Cinema admission on the up, but have the advertisers arrived too late?
Published August 20th, 2007 in GeneralCatherine O’Mahony reports in her Media & Marketing column in the Sunday Business Post this week that cinema admissions were up 22% in the month of June compared to last year. The large increase is largely due to the atrocious weather in Ireland this summer, rather than the dodgy releases that month which included Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Fantastic 4 and Shrek 3.
No wonder that the advertisers are all getting on board. I went to see two movies on Saturday night and from the second I entered the cinema I seemed to be surrounded by ads. Banners had been erected around the premises and booths were dotted around the various floors, with companies obviously eager to catch the eye of the huge footfall in Irish cinemas. The Irish can’t get enough of Hollywood, outside of the US we have the highest per capita cinema viewership. However have the advertisers arrived too late?
A number of personal finance and consumer affairs correspondents have started to point out the big hikes in cinema admission prices, along with the booking charges that Irish cinemas are imposing on credit card bookings. With the price of admission for two adults to a movie now equal to the price of a brand new dvd, one wonders how often Irish punters will continue to make the cinema their first port of call in face of growing entertainment options.
On the other hand, one could argue that advertisers are partly to blame. Cinema goers are now forced to endure approximately twenty minutes of ads and trailers before the main feature begins. There’s almost an audible gasp of relief when the film starts!
Technorati Tags: Advertising, Catherine O’Mahony, Cinema, Piaras Kelly, Sunday Business Post
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The DVD threat is a hard one to measure. VHS had a massive initial impact on the whole European cinema market when it first arrived and led to the closure of several cinemas in Ireland.
Rental was the killer app, so to speak, for VHS. While DVDs prove popular sales wise, indeed far more than VHS ever was, the higher costs that have come to the rental market have removed this as an ultra cheap alternative.
Buying a DVD is, at least after a while, around the same price as a cinema ticket but there are other factors to consider. Not least of which is suitability of each medium.
The visual presentation of films like Transformers or Die Hard 4 in a cinema screen is something consumers are willing to make the sacrifice for.
Then there’s the wait factor. Take the recently released The Bourne Ultimatum. While it could be argued that the series converts well to a smaller screen the anticipation of the fanbase meant they weren’t going to wait 6 months to see if that was the case with the third installment.
Finally quality of product always plays a role. Last summer was appalling on all fronts, be it blockbuster, thriller, comedy or anything. The public was not given what it wanted and answered accordingly.
All that being said, ticket prices are still a sham.