What Does Cinema Advertising Have in Common with F1?

In a world where the fight for consumer attention resembles an Formula1 race, cinema offers something no other medium can: full focus, strong emotions, and the highest quality message delivery. Although cinema advertising represents a small percentage of the overall media mix, it can play a key role in closing and strengthening an entire campaign. Research supports this, both in terms of memorability and emotional impact.

Cinema is an essential part of an integrated media mix. Professionals who’ve worked across various media – from radio, outdoor, and TV to digital – know that each medium has its role to play. Television and radio build reach quickly, internet and outdoor combine reach with precise targeting… but cinema provides a unique reception environment. In the cinema, there’s no second screen, no distractions, no brand safety issues. The creative content is shown on a big screen, accompanied by top-quality sound effects, and the viewer experiences the projection with full focus, just as the creative agency intended.

Cinema advertising stands out for its high memorability – and this isn’t just intuition, but hard data. A study by NCM Lumen (UK), based on measuring viewers' pupil dilation, showed the highest level of attention during cinema ad screenings
– compared to linear TV and Connected TV. Notably, even a 1% increase in attention directly translates into a 1% increase in brand recall and choice. Marketers also often choose longer 60-second ad formats for cinema, knowing these are even better absorbed and remembered by cinema audiences.

Another study – this time from Pearl & Dean – analyzed unconscious emotional reactions to ads shown in three media: cinema, Facebook, and YouTube. The results? Cinema triggered the strongest emotional responses and was the only medium capable of generating the “goosebumps effect.” This is real evidence of deep engagement, which directly translates into effective brand communication.

Today’s audience consumes content in “scrolling” mode – ad creatives are received in fragments, partially muted, reduced to a few seconds. Meanwhile, in the cinema, an ad is viewed in full – without skips or interruptions – with full sound and picture. Many of our advertising clients only realize the true power of their creative when watching the spot in a cinema setting during final approval. That’s where sound and image operate at their full spectrum, and the message is understood as intended by the creative agency, production team, and strategy department.

Although cinema advertising holds a relatively small share of the market, its strength lies in quality, not quantity. At a time when every second of a consumer’s attention is precious, cinema becomes one of the most valuable assets in a marketer’s “pit stop.” It’s the only medium that delivers full focus, no distractions, and powerful emotions, everything effective brand communication needs.

Source:
https://www.ncm.com/attention-report
WARC,The Brand Benefits Study Source: MRS Awards, Finalist, MRS Award for Media Research, 2019