Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

Network and cable TV have long accounted for over 50% of ad budget allocations when movie production companies begin promoting a new film. But the effects of a slower economy and changes in media consumption habits having movie producers rethinking their marketing strategies. In some cases, producers are spending less money. In other cases, they are channeling money to different media outlets.

Marketers often agonize over how much exposure they need on the all-important three screens that now capture a huge amount of consumer attention. It’s that third screen – the mobile device – that is the focus of more studies. Perhaps because it is attracting a quickly growing audience.

Consumers are accustomed to paying a little extra to their cable TV providers to access video on demand (VOD) movies. Up until now, they usually have had to wait several months before they can access newly-released films. But all that may be about to change.

Tight household budgets might have consumers cutting back on entertainment. But NASCAR fans appear to be motivated by ticket price discounts. And when the incentive for obtaining these discounted tickets is combined with the required purchase of their favorite CPGs, the marketing campaign can turn into a win for all vendors. Late last year, NASCAR ran a test promotion combining the efforts of local speedways, grocers and CPG vendors. This spring, a larger program proved highly successful in Texas so NASCAR is looking to expand on its success.

Marketers who want to connect with consumers emotionally often use event sponsorship. Summer can be a particularly important time to invest in event marketing as more consumers are outside, enjoying the weather and attending a local concert or baseball game. Some events definitely attract larger crowds so marketers should strategically select which event to sponsor. In addition, marketers can use a number of ways to lengthen their association with a specific event and boost brand awareness. These topics were addressed by a recent Scarborough Research release and webinar.

Marketers continue to turn to new channels to promote their products and services. One rapidly growing channel in the past 2 decades has been entertainment marketing spending. This group broadly includes event sponsorships and marketing and paid product placement. The channel generated $24.63 billion in 2009, a figure which represented a small drop (1.3%) from the previous year. However, PQ Media analysts expect growth to resume in 2010.