Efectividad Del Cine Y La Publicidad

Marketing Bulletin, 1996, 7, 58-66, Research Note 2

An Evaluation of Cinema Advertising Effectiveness
Jason Dunnett and Janet Hoek
The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of cinema advertising. Specifically: To
quantify the proportion of cinema audiences who had an opportunity to see advertising messages
screened prior to a movie; to calculate the number of brandsrecalled by movie goers exposed to
advertising messages; and to detail the level of advertisement recognition displayed by movie goers
exposed to advertising messages. The findings raise some questions about the effectiveness of cinema
advertising. First, a reasonable proportion of the audience was not exposed to any advertising,
although this is, arguably, also a characteristic of other media.Second, the low levels of unprompted
recall, the vagueness with which respondents recalled some advertisements, and the varying
proportions of respondents able to recall any details about the advertising content, raises more
questions than it addresses about cinema advertising and its effectiveness. Overall, it seems
reasonable to conclude that, while cinema may fulfil a useful role as a supportmedium, media
schedules in which it is the dominant medium may be unable to generate high frequency.
Keywords: cinema advertising, effectiveness, exposure, recall

Introduction
Cinema attendance worldwide has increased rapidly in recent years and this growth in
attendance has seen a parallel increase in the utilisation of cinema as an advertising medium
(Val Morgan Cinema Advertising,personal communication 1996).
In addition to the increasing reach of cinema, some researchers have argued that cinema
possesses a number of advantages which make it a more attractive medium than has hitherto
been recognised (see Johnson 1981). In the only major study to explore cinema advertising,
Johnson identified the high quality, high resolution presentation offered by cinema; the
"social"aspect of movie going which, he suggested, ensures decision-makers view
advertising in the company of purchase influencers; the captive environment of cinema, and
the lack of clutter affecting the medium, as reasons for its increasing popularity. He
acknowledged some disadvantages, especially the difficulty of building frequency (although
this is easily addressed through the use of other mediawithin a specific schedule); the lower
reach when compared to traditional broadcast media, and booking constraints. However,
despite these problems, Johnson concluded that cinema was an under-utilised medium.
In order to further demonstrate the attractiveness of cinema as an advertising medium,
Johnson reported the results of two recall studies. The first of these tracked the recall levels
ofrespondents interviewed during various time periods following known exposure to an
advertising stimulus. The results, reproduced below, appear to constitute a sound argument
for the effectiveness of cinema advertising as a means of generating awareness.
Since Johnson provided no information about the methodology of this study, it is difficult to
critique it. However, key points which requirefurther clarification include how the specific
effects of the test set of advertising were differentiated from those of the numerous other
advertisements respondents would have been exposed to during the research project. In other
words, there is no evidence that the 12.5% who recalled seeing the advertising after one year
were in fact referring to the test advertising, or whether repeatedexposure to the same

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Marketing Bulletin, 1996, 7, 58-66, Research Note 2

stimulus had contributed, at least in part, to their recall. It is therefore impossible to ascertain
whether respondents' recall of specific advertisements resulted from exposure to cinema
advertising that occurred some time ago.

Table 1. Recall of respondents...