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Putting Cinema in the Frame
Mike Follett – CEO, Lumen Research
Manu Singh – SVP, Insights/Analytics & Sales Data Strategy, National CineMedia (NCM)
Lumen has a comprehensive attention dataset for most media about visual attention, yet cinema was missing. How much attention goes to cinema advertising? The comparison between media is important. Clients have been asking to complete the picture—how to “put cinema in the frame”? Methodology: 151 respondents across six screenings; infrared head tracking cameras used to assess viewing. Track when people were looking at the screen and when not. The first ever eye tracking data for cinema in the U.S. Analysis of data was second by second. The attention funnel: 1,000 ads, 51% were technically viewable, only 9% were looked at, and if so, they were looked at for 1.6 seconds. Findings:
- In contrast to TV or other media, and in particular digital display, cinemas ads are functionally unmissable. Almost all cinema ads are viewed.
- Based on the premise that more attention is usually better—the longer you engage the more likely you are to remember them—findings show that cinema ads hold attention for dramatically more time than any other media—as much as 36x of some digital formats.
- The proportion of the ads that gets looked all the way through—cinema ads are often longer than other formats, but they outperform other media as a proportion of viewable time.
- Cinema is both audio and visual—perhaps even if you’re not looking at the screen, you might still be listening to it.
- Cinema drive more attentive seconds per 1,000 impressions than any other media.
Key Takeaways
- The first ever eye tracking data for cinema ads in the U.S.
- Ads in cinema are functionally unmissable; hold attention for dramatically more time than any other media; cinema ads are often longer than other formats but they outperform other media as a proportion of viewable time; Cinema drive more “attentive seconds per 1,000 impressions” than any other media.
- Three main drivers of attention: 1) size of screen; 2) lack of distraction; 3) mood of audience.