Getting Emotional with Movies at the Screenvision Upfront

“The true magic of cinema,” stated John Partilla, CEO Screenvision Media, “engages audiences through emotions” and creates “moments of wonder.” Screenvision’s 2019 upfront, held at the Ziegfeld Theater, highlighted not only the unique experience of attending a movie in a theater but also the unique quality of that type of content. “The essential point is that movie theaters, whether neighborhood or epic, are the cathedrals of storytelling,” Partilla explained, saying they have the ability to, “mesmerize audiences and reach, engage, powerfully impact and move consumers.”

Part of what makes movies different is that it is a shared experience with people you don’t know. Today’s cinemas are also adding accoutrements such as bar service and recliner chairs that make the experience more of an event. “2018 was the biggest year for movies,” noted Katy Loria, Screenvision’s Chief Revenue Officer, “with the highest box office ever with The Avengers.” She added that theaters attract audiences that are young, affluent, educated and socially active decision-makers.

Screenvision’s point of differentiation is that these audiences are essentially unreachable with TV because consumers have become streamers of glass content and avoid ads by either subscribing to SVOD or multitasking by using a digital device while watching TV. Dubbed the “unreachables” by Christine Martino, EVP, National Ad Sales, she posited that they are, “not distracted at the movies. They are craving to pay attention.” She advised advertisers that reallocating GRPs from TV to cinema will, “get those eyeballs back. Cinema is a solution to audience replacement. It is incremental reach.”

The company has been collecting data on moviegoers for last four years and now has a deep understanding of viewer needs, actions, habits and media consumption at the screen level. Among the new technological innovations are pixels built into the screen and a smart network which are access points to advanced targeting. This will extend beyond the screen to social retargeting and measuring attribution. They have also recently constructed new metric – an engagement rating.

In addition to data initiatives that highlight the value of cinema audiences, Screenvision also announced a partnership with the Geena Davis institute to support films that break through stereotypes to identify those scripts and films that show balanced portrayals of women and girls. This pro-social partnership will be featured in segment in Screenvision’s preshow.

In a world where viewers have the option to view content anywhere at any time, the ability to lean back in the dark comfort of a cushy chair and share an emotional experience with a group of strangers may just break through the haze of device distractions.

This article first appeared in Cynopsis

Screenvision Media is Poised for the Future of Branding in the Cinema Experience

The demise or inextricable erosion of cinema has been predicted for years, often from those who see services like Netflix or OTT, On-Demand, SVOD or Pay-Per-View making inroads into viewers’ time and attention. But, according to recent movie trend reports, movie attendance is now on the upswing with +17% growth in A18-49 attendance and +34% among 18-34s. 

The reasons behind cinema’s healthy growth might be due in part, to industry initiatives such as the one recently announced by Screenvision Media, that, through various alliances, help weave the entire movie viewing experience for consumers from consideration to ticket purchase to attendance to remembrance, making it more holistic and engaging. 

CEO John Partilla explained, “People who come to see movies in the theaters are in the right mind set to be entertained or informed - and this is not a given in today’s media landscape. We at Screenvision Media are maintaining the power of the enormous screen and, through a series of alliances, have the ability to engage this captive audience with a great, artful, immersive core offering. We are introducing additional elements in addition to the screen that extends our ability to touch the customer during every moment of their movie-going journey.”

Screenvision Media’s initiative includes the ability to capture the time when the moviegoer first reads a review, when they enter the theater lobby, during the pre-show entertainment, through the movie and when they exit the theater via cross platform interactions. Many of these touchpoints can be branded according to Katy Loria, EVP Chief Revenue Officer, with the additional advertising dollars coming from other media. “Screenvision Media has evolved over the past several years,” she said, “There are now more platforms for brands to take advantage of by relocating TV dollars to cinema to help offset TV erosion. Cinema is a true enhancement for TV prime.”

John McCauley, CMO, EVP Strategic Alliances, showcased the actual offering. He stated, “There are larger appetites for brands to tell their story on the big screen. We at Screenvision Media have connected the cinema journey through technology alliances that connect brands organically. One such alliance is with Movietickets.com that introduces the brand in the movie ticket sales and movie search and discovery experience cycle, as well as adds the related network of Hollywood.com, the exclusive ad sales representation for Movietickets.com. Then there is TimePlay that turns the cinema experience into a smart screen using the mobile phone of the moviegoer to interact with the screen through branching video, trivia and other interactive games that can influence what they see.” This capability is currently available in Canada and Screenvision Media is bringing this technology to the United States as part of this initiative. 

“We have another alliance,” offered McCauley, “and that is with Shazam in the movie space. We are working with them on enhanced audio and visual recognition capabilities, as well as elevated branded content offerings.” He added, “We also are announcing a virtual movie gift shop through EdisonX where you can shop for movie related items from the moment of impulse with an integrated shopping platform. So we are integrating technology before, during and after the movie experience and integrating brands within that consumer journey.”

There is also a creative initiative where new hire, Sir John Hegarty will serve as Creative Chair in Residence at Screenvision Media. Hegarty’s efforts are anticipated to increase the power of the cinema screen by creating opportunities for brands to work on their stories on the big screen. That effort, along with Screenvision Media’s in-house creative studio, 40 Foot Solutions, is focused on developing branded content, as well as creating graphics and animation packages that amplify a brand’s presence in Screenvision Media’s new Front & Center preshow. “We are developing a new original pilot series,” confided McCauley, “It has five characters written in and the sixth character will be a brand, as they will be able to influence plotlines and integrate within the show. The stories will roll out into two to three minute episodes and we will weave brands into each episode.”

Even measurement is advancing. Screenvision Media now has an alliance with comScore that matches the relationship with ticket purchasing behavior with sales. They are also working with comScore (formerly Rentrak) to develop a planning and attribution tool that will provide details up to a specific movie and movie genres - a planning tool with backend analytics. They are also using comScore box office data which will connect to that platform. All this in addition to current Nielsen measurement which is now delivered via a new tool call Total Media Fusion. “This service offers a total view of all media, now including cinema,” said McCauley who added, “This enables us to see what the impact is when we reallocate other media to cinema and see the incremental reach.” 

From the start of the consumers’ cinematic journey to the end, it looks like the fusion of technology and creativity will help keep the appetite for movie going strong for both the consumer and the brands. Screenvision Media is poised to take advantage of all of these opportunities.

This article first appeared in www.MediaBizBloggers.com

Q&A with Katy Loria, Chief Revenue Officer at Screenvision

Katy Loria, EVP, Chief Revenue Officer at Screenvision, made a huge career transition from television and digital at Viacom in Chicago to cinema advertising at Screenvision in New York. She says that “after so many years at Viacom, which was a wonderful place to work, I wanted a change of pace. I went from big company to small company, from public company to private company and from consumer facing brand to non-consumer facing. For me it was a new and different challenge.”

In this fascinating interview, Loria talks about her work at Screenvision, the transitions in the movie business and how it differs from television, how she achieves life balance as the mother of twins and, looking forward, how she thinks the media landscape will change over the next five years.

CW: What is Screenvision’s competitive set?

KL: There are a couple of ways to define that. The real answer is that our competitive set is the video marketplace. If we are downstream, there are just a few of us – a couple of us – that sell cinema advertising. That would look like an obvious competitive set. But in my opinion, at that point, you have already missed the broader competitive set which is really television. Television is the biggest market, and the opportunity is the dollars we see flow from television to digital video  - and there is where cinema needs to be a bigger part of the mix. So dollars that have historically been in TV that want a new home because of fragmentation and declining ratings, DVRs and fast forwarding through content, as those dollars seek new options to stay current with consumers and how they consume media, that is where we would like to be part of that conversation.  It is really anybody – brand or agency – seeking a home for a video message.   

CW: What is your definition of television?

KL: It’s a box.  My definition of television is that it is literally the box that is still, in most, but not all of our family rooms. But what comes through that box is changing all the time and so are all of the options for us to consume content. TV is one place that we do that, but it is not just only place, as we watch more and more content on mobile devices. But TV still is the significant conduit by which content is comes in, however the traditional ways of consumer linear televisions is changing rapidly with more  OTT and all sorts of other streaming options. 

CW: You are a working mother. How do you achieve work life balance?

KL: It’s a great question. I think the first thing you do is lose the word “balance” because it puts too much pressure on the question. What I learned over the years is to embrace imperfection and recognize that there is an ebb and a flow to it. There are times when I am going to feel that I am excelling at my career maybe at the expense of the home front but that flips around and goes the other way too. The other thing I have come to understand (maybe it is just a rationale) that maybe the small moments matter more than the large moments. So I may miss a soccer game or school concerts but I got home before dark last night and played ping pong in the driveway with my son. So if you believe that it is those little moments that add up to what is really important, I am doing okay. 

CW: What advice would you give a college student today regarding a career?

KL: Ask lots of questions and listen really well to the answers. The more people and experiences that you can accumulate the more, well-rounded your approach to life and business will be. And I think there are great role models out there. So find that person and pick up the phone and call. Don’t be afraid to lean on people for advice and questions and help because we like to give it. The ability to find and embrace a mentor is a great approach.

 This article first appeared on www.MediaBizBloggers.com

Screenvision Is Back and Delves into Data

How do you compete with all of the other consumer controlled devices and content in the media ecosystem today? What can a company do to set itself apart and demonstrate the value of their own unique customer base? Screenvision believes that it has the answer. 

At their recent upfront presentation, Katy Loria, Screenvision’s EVP National Ad Sales announced the launch of Project Lynx which takes data from suppliers such as Kantar and SITO mobile and combines it with Nielsen’s Cinema research to track consumer behavior in and beyond their cinema experience.

Coming off from a bruising and unsuccessful acquisition play from National CineMedia, Screenvision announced that it has rebounded, is fully staffed and is ready for business. John McCauley, SVP Strategic Alliances said, “We remain focused on our strategy, and as a result, our Upfront bookings are ahead of a year ago. We continue to focus on bringing maximum impact and creative solutions to our advertisers to bolster their video-centric media plans by allocating incremental budget to cinema.” The company has set its sights on establishing a unique sales position using research as the crucible. In announcing Project Lynx, Screenvision seeks to place itself squarely in the big data / DMP space for sales purposes.

Unlike other media, cinema has a captive audience. CEO Travis Reid, who recently left the company, explained, “Cinema is an immersive environment where you cannot escape. The screens are large – 40 feet – it is dark and the seats are bolted down.” It also seems to be to be less distracting - you are asked to turn off your devices when you are in the theater so there is limited multitasking. The challenge is how to accurately capture who is really in the seats and how impactful the environment is for message recall and call-to-action. Project Lynx, in combination with other research that Screenvision collects, is designed to address these questions.

According to Loria, “Project Lynx includes geo-fencing and beacons.” How this works remains to be seen but the basics from their press release states that SITO Mobile will collect information on movie goers through its geo-fencing mobile data management platform.  Screenvision will use this combined data to develop insights that further reinforce precision on-screen targeting, as well as use SITO’s technology to enable advertisers to extend engagement with moviegoers by retargeting messaging to their devices once they leave the theater.  

Screenvision also has other proprietary research capabilities, including audience targeting that matches movies to audiences based on titles, not solely to MPAA ratings. This is done through precision targeting using Nielsen Cinema Audience Report and Screenvision’s own campaign management system. McCauley explained, “Our research indicates that when ads are combined with content in our preshow, there is a great increase in key brand measures like purchase intent, likability and ad recall.”

“Advertisers today find it increasingly difficult to break through and reach their desired target. Between fragmentation, an oversupply of inventory and dwindling audiences, success can no longer be measured by impressions,” said Loria. “Impact is the new currency, and Screenvision has the right audience, environment, platform, and content to provide the highest impact for brand messaging in the industry.”

The article first appeared in www.DigitalCinemaReport.com