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| Author | Zoe Aresti |
2015 is set to be an outstanding year for cinema with admissions expected to soar to levels not seen for 40 years, says Zoe Jones, marketing director at Digital Cinema Media.
This is being driven by the release of huge blockbusters, such as the return of Bond in Spectre and the arguably even more anticipated (by me) return of Harrison Ford as Han Solo in the rebooted Star Wars.
These tent pole releases are also supported by a hugely varied film slate with something for everyone.
Cinema also offers everyone a unique experience in the contemporary communications mix. Our research – The Bigger Picture – conducted with Hall & Partners at the end of last year, revealed that advertising watched in the cinema is processed by the brain more consciously, proving our medium to be a powerful and emotionally engaging opportunity for brands.
Putting cinema on the plan also helps augment the performance of other media with the results showing that cinema advertising offers eight times more impact, four times higher emotional engagement and three times more recall than ads on TV.
Cinema owners are constantly looking to improve engagement and experience levels through new technology.
We already have pioneering developments such as 3D, Higher Frame Rates (HFR) and the Dolby Atmos surround sound system and in 2015 we can also expect beacon tech in-foyer.
Further mobile developments from DCM and Yummi Media Group's Cinime app, will also give brands the opportunity to provide relevant offers, useful rewards and interactive and entertaining content to cinemagoers throughout the consumer journey.
At the end of January, Cineworld is also launching the UK’s first 4DX cinema in Milton Keynes. The new 4DX auditorium will include high-tech motion seats and special effects including wind, fog, lightning, bubbles, water, rain and scents, in both 2D and 3D formats, which work in perfect synchronicity with the big-screen action.
The big screen action is itself hugely compelling for 2015 as the very best writing, directing and acting talent is rooted in cinema.
The awards season, which officially kicked off with the Golden Globes on Sunday is particularly strong.
Our first DCM Tuesdays event, our monthly film club for the media industry, previewed Whiplash this week, for which JK Simmons was awarded Best Supporting Actor.
Stunning performances are everywhere you look, from fellow Golden Globe winner Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything, to Reese Witherspoon in Wild and Michael Keaton in Birdman.
Awards films traditionally appeal to ABC1 audiences, who make up over 20% of all UK cinema admissions per year, but it's also a really strong year for the 88% of 15- to 34-year-olds who go to the cinema every year.
I'm no longer quite in that category, but I'm particularly looking forward to John Wick, which sees Keanu Reeves back on form, the new Mad Max: Fury Road, Fast & Furious 7 and Grimsby, the new Sacha Baron Cohen comedy.
This article originally appeared on Media Week.