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I told him quotPatron arrival behavior hasn39t changed as far as we can see from the Nielsen proprietary data that we receive each monthamp160amp160In fact for the last threeamp160yearsamp160it39s been remarkably consistent despite the marked rise in reserved seating installation over the same periodquotI explained to him that one of the more popular misunderstandings was the distinction between quotAdvanced Seatingquot vs quotReserved Seatingquotamp160 The former implies buying a seatticket way in advance of the event to guarantee admission and usually a specific seat assignment or location think musical concerts or sports amp160However Reserved Seating is nuancedamp160 Even though it provides a specific seat location prior to the start of the movie in most instancesamp160those seats are purchased the same day of the movie performanceWhile this may seem counterintuitive consider the fact that most movie patrons yes most amp160don39t determine which movie they39re going to see until they arrive at the theateramp160 The fact is in 2015 the last time National Research Group NRG did a national US moviegoing behavior study 59 of the movie audience between the ages of 12 to 44 admitted they either quotOftenquot or quotVery Oftenquot decide what movie to see when they arrive at the movie theateramp160 Additionally if you bifurcate that group the 12 to 24yearolds those who are closer to the Gen Z break or younger usually attend the cinema in groups of three or moreamp160 Because of this the group dynamic of peer pressure plays a much larger part in the decision of what film to see by the group at the point of purchase rather than by the individual in advanceamp160amp160 Moviegoing is still a major social event and as such often acts as a catalyst for a group of people to get togetheramp160 So for a group of parents who may have booked the babysitter for their toddler and their reservation for dinner weeksamp160if not months in advance there39s no turning back especially if another accompanying couple or more are in the same boatamp160amp160This is in sharp contrast to the older skewing Boomers where only 12 decide quotVery Often Oftenquot at the theater which movie they want to seeAnd by the way I would like to take this opportunity to explode another fallacy and set the record straightamp160amp160Contrary to what is becoming quotfake newsquot among so many media pundits movie attendance is alive and well and by no means on the declineamp160 The proliferation of mobilebased media has not resulted in people forsaking the big screen for the little screen not in total attendance or among younger skewing adults and teensamp160 To be clear movie attendance in first quarter 2017 is for the fourth straight consecutive yearamp160as reported by Nielsen up 42 for total attendanceamp160 Even more encouraging is the fact that movie attendance by Millennials is up 63 from 2016 and has demonstrated a YoY increase for the fifth straight year since 2012amp160amp160I defy any other media to make that claimamp160As for the proliferation of Reserve Seating if you look at when people arrive in their seats at the movie theater most folks continue to arrive at the time they normally did with general admission seatingamp160Movie audiences are creatures of habit and still want to arrive at the movie theater early to relax and savor the experienceamp160 Per a 2015 Millennial Study that NCM and ad agency Annalect did through research companyamp160Civic Science 80 of Millennials still like to get to the theater quotearlyquotamp160ie a selfdefined period of timeamp160 Another insight gleaned from the same study is that nearly half of movie patrons aren39t even aware that Reserved Seating is available as 47 said they didn39t know Reserved Seating was an option at the theater they attendedamp160As previously mentioned while most Reserved Seating tickets are bought the day of the performance because patrons want to guarantee they get a seat before a popular show is sold out the bigger priority for most patrons is to lock in their seat location so that they minimize sitting quottoo closequot to the screen or are forced to split up their attending group of fouramp160or fiveamp160because they can39t find seats togetheramp160amp160Patrons want flexibility in their seat choice and show time amp160If anything provides that flexibility it39s the everexpanding option of quotDineInquot theaters which encourage patrons to arrive earlier so they can place a food and or beverage order in time for it to be enjoyed before the start of the movieamp160If Reserve Seating was retarding audience exposure to onscreen ads which was the real motivation behind that inquiry from my ad buddy then we wouldn39t see the kind of results we consistently see in attribution studies that report an average 45 lift in retail traffic a 68 lift in auto dealership visits or QSR Brand Recall and Message Recall that was 22 and 20 higher respectively compared to identical ads on linear televisionamp160 FYI when you combine linear TV with cinema those scores jump 33 and 57 to just linear TV aloneSo I ask which metrics would you prefer to judge a medium on exposures branded recall for increased footfall to your advertiseramp160 I39ll take whatever ROI andor branding metrics that best suit your advertiser to the bank every day of the week over impressions delivered amp8230 and so will our advertisers with the unofficial kickoff to summer movies this coming Memorial Day weekendamp160 Happy movie going everybodySourcesPlaced December 2016Foursquare 112016 amp8211 012517 Attribution Report2016 Nielsen Brand EffectClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Doug Pulick

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