| Date | |
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| Author | DCM |
| Categories | Exhibitor Focus |
Here’s the first round-up of news and features from DCM especially dedicated to Exhibitors. We’d love to hear from you about the type of information and articles that you would like to see in DCM Close Up, so please send us your thoughts and views. Over the weeks, we’ll also be focusing on some of the activities happening in local cinemas nationwide, so if you have anything coming up, please let us know and we’ll share your news. Read on for what’s happening at DCM and in cinema advertising this month.
In this issue
DCM LAUNCHES NEW EMOTIONAL IDENTS IN YOUR CINEMAS
THE MEDIA PREDICTS A GREAT YEAR FOR CINEMA
BIGGER LAUGHS ON THE BIG SCREEN WITH THE COMEDY STORE
THE GUARDIAN AND OBSERVER OWN THE WEEKEND THROUGH DIGITAL FIRST
LES MISÉRABLES HOLDS HIGH NOTE AT UK BOX OFFICE
DCM LAUNCHES NEW EMOTIONAL IDENTS IN YOUR CINEMAS
DCM has created three new idents which aim to bring to life the “most emotionally impactful medium on earth”. Showing on your screens from this Friday (25 January), these short films are the most important creative expression of DCM’s new brand identity, which has been inspired by the company’s transition to digital last year.
DCM’s innovation consultancy Fearlessly Frank, who is working with the DCM team on a programme to reposition the business as a major new digital media platform, worked with long-time collaborator, renowned artist and designer Daniel Eatock, to help co-create the new idents and showcase the dynamic, emotive power of our medium.
The three short films serve as a sensory explosion, coming from the idea that cinema is “the most emotionally impactful medium on earth”. This insight informed the idea behind the idents – to engage the audience and prime them for the advertising and the main feature.
The idents were specifically created for your screens with tailored surround sound audio and dramatic cinema-quality visual content to entertain the audience and inspire brands to understand the power of the environment that is now available to them.
Based around three emotions – Amazement, Laughter and Suspense – the idents can also be planned by film, genre, time of day, showing, target audience and more, demonstrating the enhanced flexibility offered by digital cinema.
“Our new brand identity was created to represent the dynamic, creative possibilities offered by cinema advertising" says DCM’s Marketing Director Zöe Jones. “Tapping into the emotional power of the movies enables us to express this on the big screen through the first of a series of short films that we hope will not only entertain cinemagoers across the UK, but also show, rather than tell, how our digital transition enables deeper audience engagement through dynamic planning.”
Watch all 3 new idents in their full glory below!
[embed width=550]http://youtu.be/TpGiZgtgwXg[/embed]
[embed width=550]http://youtu.be/kZyk4wLkMYY[/embed]
[embed width=550]http://youtu.be/5V6KOlSbvPw[/embed]
THE MEDIA PREDICTS A GREAT YEAR FOR CINEMA
Three weeks into 2013 and the media press are already heralding a great year for cinema. DCM’s CEO Simon Rees has contributed to predictions features in industry magazines Media Week and Marketing Week, sharing his foresight for the year ahead, while Danny Barnes, Head of Investment at leading media agency PHD told Campaign magazine why he believes cinema will continue to up its game in 2013, making it the place to be for both brands and consumers. Read on to hear their perspectives on our medium which as Danny explains, “has been totally transformed by the changes that have happened or are about to happen…”
Simon Rees, Managing Director, DCM
2012 saw Skyfall burst through the £100m barrier, smashing the record set by Avatar in the process, while the cinema industry’s £200m investment in digital projectors saw DCM switch to digital on 28 September. A big year for the industry – but I believe 2013 will be the pivotal year in the evolution of cinema advertising.
Cinema has always been an entertaining and emotional medium, but it is now faster, more flexible and unshackled from costly production. We’re already seeing the adoption of digital technology attract new brands to the medium and in 2013 we expect to see the beginning of a huge period of change and creativity in cinema advertising.
As we move to a multi-screen world, we will all expect to consume, re-version and share content as we choose. In a media environment where attention is diverted and distracted, people will increasingly demand the sanctity of more “involved” media so we must respect and protect the cinema medium while evolving our offer to connect brands with people across multiple platforms.
As consumers, we will seek appointment-to-view with stand-out events, be that flagship TV programmes, must-read print editorial or major cinema releases. Audiences will be consuming media when they want, how they want. The introduction of wifi in more public places such as cinemas and on the London Underground will also see the public increasingly interacting with brands on the go.
At DCM, we are continuing to talk to, but most importantly listen to, our advertiser and agency partners about what it means to them to be digital – how it affects the kind of messages they create, the kind of audiences they can reach and the level of freedom that working in digital now offers them.
Putting people at the heart of everything we do will also inspire the media industry to provide better entertainment through the creation of advertising and branded content that engages cinemagoers before, during and beyond the movie.
Danny Barnes, Head of Investment, PHD
Every preconception that planners and buyers have about cinema needs to be reassessed. Put simply, cinema has become a faster, more flexible, more effective and more creative medium. A medium that has been totally transformed by the changes that have happened or are about to happen….It is clear that cinema has evolved and has become an effective, sleeker, cheaper, more forward-thinking medium. At PHD, we are at the forefront of this. The opportunity is there...
BIGGER LAUGHS ON THE BIG SCREEN WITH THE COMEDY STORE
DCM has partnered with Sony Digital Cinema and The Comedy Store in a world-first collaboration to bring stand-up to the big screen in a comedy club format.
This initiative sees DCM secure its first distribution deal for alternative content to be broadcast in cinemas nationwide that will allow comedy fans to enjoy iconic performances in their home town from one of the world’s best-loved comedy brands. The Comedy Store: Raw & Uncut kicks off on 22 February and will broadcast four full length, uncensored shows as live from the iconic comedy venue on Friday nights.
Recorded and produced by 7Oddsocks for Sony, DCM will distribute the feature-length Comedy Store: Raw & Uncut shows in 150 multiplex and independent cinemas across the UK. The attraction of cinema as a social activity will offer groups of friends an alternative night out and a new way to enjoy headline acts from the international comedy circuit including Comedy Store favourite Ian Stone (UK), rapper turned comedian Doc Brown (UK), Chortle Comedy Award winner Jarred Christmas (New Zealand) and Louis Ramey (USA).
DCM’s move into alternative content provides new sponsorship possibilities for advertisers, with WKD, the RTD brand, newly signed up as the official promotional partner for The Comedy Store: Raw & Uncut. The brand association was negotiated through Mediacom and WKD will be supporting the partnership through promotional activity including social media competitions to win tickets to showings in local cinemas.
“DCM is exploring ways of making the cinema experience even richer for advertisers by offering alternative content,” says DCM’s Commercial Director Joe Evea. “The immersive cinema environment and social setting for groups of friends is an ideal way to recreate the live stand-up comedy experience via the big screen.”
David McIntosh, Senior Vice President, Sony Digital Cinema commented: “Sony is pleased to bring a stand-up comedy series to the big screen – another first in the world of cinema. Partnering with such an influential comedy club like The Comedy Store gives Sony the chance to bring innovative, quality new content to cinema screens, so consumers can enjoy iconic theatre performances without having to travel too far from home.”
For more information on The Comedy Store: Raw & Uncut line-up and other alternative content opportunities from DCM please contact Jeremy Kolesar
THE GUARDIAN AND OBSERVER OWN THE WEEKEND THROUGH DIGITAL FIRST
Guardian News & Media is the latest advertiser to take advantage of cinema’s new digital flexibility. The Guardian and Observer’s new tongue-in-cheek weekend cinema campaign marks a bold new direction for the newspaper group’s January marketing approach. Devised by award-winning creative agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), the cinema creative comprises 60’ and 30’ versions of a 3-minute film fronted by Hugh Grant, who was not paid for his involvement in the campaign.
Running on Fridays and Saturdays in January and February, the cinema spots have been booked to coincide with the on-sale dates of weekend editions over the course of the three week campaign. The media planning by PHD Networks draws on insight into the Guardian and The Observer readership, which is known be made up of light TV viewers, but includes cinema in its leisure pastimes.
[embed width=550]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVySc2Qu3WI[/embed]
It also marks the first time Guardian News & Media (GNM) has launched a January advertising campaign to champion its weekend newspapers, with ‘Own the Weekend’ featuring established Guardian weekend editorial supplements, including ‘Review’, ‘Weekend’, ‘Observer Food Monthly’ ‘New Review’, ‘Observer Magazine’ and ‘Guide’, as well as highlighting the launch of a new weekly section, ‘Cook’.
“The Guardian set the standard for excellence in cinema advertising last year with its exceptional ‘Three Little Pigs’ creative,” says DCM’s Commercial Director, Joe Evea. “The new possibilities offered by digital cinema mean we can be responsive to the newspaper’s tactical promotional needs by scheduling spots that support the ‘Own the Weekend’ theme.”
Directed by Tim Godsall and produced by Biscuit Films, the film is a pastiche of a Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster trailer and communicates the campaign message of ‘owning the weekend’ through a series of spoof scenes. The three-minute film will run in its entirety on digital channels (guardian.co.uk and YouTube), with the 60 and 30 second cut-downs shown in cinemas during the course of the activity. ‘Own the Weekend’ takes a sideways look at weekends, with the satirical premise behind the new campaign being the Saturday Guardian and The Observer produce such exciting, varied and rich editorial content that the newspapers effectively ‘own the weekend’.
“We wanted to continue last year’s marketing successes by experimenting with a new, bold approach to January marketing in 2013,” says Guardian News & Media’s Chief Commercial Officer, David Pemsel. “We're delighted to have Hugh Grant on board, helping us create a fun and irreverent style which taps into the spirit of our weekend papers. By championing the award-winning editorial content produced in Saturday Guardian and The Observer each week, we believe the new campaign promotes our newspapers as the very best that the weekend has to offer.”
LES MISÉRABLES HOLDS HIGH NOTE AT UK BOX OFFICE
Despite the snowy conditions across the country the strength of the films currently on release was more than enough to tempt people into the warmth of the cinema. Les Misérables was once again the top film easing 46% to £4.4m and a very healthy cume of £17.4m. That’s already more than the entire run of Chicago (£16.4m) and closing in on Moulin Rouge’s final total of £18.5m. The highest new entry, in second spot was Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained with £2.8m. That’s a bit lower than Inglourious Basterds’ £3.6m debut but the adverse weather conditions wouldn’t have helped. Kill Bill Vol. 2 also opened with £2.8m in 2004.
Life of Pi 3D was in third spot after experiencing a 49% drop to £1.2m. It has now grossed £24.1m, which would have placed it tenth on the Top 10 highest grossing films of 2012. In fourth place, The Impossible continued to perform strongly with a further £1.1m taking its cume to an impressive £9.1m. Gangster Squad rounded out the Top 5 with £792k for a cume of £3.9m. The only other new entry in the Top 10 was the 3D re-release of one of Pixar’s best-loved films, Monsters, Inc. 3D £681k is a solid start and very close to Beauty and the Beast 3D’s £685k debut last May.
The first casualty of the 2013 awards season was bittersweet comedy The Sessions. With its lead actor John Hawkes unlucky not to garner an Oscar or BAFTA nomination, the film didn’t experience the box office boost that awards recognition provides and missed out on the Top 15 altogether with £85k from over 100 screens. Better news though was that the box office was up 4% from the same weekend last year and that’s now fourteen weekends in succession that’s been the case.