Cinema’s superpower: How one ad on cinema delivers the same amount of brand fame as 10 ads on digital.

Latest research from Fiftyfive5 part of Accenture Song finds that a single cinema ad delivers the same brand fame as 10 digital spots, or 9 BVOD spots, or six linear TV spots. But tellingly combining all three channels is most powerful. Val Morgan’s Guy Burbidge unpacks the results – and why it's time for brands to look beyond surface-level metrics like reach and CPMs focus on the most crucial metric for marketers seeking long-term commercial success.

It's easy to get caught up in the hype of reach and headline CPM comparisons. But let's face the facts—those metrics don't tell the whole story. When it comes to making a lasting impact, it’s about outcomes. It’s about making your brand famous. And that’s where cinema takes the lead role.

It's time to raise the bar and look beyond surface-level metrics like reach and CPMs. Just because an ad has the opportunity to be seen by a certain number of people, it doesn't mean it's making an impression or driving positive outcomes for brands.

Want your brand to truly stand out? Stop settling for fleeting glances – aim for the kind of impact that lasts: Brand fame.

Brand fame: What makes a brand memorable?

We all want our brands to become household names – the Zendayas, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stones and Liam Hemsworths of the brand world. So, what makes famous brands?

Famous brands make a lasting impression by establishing a strong emotional connection with consumers—they're not just liked; they're adored. These brands are also instantly identifiable and distinctive, they stand out in a crowd.

They generate buzz, sparking conversations among both consumers and competitors. There's a sense of familiarity with these brands, making consumers feel like they've known them forever, even if they haven't. Finally, these brands convey a clear and universally understood identity; everyone knows who they are and what they represent.

Les Binet and Peter Field, often hailed as the "Godfathers of Advertising Effectiveness," have cracked the code on what makes advertising work. Their deep dive into the IPA Databank ­– a treasure trove of advertising case studies – highlights that brand fame is the ultimate game-changer in achieving commercial success.

Binet and Field have shown that campaigns designed to build this level of fame aren't just effective; they're commercially explosive, far surpassing other types of advertising efforts.

The new success benchmark: outcomes, outcomes, outcomes

We're in the business of results, and it's time our success metrics reflect that. Reach and CPM’s have their place, but they don't guarantee effectiveness. The goal is tangible outcomes; brand metrics that translate into real-world gains.

When it comes to metrics that actually move the dial, cinema has time and time again demonstrated its true power. It’s well known that cinema significantly boosts ad memorability and more recently proven to deliver high levels of sustained, undivided attention. What remains to be fully explored, however, are the long-term effects of cinema on what may be the most crucial brand metric: brand fame.

We recently partnered with FiftyFive5 to understand what effect AV channels have on delivering brand equity. Two surveys were conducted via a multi-channel study and an in field pre and post cinema testing study. The results were clear; cinema is undeniably powerful in delivering on multiple brand equity and ad performance metrics.

This is cinema's promise: 1 cinema spot delivers the same level of brand fame as 10 spots on digital, 9 spots on BVOD, and 6 spots on linear TV. 

When it comes to real impact and real outcomes, cinema advertising is the GOAT.

All-star brands add cinema into the mix

Think of building your brand like creating this season’s latest blockbuster – you need an all-star cast to leave the biggest impact on your audience.  In an increasingly fragmented media landscape with capturing meaningful attention the new gold, it’s never been more crucial for brands to have the right media for the job at the centre of their AV strategy. When combined with digital video and TV, cinema plays a star role in your AV mix - significantly boosting brand fame.

Including cinema on your media plan not only elevates the overall effectiveness of the campaign but also helps in painting a more compelling brand story across multiple channels, cinema creates a holistic and memorable brand experience that audiences are more likely to talk about and engage with.

The results show that cinema builds on what both online and TV exposure deliver, with the most powerful impact coming from the combination of all channels – creating a 20 per cent uplift over digital in isolation and 13 per cent uplift over TV and digital in combination.

If you want to win a ‘brand Oscar’, cinema plays the lead role in your all-star ad lineup. It’s not just about adding more to your ad strategy; it’s about including the right A-lister that makes your brand Hollywood famous.

Cinema makes your brand famous

Want to see your brand name in lights? Then it's time to roll out the red carpet for cinema advertising – the missing ingredient that will take your brand from walk-on extra to A-lister. In a world where ads only deliver 15kb of fame, cinema advertising makes your brand famous.