The effectiveness of cinema advertising in Hong Kong

Abstract

Cinema advertising offers a relatively less cluttered environment for advertisers to present their message to a captive audience. However, little is known about its effectiveness in countries such as Hong Kong (a city that is relatively underdeveloped in terms of cinema adspend). Building on the work of Ewing et al. (2001) and Dunnett and Hoek (1996), insights into perceptions of cinema advertising in Hong Kong were obtained from a survey of 150 interviewees. As opposed to previous studies, which utilised delayed recall, this study interviewed audience members immediately after they had viewed a particular movie. Results showed that cinema advertising exposure and recall rates were significantly related to various demographic variables, especially gender and age. Furthermore, the level of recall was found to be correlated with various situational stimuli in the cinema, such as the larger-than-life screen, Dolby stereo sound, the silent environment, comfortable seats and audience members’ expectations to focus on the screen. Based on these findings, recommendations for cinema managers and advertisers are made.