What does 'Barbenheimer' mean for advertisers?

Without a doubt, this has been the summer of theaters. The coincidence of two such successful and different films, Barbie and Oppenheimer, competing —or not? - has been providential in bringing half the world to the cinema and leaving the huge dent made by the pandemic at the box office forgotten. One month after their release, the two films had grossed more than 2 billion dollars worldwide, of which 1.282 billion for Barbie and 718 million for Oppenheimer.

Whether this is an isolated phenomenon or a precedent for other releases this season, the situation has not gone unnoticed by advertisers. The cinema is once again sounding like an attractive advertising medium and, in fact, Warc's latest report projects that, in the UK, cinema advertising spend will grow by 20.8% by 2023.

The truth is that there are several reasons that make cinemas a particularly interesting advertising medium. Let's look at them:

• Attention: The industry cannot stop discussing the importance of attention these days. And in the cinema, where mobile phones are not allowed and the urge to seek alternative entertainment is curtailed, advertisements face no competition. Adding to that, the frequency of ads being shown before the film projection has plummeted. Viewers in cinema are also typically in a state of ease, tranquility, and total immersion.
• The screen: The technical sophistication of commercials has steadily advanced throughout the last few decades, turning them into captivating short films. The immense size and immersive atmosphere of cinemas make them the perfect place to fully enjoy and absorb an advertisement. It's no surprise that any ad-creative would be exuberant to witness their creation on the grandeur of the big screen.
• The tale. Through a timely entrance right before the opening credits, the brand links itself to the enchantment radiating from films, meticulously created narratives that have the power to move countless individuals and endure in the collective consciousness.
• Segmentation: Sometimes, we get caught up in using fancy technical tricks and forget about the timeless power of content for targeting. Our investigation into series viewing on different platforms has shed light on the potency of different genres for attracting specific target audiences. It is vital to carefully select genres or films that resonate with your demographic, be it family-oriented blockbusters, war movies, underground flicks, or chilling horror tailored for geeks.

On the other hand, cinema has typically had a disadvantage as an advertising platform: its performance was not measured. Beyond box office data, which could and can tell you what success the film in question is having, it wasn't possible to know what targets you were reaching in theaters or how these insertions related to those on TV or Online Video. All this changes with FLUZO. Thanks to our ACR-based methodology from a single-source, we are able to connect all the dots in your campaign, including film.

In our dashboard, the impact of cinema is integrated as another advertising medium in our clients' campaigns. Exactly as in the case of television, we know its reach and the frequency it offers at a global level and by target, if there is duplication with other media or if it provides exclusive incremental coverage, etc. In this way, it makes much more sense to incorporate it into a cross-media strategy.

The utilization of theaters is also an integral component of the strategies implemented by leading OTTs. Prior to being uploaded onto their platforms, these companies often present their content in cinemas. In our earlier study, we assessed the consumption of cinema for Disney's Wakanda and shared relevant data:

• We discovered that, in cinemas, the film had reached 2% of the adult population and Internet users in the two weeks following its release, and that the most frequent viewer profile was male and between 18 and 35 years old.
• Once released, the platform reached an additional 9% of the population. Again, men were more likely to watch, but, in this case, the biggest fan group was between the ages of 35 and 54.
• We also learned that there had been no duplication between the two mediums, or, in other words, that no one had repeated it at home after seeing it in the cinema.

🍿 If you are interested in having us help you measure your advertising impact in cinema or any other medium, please do not hesitate to contact us. 🍿