've quietly primed ourselves to take advantage of this growing need in the market. We've engineered a new sales team, headed by one of cable TV's most successful ad sales executives, Jim Tricarico, and with a new flexible plan for buying cinema advertising, we are poised to be a meaningful and compelling option for advertisers in this year's Upfront."

Chief Revenue Officer Jim Tricarico, who recently joined Screenvision after 12 years at Nickelodeon as EVP of Sales, introduced the new sales approach. Tricarico pointed out, "Our plan revolutionizes cinema advertising by fully aligning with the TV and video buying process, touting new offerings of demo guarantees, seasonal pricing, show-parting and creative flexibility."

Importantly, with the demo guarantees – an industry first, Screenvision will be guaranteeing its audience delivery to its Upfront advertisers, with Nielsen's Cinema Audience Reports against specific demos, such as 18-49 year-olds. Screenvision is the only cinema advertising network that uses a third-party independent company, Nielsen, to post its audience delivery. 

Screenvision's first commitment under the new plan is with Taco Bell and expects to announce several additional commitments with brands and agencies over the coming weeks. 

"Cinema not only delivers great scale, but is the most powerful, immersive and captivating environment for video ads," added Tricarico. "Moviegoers are drawn to see the world's greatest content, and their affinity for the experience puts them in a highly receptive mindset, delivering unrivaled results, including 56% Ad Recall and 10:1 Ad Likeability compared to TV."

"As someone who has spent the last 12 years within TV ad sales, I realized that in-cinema had to create a comparable model to present our offering to media buyers," continued Tricarico. "We think this new approach, and flexibility will help advertisers better connect with the increasing number of consumers who are being lost to declining ratings in broadcast and cable." 

Screenvision highlighted research demonstrating cinema's powerful position as the perfect complement to any TV ad buy. When TV viewing at home is low – such as on weekends or in the summer – cinema viewing is up, making it the ultimate pairing to a TV ad buy. Cinema's powerful attributes, when combined with TV, delivers scalable incremental reach and delivers over 30% lift versus important purchase indicators such as Brand Recall, Intent to Buy and Brand Recommendation.

Screenvision also announced an exclusive new partnership with Shazam®, the world's leading media engagement company that will bring the Shazam for TV™ advertising platform to the Screenvision theater network. The marriage of Screenvision's immersive and captivating big screen experience with Shazam's industry leading mobile platform will enable advertisers to connect with moviegoers at the moment of awareness. Moviegoers will now be able to connect directly to brands for a deeper level of engagement with special offers, sweepstakes, bonus content and outlets to social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

"With our national cinema network reaching nearly 40 million moviegoers monthly and Shazam's 90 million and growing U.S. user base," said Tricarico, "advertisers have the ultimate platform to reach the mass market and to get them to act on their message."

At the Upfront, Screenvision also presented:

• Screenvision's Emerging Filmmakers Series, an initiative that focuses on working with emerging filmmakers to create branded content for advertisers in the Screenvision Preshow
• Sneak Peeks of Upcoming Films, from Marvel Entertainment (Thor: The Dark World; release date November 8, 2013, Captain America: The Winter Soldier; release date April 4, 2014) and Paramount (Pain & Gain; release date April 26, 2013)
• Integrated Branded Content Programs, produced with leading content producers, My Damn Channel, around branded comedy content, and ENTV, focused on inside Hollywood vignettes

The Screenvision Upfront closed with a tongue in cheek review of their Upfront produced by Screenvision entertainment provider, Reelz Channel, featuring popular film critic Leonard Maltin.

ABOUT SCREENVISION
Headquartered in New York, N.Y., Screenvision is a national leader in cinema advertising, offering on-screen advertising, in-lobby promotions and integrated marketing programs to national, regional and local advertisers. Screenvision provides comprehensive cinema advertising representation services to top tier theatrical exhibitors presenting the highest quality moviegoing experience. The Screenvision cinema advertising network is comprised of over 14,300 screens in 2,300+ theater locations across all 50 states and 94% of DMAs nationwide; delivering through more than 150 theatrical circuits, including six of the top 10 exhibitor companies. For more information: http://www.screenvision.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Kaitlin Lindsey / Jacky Agudelo, Cataldi PR
Phone: 212.244.9797
E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

Caroline Kasabian, Screenvision
Phone: 212.497.0453
E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Screenvision