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Author Topic: Newspaper advertising-movie listing Mike Frese Master Film Handler Posts: 465 From: Holts Summit, MO Registered: Jun 2007 posted 05-15-2010 09:55 AM                        How many use newspapers to advertise movie listings today to somme extent? a) never use b) weekends and holidays and summer 7-days a week c) weekends only d) 7 days a week e) other We have been (d) as of late. My newspaper frustrates me. There are 4 theaters who advertise on weekends & holidays & all summer. Many times we will be above the fold in column 6 while the other bigger multiplexes will be below the fold in columns 1 & 2. We also want to buy a bigger ad to market 3d, but I almost hate to give them my money for not giving a damn about placement. Is it too much to ask to be located next to the bigger theaters?  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 05-15-2010 11:24 AM                     Either the "big guys" are paying more than you for that ad location or they've worked out a deal with the parent company for getting good ad placement at a normal rate (due to them having high number of ads across the country).  |  IP: Logged David E. Nedrow Master Film Handler Posts: 368 From: Columbus, OH, USA Registered: Oct 2008 posted 05-15-2010 03:27 PM                        I'm not sure if any of the movie theatres in Columbus advertise 7 days a week any more. I think, beyond a couple of studio sponsored ads during the week, most of them only do Fri/Sat/Sun. And even then, they only list the shows for those days. We list our whole week in our weekend ads. I think, depending on the film, newspaper advertising isn't much of a return for us. Once our obligation is up, we'll probably drop the contract and just do ad-hoc. Basically, newspaper ads for films targeted at those over 45, and online only for anything else. AMC has stopped advertising altogether in the Columbus newspaper. I think they have 72 screens here. Given that their primary audience is the under 30's, I don't think the lack of newspaper ads is hurting them. Most of their audience is getting showtimes via mobile phones.  |  IP: Logged Mike Frese Master Film Handler Posts: 465 From: Holts Summit, MO Registered: Jun 2007 posted 05-15-2010 03:33 PM                        The problem seems to be that the person setting the layout does not know any better. The make-up of the 4 theaters is: Us 1st-run 3" ad, Discount theater 3" ad, Hollywood theater in a town 30 mins away 4" ad, and 8-plex regional theater 4" ad. Many times the two 4" ads are placed together while the two 3" ads are placed somwehere else. I have yet to see the two 4" bigger plex ads not next to each other. My only demand is that the 4 ads be grouped together. You would think the reader would like that too. The sales rep has also placed blame on the news department for changing the layout for "flow of the news story".  |  IP: Logged Jonathan Smith Expert Film Handler Posts: 201 From: Youngstown, OH Registered: Jan 2010 posted 05-15-2010 04:09 PM                     Here Cinemark, Detroit Theatre, Parma Theatre, and AMC (just a 2-liner) are 7 days a week. Regal may have pulled out of the papers altogether. Atlas Cinemas, is either weekends, Thursday, and Friday, or 7 days too. I know at this late point in the game advertisements in the paper aren't the best return on investment, but wouldn't you put at least a 1- or 2-liner in the paper if you were working for Regal?  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 05-15-2010 06:20 PM                        We run a daily ad (5 days), but I see very little value in it anymore. As far as I can gather, seniors are the only ones who get our times from the paper. I'm of the opinion that newspapers should run theatre show times at no charge. Traditionally the movie listings has been one of the few things that will actually cause people to buy papers. We used to run an ad in the weekly want ad circular (The Penny Slaver). We canceled this ad about years ago and I've had may 2 people ask about it since we canceled.  |  IP: Logged Matt Fields Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 545 From: Ohio, United States Registered: Jun 2005 posted 05-15-2010 06:49 PM                     About eight years ago I had the showtimes wrong for one movie in the paper. I forget the picture, but it was fairly well attended. One person showed up on Sunday at the wrong time. Out of the hundreds of people who came to that movie that weekend, she was the only one who had used the paper ad. It was the last paid ad I have ever run in the paper.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 05-15-2010 07:25 PM                        We went from 2-column display ads to directory listings. No negative effect. Then, we went from dailies to Fri-Sat. No negative effect. Late last year, I went generic... name, phone, web site, Fri-Sat. No negative effect. Thie year, we pulled our ads altogether. No negative effect... and the paper doesn't seem to have noticed, either.  |  IP: Logged Jonathan Smith Expert Film Handler Posts: 201 From: Youngstown, OH Registered: Jan 2010 posted 05-15-2010 07:52 PM                     About the only time I see kids pick up the newspaper is to look at movie listings. Maybe it's only 30-40% in this market, but I highly doubt it is under 10%. Of course, YMMV depending on your geographical location. I agree that papers ought cut movie advertisement prices a break. It is a loose-loose for everyone when the Enertainment section of the paper only lists a third of the theatres playing the movies being reviewed on the front page.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-15-2010 08:31 PM                        We advertise in 2 papers, but they're both weeklies so the cost is minimal. Still, I see very little return on it. I too have had an incorrect showtime occasionally and almost nobody will show up at that wrong time. Some of the people who work at the papers are good customers so that's the main reason we'll probably keep advertising in the paper. But our ad is maybe a fifth of the size it was 20 years ago. The Carmike theatres in Billings run a directory ad on the weekends -- the rest of the week they just run a little 2-incher with the theatre's names, addresses and phone numbers. They don't run any display ads at all anymore.  |  IP: Logged John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 05-16-2010 06:17 AM                     Find out how much your newspaper ads really mean and add a dummy time to your schedule...no-one will turn up. Newspaper ads are next to useless.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 05-16-2010 08:51 AM                        We are old men trying to make decisions for a different demographic. My wife, a former English teacher, once ran a survey on newspaper effectiveness with 10th grade English students. Less than 10% had access to a paper and less than 10% of them (1%) actually read it. Pull the ads, but find a substitute media outlet than is more suitable. Maybe Facebook, etc. Louis  |  IP: Logged Mike Croaro Master Film Handler Posts: 394 From: Millbrae, CA Registered: Apr 2005 posted 05-16-2010 10:11 AM                     Folks: Newspaper ads may be more effective for theatres that specialize in foreign and independent films. These venues typically attract an older (35+) audience. Mike  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 05-16-2010 01:57 PM                        quote: Louis Bornwasser Pull the ads, but find a substitute media outlet than is more suitable. Maybe Facebook, etc. Yes, social media is a must these days. We're on facebook, Twitter, plus our regular website of course. I think all of them get way more attention than the paper ads. The marquee itself gets more attention than everything else combined because we're right in the middle of town. I'm amazed that so many theatres these days have no outside marquee with titles. Doesn't anyone go to a movie on impulse anymore?  |  IP: Logged Matt Fields Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 545 From: Ohio, United States Registered: Jun 2005 posted 05-16-2010 02:33 PM                     Mike- How does your twitter account do? I am on both Facebook and Twitter, but I hardly have any Twitter followers but hundreds of Facebook people.  |  IP: Logged

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