Cinemas across the UK are to broadcast live private viewings of the British Museum’s major exhibition Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum on 18 and 19 June.

The exhibition, which runs until 29 September, is the first ever held on these important cities at the British Museum. Focussing on the Roman home and lives of the people who lived nearly 2000 years ago in Pompeii and Herculaneum, the unique live broadcast event will take cinema audiences back in time in the company of renowned experts and practitioners who, alongside live performances of music, poetry and eye-witness accounts, will bring to life extraordinary objects, some never seen outside Italy before. Interviews throughout the exhibition will be intercut with stunning specially recorded films in Italy, showing Pompeii and Herculaneum and the sleeping Vesuvius.

Curator Paul Roberts presents Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Photo credit: Trustees of the British Museum.

Visitors will be taken along a Roman street and into a local house with atrium entrance, bedroom, kitchen, dining room, sitting room and garden.  Experts will take audiences close up to the famous casts of the people caught in the volcanic heat and showcase the objects from their daily lives. Examples include intricate pieces of jewellery, sculpture, mosaics, cooking equipment and even food including an intact loaf of bread with the baker’s stamp still on it.

“Following the success of live cinema broadcasts of theatre, opera and ballet, the British Museum is thrilled to produce and broadcast its live exhibition event,” says British Museum director Neil MacGregor. “This is a unique experience for audiences across the country to enjoy a very special evening view of this unmissable exhibition, full of fascinating objects lent to us from Italy, from the comfort of a cinema chair. It will be a very personal tour guided by experts who will explore the stories these special objects tell us of Roman life 2000 years ago. We hope this will inspire people to travel to come and see the exhibition at the British Museum”.

Curator Paul Roberts presents Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Photo credit: Trustees of the British Museum.

The event will be shown through all the major UK cinema groups including Vue, Cineworld, Picturehouse, Empire, Curzon and Odeon as well as independent venues across the UK, all of whom have growing alternative content audiences. Tim Richards, CEO of Vue Entertainment said: “We are hugely excited to be working with the British Museum. This is a wonderful opportunity to continue our commitment in pushing the boundaries of traditional cinema exhibition. Not only are we helping to bring the epic and immense story of Pompeii and Herculaneum to a regional audience, but we’re doing it in a unique, intimate and affordable way that will undoubtedly appeal to our customers.”

John Travers, Alternative Content Manager at Cineworld, said: “At Cineworld we have embraced this exciting and innovative project, as we recognise that it’s a unique opportunity for our customers to experience this once in a life time exhibition in their local Cineworld cinema. As such, we have committed to show these two live events, for both the general public and primary schools, in up to 70 of our cinemas.”

The British Museum will broadcast the adult premiere on 18 June followed by a live transmission for school children across the country on 19 June. Schools all over the UK will have the opportunity to visit their local cinema for a fun, interactive show which will enhance cross curriculum learning.

Follow updates on the exhibition via Twitter on #PompeiiExhibition and the Museum’s Twitter account @britishmuseum.

Six months ago, DCM embarked on the most significant change in the history of cinema advertising. It has been an ambitious and challenging journey and its successful implementation has been made possible by the support and commitment of all DCM’s exhibitor partners nationwide.

With your help, cinema advertising can now compete with other media on a level playing ground as a faster, more flexible, even more creative advertising option.

Brands are buying into these new digital benefits meaning that DCM has been able to accept campaigns over the past six months that would not have been possible in the pre-digital world.

To give you an idea of the scale of this achievement, during the six months between 28 September 2012 and 28 March 2013, 1,898,985 playlists were generated. That works out as 73,000 playlists per week over 26 weeks.

In a 35mm world that averaged 3,000 playlists per week or 78,000 in the equivalent time-frame. For DCM to deliver as many 35mm reels as digital playlists distributed over the last six months it would take 632 years or 32,915 weeks.

None of this would have been possible, of course, without the cinema industry’s investment in digital projectors, satellite dish installation and hours of software development. We appreciate that for many of you this has meant the implementation of new technology, the installation of new systems and the adoption of new processes to make this work.

Advertisers are buying into digital cinema

DCM is now able to work with brands to offer innovative advertising solutions that will drive new marketing spend into cinemas. Highlights of the past six months that would not have happened in the 35mm world include High Street retailer River Island choosing cinema for its first broadcast campaign to coincide with the release date of Twilight; brands including cinema in tactical campaigns such as Nurofen’s new product launch media takeover; and brands like Sony Home Entertainment seizing the opportunity for copy changes pre and post product releases.

According to Mary McClenahan, offline and events marketing manager at River Island, “Cinema is a powerful medium that has yet to be exploited fully. The move to digital will make cinema more of a consideration for fast turnaround retail brands that can use it in a tactical way.

“It gives us the opportunity to engage with a captive audience: we like the social aspect of cinema and believe it will deliver impact and ultimately cut through for River Island. We recognise the power of the Twilight Saga and cult following among our target customers so it was the perfect fit for the brand. It’s exciting to be part of the experience.”

Previously certain brands were less likely to consider cinema due to long lead times, which did not allow brands to plan and target effectively.

Angela Porter, Head of Grocery Advertising at Tesco, said, “Even with our bigger brand campaigns we are often working to the last minute to refine [the campaign], which ruled cinema out of the mix because you could never have cinema and TV running at the same time.

“From our point of view we have to be reactionary in the marketplace and it would result in TV being out considerably earlier than cinema. The best way to get them to work together would be to have them running together, so when cinema entered into digital and cut the lead times significantly, it helped.”

The team at DCM recognises and thanks its exhibitor partners for their collaboration in making all of this possible. It is a very exciting time for the industry as digital cinema has injected new creativity and vigour into film making and cinema advertising alike.

The next six months in digital cinema will bring yet more innovative digital firsts to the big screen. We look forward to celebrating these on 28 September 2013 when we mark the first anniversary of digital cinema.

Following the excitement of the London 2012 Games, the Olympic stadium will soon house music events with major summer concerts moving from Hyde Park in 2013.

Other venues including cinemas are  looking for new and innovative ways to draw audiences. Using venues outside of their main purpose can attract new people, which means marketers can extend their brands’ reach through partnerships and sponsorships.

Marketing Week’s Mindi Chahal, takes a look at what is arguably the biggest change in the use of a venue in recent years and how the trend is spreading in other spheres including cinema, read on for her coverage on events in our industry.

“From Friday, comedy fans will be able to watch live stand-up on the big screen, following a deal between cinema sales house DCM, Sony Digital Cinema and The Comedy Store.

This is DCM’s first distribution deal to broadcast alternative content in cinemas nationwide and will enable comedy fans to watch performances at 150 screens in the UK.

Alcopop WKD is supporting the partnership through promotional activity including social media competitions to win tickets to showings in local cinemas, enabling it to target particular groups of people.

“This great content from live music events, comedy, sports or opera can be opened up to a national audience through cinema,” says Joe Evea, commercial director at DCM. “You then attract footfall you might not have had before.”

It also means that WKD can reach people in several locations rather than sponsoring just one event in one venue. “WKD can also take over cinema foyers or auditoriums. It gives the brand something it can activate, either on-pack or in its own marketing, to give it a sense of ownership.”

Odeon also runs alternative live event content that draws in new audiences for its cinemas. It has shown live National Theatre productions, ballet, opera and music and sports events including boxing, rugby, football and the Wimbledon tennis championship in 3D.

“It’s a great way to use screens that are under-utilised,” says Drew Kaza, executive vice president digital development at Odeon. “It’s a win-win for us and for the provider of the content. If you speak to the National Theatre or Royal Opera House, they’ll tell you that this helps with their remit in reaching audiences around the UK.”

The cinema chain routinely sells out of National Theatre Live performances and Kaza believes these events are a great experience, potentially giving audiences a better view than at the theatre.

Initiatives such as these also enable brands to pursue hard-to-reach demographics. Kaza claims that these events are attracting lapsed cinema-goers: “In some cases, there are people who haven’t been to the cinema in 10 to 15 years and now we have them coming back four times a year to see opera with us.”

Click here for the full Marketing Week article by Mindi Chahal “Bringing in audiences other places cannot reach”

Digital Cinema Media (DCM) today announced an exclusive partnership with Primesight one of the UK’s leading outdoor media owners.

This deal will see DCM installing an initial one-hundred interactive poster units in its cinema foyers as part of a multi-million pound digitisation of its estate. Rolling out in some of the biggest sites in the UK including ODEON Leicester Square, Cineworld at the O2 and the highly anticipated new Vue cinema at Westfield Stratford City, this joint venture will allow advertisers new ways to engage and interact with customers across the cinema experience.

The digital outdoor market is one of the fastest growing media sectors, increasing to 37% in 2010 to over £100M, it now accounts for nearly 15% of the total outdoor market demonstrating the demand for digital outdoor and its use as an incredibly effective medium.

Simon Rees, Managing Director of DCM said today: “The partnership with Primesight is a further step towards making the entire cinema experience bigger than just the movie. Primesight’s digital posters are a fantastic interactive offering which works in synergy with our business, allowing consumers and brands to fully engage with the digital era.”

“We’re delighted to be working with DCM to expand the offering available in cinema foyers across the UK,” said Naren Patel of Primesight. The combination of a young techno savvy audience and the dwell times in cinema foyers makes digital interactive screens a fantastic media offering. We believe the interactive capabilities of this product will push the Digital Out of Home market to even greater heights

The DCM contract with Primesight will begin in Spring 2012 and includes sites across Odeon, Cineworld, Vue and Independent cinemas.

Cinema 2011 – 2010

Digital Cinema Media (DCM) was formed in October 2008 as a joint venture between the UK’s two largest exhibitors, ODEON and Cineworld.

It’s been an amazing two years, view all the highlights in our cinema 2008 – 2010 infographic.

DCM was formed two years ago and since then it has pro-actively pursued innovative ways for advertisers to engage with cinema audiences. With the advent of digital and 3D cinema, DCM has identified creative and commercial opportunities such as pre-show content “From the Red Carpet” and integrated advertising campaigns focusing on effective branding and measured delivery.

Tim Richards, CEO at Vue Entertainment said: “We are delighted to announce our contract with DCM, who we believe are best placed to develop, deliver and handle our screen advertising business here in the UK.

We both agree that there is a great opportunity to grow the overall share of the advertising market that cinema enjoys versus other advertising media purchased in the UK. Along with DCM, we have a great offering and this is set to get even more attractive to advertisers through increasing digitization of screens and the expansion of 3D.

The cinema industry overall is enjoying real growth in admissions with record breaking numbers being made this year. This year alone, we have seen new records set – Toy Story 3 has just set a new record for the biggest animated film ever (currently at £70m GBO). At Vue, we recently announced the biggest week (23-29 July) in our history at over 1.3m admissions, so this is a great time for advertisers to come on board’.

Martin Bowley, Managing Director at DCM said ‘I am absolutely delighted Vue have chosen us to represent their advertising activities. We at DCM have worked hard to create a business that is both innovative and progressive and with Vue on board we will be able to continue to do so.

This is an exciting time for cinema and now more than ever it offers advertisers many unique high impact and cost effective ways of getting messages out to their target customers.

We will immediately start selling advertising, sponsorship and in-foyer activities on Vue’s behalf to commence 1 Jan 2011 and will work with them and the rest of our cinema companies we represent to build the overall level of cinema advertising here in the UK’.

Digital technology delivers significant benefits for consumers, exhibitors and studios delivering a range of benefits such as 3D programming and alternative content (such as opera, sports, ballet and concerts). Digital Cinema Media (DCM) can offer brands greater flexibility in scheduling trailers and advertising, shorter lead times and savings on digital delivery.

Jeremy Playle, Sales Director of DCM said today; “I am delighted full digital delivery has been brought forward. Our clients can be more reactive, spontaneous and creative.”

The month long promotion will see large discounts off flights offered to those that go and see a movie. An ad voiced by Michael Sheen will direct those watching to go to a special website at www.ba.com/cinema that will offer an additional discount for cinemagoers on current BA prices for holidays including flights, hotels and cars.

The deal runs right across DCM’s ODEON and Cineworld screens in the UK. Movie fans can also access the deals through both cinema chains websites and email offers. Take advantage of a fabulous deal, go watch your favourite film and then visit the BA website to book a well earned break.

To support this rapid expansion DCM is offering sought after deals to advertisers wanting to take advantage of cinemas current resurgence in popularity. Its new digital package offers advertisers access to its entire national network of screens and significantly reduced production costs and lead times.Digital screens carry higher grossing 3D films so provide a premium offering over traditional screens and generally carry a higher capacity.

DCM’s digital expansion means that by the end of this year there will be 260 screens across the country equating to roughly 300,000 admissions per week in the UK’s premier cinemas including ODEON, Cineworld, Empire, Picturehouse and various independent chains.

Fleur Castell, head of marketing at DCM said: “3D screenings gross up to three times more than their two-dimensional counterparts so its in the interest of cinema chains to invest heavily in this technology. It also allows us to offer more flexible packages and content opportunities for advertisers”.

The cinema Silver Spot is exhibited nationally with all cinema releases across major circuits including ODEON and Cineworld. Positioned directly before the trailers, the Silver Spot has provided PlayStation with a platform which will feature creative produced specifically for cinema.

A series of executions based around the tagline ‘Coming to a small screen near you’, will pay tribute to film while specially constructed gaming areas will sit within eight cinema foyers for a ten-week period. Produced by PlayStation’s experiential agency, Making Waves, each gaming area has been designed to reflect a specific game title. The ‘Buzz™’ zone is the first to be rolled out and will take the form of a quiz show stage. Cinemagoers will be invited to sit down and play the game whilst experienced PlayStation staff will be available to offer tips and advice.

An additional 24 Odeon sites will host foyer promotions staged in bursts to coincide with new on-screen executions. These will take the form of free-standing dispensers to distribute information booklets to cinemagoers, supported with standees and quad posters throughout each cinema.

The creative agency for this campaign is TBWA and the media has been booked through MGOMD.

Adam Boita, UK Marketing Manager for PlayStation said: “This is the biggest spend and the most ambitious campaign we have undertaken in the cinema environment. It works for us in two critical areas. Firstly it gives us a consistent platform to exploit and showcase our key releases for the year in an immersive environment which best showcases the experience delivered by PlayStation 3. Secondly, in keeping with PlayStation’s ethos we wanted to deliver an integrated campaign by continuing the on-screen experience for consumers to off-screen, via foyer branding and tailored PS3 sampling areas.”

Jeremy Playle, Digital Cinema Media Account Director commented: “ We are thrilled to see Sony PlayStation embrace the cinema environment with so much enthusiasm, in what promises to be one of the biggest and most imaginative campaigns ever seen at the cinema. A fantastic line up of films including ‘Burn After Reading’ and ‘Quantum of Solace’ will ensure this campaign has maximum impact on PlayStation’s key audience of 16-34 year olds.”