The film and cinema industry have long understood the value of advertising upcoming titles on the big screen. But how can this promotion be sustained when filmgoers leave the theatre? Mobile marketing offers an answer, writes Jeremy Copp, CEO, Rapid Mobile Media.

It is likely that most, if not all, cinema visitors have a mobile phone – a device so personal and trusted that it is kept at the user’s side for most of the day (and night) and rarely used by anyone other than the owner. The lucrative tween and teen demographics increasingly rely upon their mobile phones as a communication and socialising tool and typically exhibit the highest usage and acceptance of mobile applications and content. The “fourth screen” provided by handsets therefore offers a powerful channel for the promotion of film titles both before and after a consumer has visited the cinema. By delivering applications to the consumer’s phone, film studios and distributors can ensure that they provide visibility of their brand within the user’s device. This provides an icon or title always available on the phone screen with which potential filmgoers can interact whenever and wherever they are. No longer is promotion limited to the times when consumers are sat in the cinema or in front of the television. The scope for applications is huge – from title-specific themed interactions through to general “destination” experiences for film fans – delivering entertainment, content and information relating to the titles.

Viral marketing opportunities
The inherent communication capabilities of mobile phones allow promotional applications to easily harness viral marketing opportunities by enabling users to recommend the film or the application itself to their friends and family by sending messages direct to others’ devices. It is natural for viewers to want to discuss their opinions with their friends after seeing a film. By extending this discussion to their remote contacts promotion is achieved without having to have previously engaged with the new contacts through other campaigns. ‘Send to a friend’ recommendations, live chat and simple SMS messages sent to friends extend the interaction with the promotional application geographically and temporally. Consumers continue the promotion outside of the cinema and at times other than immediately after a viewing.

Integrated campaigns
Mobile marketing campaigns work best when integrated with other promotional channels. By providing a short code on poster, cinema, TV and print adverts, the consumer can quickly and easily be taken to the mobile experience. Typically the user will be invited to text a word to a short number (for example “Trek” to 68800) after which they will receive a text message with a clickable link that takes them to a mobile internet destination which initiates an automatic application download. Mobile advertising within popular destinations, for example mobile social networking and newspaper sites, and SMS messages can also serve to drive users to the same destination. Many cinema foyers feature Bluetooth proximity marketing pods, allowing content and applications to be provisioned to mobile phones directly – these too can be used as a distribution channel for promotional applications. Once installed on a user’s phone, the same mechanics can be used to virally distribute messages that result in the recipients being able to use the same application. There are many creative opportunities to make this distribution fun and engaging, matching it to the theme of the film, brand or campaign. This might mean sending friendly insults or catch phrases to contacts as part of the message, or maybe tying the communication to an episode in the movie, for example “HAL sending request for automated engagement”.

Applications
Promotional applications can offer users the chance to view film trailers and stills galleries, play themed games and find further information relating to the plot, characters and stars. Crucially the application can provide release information and potentially link this to the identification of local cinemas where the title is showing. Applications can also serve as vehicles for cross promotion of future titles. Engaging with consumers through as personal a medium as their mobile phone also offers the opportunity for brands and advertisers to interact with individuals. It is possible to build up a picture of each user’s preferences and customise the campaign delivery to match their selections. The increased relevancy of the content raises the likelihood of the consumer engaging and interacting with the application, and enhances brand and campaign awareness and retention. Mobile as a marketing channel also offers the ability to accurately measure campaign response on an individual level. Not only can the campaigns be highly targeted, minimising the spend needed to reach the target audience, but also the return on the campaign investment can be measured directly.

Unlocking success
Key to the success of mobile marketing initiatives is the ability to reach the widest possible audience, and offering each user an experience that is uncomplicated and the best possible quality. Such goals are complex to achieve due to the incredible diversity of mobile devices: there are many thousands of mobile phone models and variants. These offer not only different screen sizes and interaction models such as touch screens versus keyboards, but also variation in execution environments and formats for content and applications. The emergence of devices such as the iPhone do not solve this issue – in fact the iPhone presents yet another different device and platform to accommodate, exacerbating the diversity issue. Happily there are platforms available to automatically optimise and deliver applications and content based on the target device. This means that the application or content provider need only generate one version of the service (no porting, transcoding or creating multiple versions for different handsets is required) and the consumer always receives a version that works on their phone, offering the highest quality supported by their device. This approach minimises the time to market and investment required by the campaign owner whilst maximising the reach – all phone types are automatically supported.

Ideal medium
Mobile marketing offers the film industry the ideal medium in which to promote titles and engage with their audience in order to increase box office takings. The ubiquity and capability of modern phones allows for high quality, interactive experiences to be provided as campaign components to all potential cinema-goers. By delivering applications directly to consumer’s devices, audiences can be captured and an enhanced brand experience delivered to them when they are away from the cinema. By utilitising the communication capabilities of mobile phones mobile marketing campaigns can encourage viral promotion to further extend the audience and offer an enhanced, personalised interaction. Not only can mobile campaigns offer consumers a fun and engaging experience, but they can offer the cinema industry a measurable promotion channel used both prior to and after film viewing.