"This is a distinctive way of selling cinema advertising opportunities," comments Elmarie Pretorius, Managing Director, CineMARK. "The MediaShop is one of, if not the first, media independent agency to purchase select positions on the cinema reel for a period of 12 months across all cinema sites throughout South Africa.
What makes the deal unique is that a media independent has purchased the space prior to having a guaranteed client or need for the medium. When asked what the benefit of such a move is, Virginia Hollis, Joint Managing Director, The MediaShop explains, "Cinema is an incredibly effective and powerful advertising medium, offering advertisers surround sound, the big screen and a captive audience.
"This deal affords our clients immediate access to the cinema environment, without any additional loading costs, as these are included in the package. Advertisers can screen up to a 90 second commercial at a reduced rate due to our extended contract and enjoy direct access to vast numbers of cinemagoers."
Says Pretorius: "Cinema has seen a marked increase in advertising spend this year. This can be attributed to a number of things, one of which is the number of blockbuster movies, such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Spiderman 2, Shrek 2 and Catwoman. Good product is important as it has a direct impact on the number of viewers and in turn offers advertisers a larger target audience. And cinema as a medium offers advertisers fantastic prospects including exposure in the cinema foyers and the ability to target specific audiences based on the projected audience profile of a specific movie according to the genre of the product."
