ALL EYES ON SCREEN

If there’s one thing we can rely on in the ever-changing media landscape – it’s trailers before a movie.

Whether you’re settling into a plush seat with popcorn or a leather couch with a wine in hand, going to the movies has been a treat for generations of Kiwis seeking a couple of hours distraction free immersed in a surround sound story.

And that high-quality environment hasn’t gone unnoticed by marketers with cinema advertising spend in New Zealand up 9.2 percent last year to over $7.7 million.

In the UK, luxury retailer Selfridges is launching its first cinematic ad campaign in four decades, 'Radical Luxury', and it's the biggest advertising campaign Selfridges has ever done.

At home, we have big media player Sky TV taking audiences to the theatre with its dramatic 'Poisoned Chalice' campaign by DDB.

It watches as a husband

(Hacksaw Ridge’s Tyler Coppin) slips his wedding ring back on as he returns home, while his wife (Top of the Lakes’ Alison Bruce), who is watching from the kitchen, spikes his wine with poison. While the drama unfolds, the husband breaks the fourth wall by dissecting the perfect drama.

DDB chief creative officer Damon Stapleton says premium talent was enlisted, seen in both the actors and the director— Academy Award nominee Derin Seale—to create the captivating

drama that leaves audience members wanting more.

Cinema was the most compelling way to capture that undivided attention, he says.

“There’s the perception we should be making shorter and shorter videos, aiming for six seconds to cater to fractured attention.

“But my argument is we should make quality and people will watch it.”

Visually cinema has all the bells and whistles, and while so much is now designed to be viewed on mobile, “for a brand to be perceived as quality, execution is as important as content,” Stapleton says.

“The idea for Sky TV is they have premium drama, the best drama in the world, and this campaign is sending the message to people on the big screen that everything is very well made.”

The best lighting and screens, surround sound, and people's undivided attention were the reasons the medium was used, and although it might not have the frequency of other channels, the impact is extremely powerful, Stapleton says.

Sky TV director of marketing Michael Watson says 'Poisoned Chalice' makes sense for Sky TV, and the company thought the cinema audience would have a real affinity with the premium drama message being showcased.

“There’s still a very strong market for quality storytelling and escapism and the resurgence in cinema is evident by increasingly strong box office results.

“The challenge for advertisers is to find a way to connect with audiences in a way that makes sense.”

The campaign will roll out with the 90-second version for cinema before being broadened out on television, social video and a 360-degree experience on Facebook and Snapchat.

2degrees is also bringing campaigns to the big screen, capturing an audience that’s “there, ready, engaged and captive”, 2degrees chief marketing officer Roy Ong says.

“They’re there for a total experience and appreciate good story-telling and cinematic elements.

“Our creative, with its high production values, is a good fit for that.”

2degrees’ 'Second Nature' campaign is driven by the insight that communication is second nature, and your telco shouldn’t get in the way of what comes naturally.

Ong says the company makes sure integrated campaigns such as this one work incredibly hard, and each channel has a clear purpose.

“We know from the insights we get from Ikon, our buyer, that cinema offers a quality audience which is important, and pleasingly the numbers are bucking the trend of decline and seem to be on the up.”

He says so far the results have been really positive and the team is “delighted with the anecdotal feedback”, but it’s still early days so it will be a while before they know exact trends and impacts per channel.

“With 'Second Nature' we have a platform with which to deliver an emotional and consistent story for 2degrees – in a way that makes Kiwis sit up and listen,” says Ong—and with no distraction, cinema is the ideal place for this behaviour.