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Author Topic: New survey reveals surprising fact: Lots of people hate pre-show ads! Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-30-2004 06:19 PM                        Boxoffice has an article about pre-show ads which reveals the following facts: Of 500 American moviegoers polled by InsightExpress: - 91% notice pre-show ads (I guess the rest must be latecomers) - 52% consider the ads intrusive - 53% would like exhibitors to stop showing ads - 71% said theatres showing ads should charge less for tickets - 27% said pre-show ads would lead them to decrease moviegoing frequency - 13% said they liked the advertising They also asked people how theatres could make the ads more acceptable. Among the suggestions: - Make them humorous - Make them "super bowl quality" - Use ads that are exclusive to theatres (not shown on TV) - Feature music, storylines and new products No mention of how much more people would be willing to pay to attend a theatre with no ads.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-30-2004 06:27 PM                        I saw that and meant to comment on it. Very interesting. I doubt that anyone in a position to make a difference about such matters actually reads Boxoffice, though.  |  IP: Logged Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 12-30-2004 11:31 PM                     So, where is the surprise?  |  IP: Logged Barry Martin Expert Film Handler Posts: 203 From: Newington, CT USA Registered: Jul 2002 posted 12-31-2004 12:16 AM                        You know it is funny this is mentioned tonight, I had this old grump come to watch Lemony Snicket's tonight and during the previews he came out and started ranting and railing at me about the number of previews we are showing and "when is the show going to start? I looked in the paper and it said 8pm, that's when the movie should start" I tried explaining to him that we run 10 minutes of previews before any movie to give people a chance to be late but make the movie and people who showed up at 8pm a few minutes to find a seat and come back out for refreshments before the feature starts. He wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise. We had 7 previews on ahead of Lemony, totaling about 9 minutes 30 seconds. NO ADS. I would love for this guy to attend a "corporate cinema" and watch 10 minutes of "ads", 15 minutes of "previews" and god knows what kind of bombardment in the lobby and on screen prior to the "feature start".  |  IP: Logged David Yauch Expert Film Handler Posts: 206 From: Mesa, AZ, USA Registered: Oct 2004 posted 12-31-2004 01:28 AM                     We show an ad or two depending on the movie, then 4 or 5 trailers depending on their length. Right now is a real rarity, if we really wanted to, we have the current ads to stick 5 on any given feature. Usually we have one stock ad and then a moviefone ad.  |  IP: Logged Robert E. Allen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1078 From: Checotah, Oklahoma Registered: Jul 2002 posted 12-31-2004 12:59 PM                     My company won't stop the ads. I have been informed it generates $70 to $80 million a year for the company and they are not concerned about a few customer complaints. We do have some people who wait in the lobby until the ads are over before they enter the auditorium. Bob  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-31-2004 01:09 PM                        Chris: There IS no surprise, I was being sarcastic. To follow up on Barry's comment: I am always amazed that people think the trailer reel is much longer than it really is. We get people who come in 40 minutes late and ask how long the movie has been on, I tell them 30 minutes and they say "Well, didn't you show a half-hour of previews?"  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 12-31-2004 03:53 PM                        Mike, Chris was being sarcastic as well... Bob and everyone else.. Face it.. ads generate money. As the distrib's continue to take more and more, and concession prices escalate to the point of having to take out a second mortgage for the large combo, exhibitors are going to do essentially WHATEVER it takes to bring in extra revenue. It's a wonder someone hasn't entertained the idea of sponsorship of the answering device lines.. "Thank you for calling XXXX theatre, blah blah blah.... Showtimes this week are brought to you by {insert sponsor name here}.. blah blah blah..." Now THERE is an idea..  |  IP: Logged Christian Volpi Master Film Handler Posts: 349 From: Arlington, NE Registered: Apr 2004 posted 12-31-2004 04:01 PM                        quote: Jason Black It's a wonder someone hasn't entertained the idea of sponsorship of the answering device lines.. Hmmm... I think I like where this is going.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-31-2004 04:18 PM                        I believe that Bob's chain has over 6000 screens. That $80m sounds like a large sum of money, but it's really only something like $35/screen/day. Assuming 3-4 shows per day, that's $10 per show--i.e. the value of a couple of tickets or buckets of popcorn. That's not really anything for an exhibitor to get very excited about, considering that slides and film ads really do irritate people and will cause some of them to stop attending films (at least at that particular exhibitor) altogether. I continue to believe that, over the long term, advertising in motion-picture theatres is bad for the industry as a whole--including the exhibitors who do not show ads. This sort of reminds me of the idea of getting rid of projectionists to save money: sure, if the theatre saves, say, $40k per theatre per year and has 200 theatres, the company saves $8m per year. That looks pretty good on paper, but, like cinema advertising, it is not without cost. The actual cost per screen per show is very low and the benefit to improved presentation is actually rather high.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-31-2004 04:40 PM                        Answering machiine ads? Why not? Can't draw any more complaints than screen ads do. And since many major movies are now produced/financed by two studios, can the "tri-studio production" be far behind? And right behind that will be "REEBOK presents SPIDER-MAN 4."  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 12-31-2004 05:23 PM                        With the introduction of screen ads, showmanship is fast becoming a lost art.  |  IP: Logged Phil Hill I love my cootie bug Posts: 7595 From: Hollywood, CA USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 12-31-2004 05:56 PM                  I disagree, Bob. I think at least an hour of screen ads should be shown before each feature. I can't wait for the day when the theatres put their logo in the bottom right corner of the screen. NOW! ***THAT'S*** showmanship!  |  IP: Logged Bob Maar (Maar stands for Maartini) Posts: 28608 From: New York City & Newport, RI Registered: Feb 2001 posted 12-31-2004 05:57 PM                        I stand Corrected. However I am sitting down.  |  IP: Logged Dave Williams Wet nipple scene Posts: 1836 From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA Registered: Jan 2000 posted 12-31-2004 06:15 PM                        You could sell sponsorship of a particular thing or time, but not of a film product itself. That would be considered revenue generated for the film company and not the exhibitor. For instance, Reebok could not present StarWarsPOS, but Reebok could present the answering machine itself.. "rebook proudly presents cinemarks answering machine, and now with the showtimes..." also, you could have a Reebok auditorium, but not reebok presents the movie in that auditorium... could be the wave of the future.. hell we have all of our sports arenas sponsored, but not the teams.. that way the players and the leauge do not get to share in the good fortune.. just the building owner.. cha dave  |  IP: Logged

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