The trend of using cinema ads as a performance marketing channel is gaining traction among advertisers, especially for brands like Monster.com and Burger King, driving revenue and new audiences.  

According to data and analytics company World Advertising Research Center (WARC), the cinema advertising sector is anticipated to surpass the investment levels recorded in 2019 this year. Brands are expected to allocate $3.8 billion globally for cinema advertising, marking a 5.5% year-on-year increase and more than the $3.7 billion invested in the year leading up to the pandemic.

“[Cinema] reaches a national audience in a non-skippable ad environment,” said Steve Flores, senior manager, culture and partnerships at Burger King. “[This] provides an opportunity to drive awareness and consideration at the top of mind after leaving a theater.”

Job site Monster.com saw a boost in its lower funnel performance and subsequent revenue growth through its advertising partnership with National CineMedia (NCM) for in-cinema ads.

The company aired a 30-second ad featuring a QR code that directed viewers to a landing page offering three distinct call-to-actions: job searches, salary advice and career guidance.

So far, Monster.com has seen thousands of scans of the QR code, resulting in an 8% increase in engagement on its landing page, according to the company.

“Previously, 50% of our landing page engagements would go to job search,” said Shaun Farrar, senior director, global media, at Monster.com. “Now it’s upwards of 80%-90%.”

NCM, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy just last month following a financial restructuring that effectively erased approximately $1.2 billion in debt, introduced programmatic ads to cinemas in early August, reported by AdExchanger.

Simultaneously, the increasingly fragmented media landscape has heightened the demand for brand ROI, prompting advertisers to prioritize attention metrics in their media planning and buying strategies. One study by Lumen and NCM indicates that cinema is emerging as a top video platform for brands, delivering attention metrics that are between four and seven times higher compared to linear TV, CTV, social media and digital platforms.