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An Upgrade for the Show Before the Show

AUDIENCES still frequently boo the ads that run in theaters before the movie starts. But that reaction hasn’t dimmed the allure of premovie advertising to marketers. Screenvision, a giant in the business, hopes that a new mobile app will entice viewers to get to the theater early enough to sit through a full 20 minutes of ads and interactive games.

The new 20-minute preshow, called The Limelight, also allows advertisers to place longer commercials between the bits of trivia on the screen. It largely replaces the static slides with movie trivia and local ads that many viewers are used to seeing before the previews.

“In today’s fragmented, short-attention-span media universe, commercial-friendly environments are an endangered species,” said Travis Reid, the chief executive of Screenvision, in a statement. “Our new preshow brings together the immersive power of advertising on the silver screen with rich mobile interactivity, a marriage that will transform consumer engagement in the theater environment.”

Viewers who download the Limelight preshow mobile app, called Screenfanz, can watch trailers, search for showtimes, check in at the theater and earn points toward free movie tickets and concession snacks. They can also use the app to play interactive games during the Limelight preshow.

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CMOR, the robot host of Screenvision’s new Limelight preshow.

The appeal for advertisers is that viewers are more likely to remember the ads they see before a movie if they are engaged with interactivity, prizes and points, said Paul Lindstrom, the senior vice president of Nielsen’s On Location service. “An engaged audience is a more receptive audience,” Mr. Lindstrom said.

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Advertisers who focus on buying television ads during the weekday when viewers are home can get those same viewers in the theater on a Friday or Saturday night, said Mark Mitchell, the chief revenue officer at Screenvision and the president of the Cinema Advertising Council. “The advertising recall for messages delivered in theaters is three to four times what television generates,” Mr. Mitchell said.

Advertisers also like the potential to have their commercials alongside interactive content, and to possibly have their marketing messages and other promotions available on mobile devices. “There’s a real desire on the part of the agencies because of their experience with online and digital, to be able to build those components in,” said Mr. Lindstrom of Nielsen.

Screenvision tested a pilot of the preshow on 640 viewers with ads from marketers like FedEx, Nestlé, Allstate and Purina. According to the company, more than three-quarters of the group said they would “definitely” or “likely” get to the theater earlier to watch the show and use the app to check in and play trivia. Ninety-three percent of the men surveyed ages 30 to 39 said they preferred longer-form advertising in theaters and ads that were humorous or shown in multiple parts.

One character that has proved successful in theaters is Mayhem, the slightly sinister source of trouble in Allstate ads. In a recent spot called “Guard Dog,” the character plays the family dog, “holding down the fort while you’re out watching a movie.” The house, however, is being robbed and Mayhem has been distracted by an enormous meaty bone — a perfect reason to have Allstate insurance, he reminds the audience.

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The Screenfanz mobile app dovetails with the in-theater preshow.

“It’s a very good space to engage your viewer with a message when you have their undivided attention,” said Lisa Cochrane, senior vice president at the Allstate Insurance Company, one of the brands advertising in the Limelight preshow. “The trick is to make sure that you are entertaining or providing a new preview of advertising to the audience.” Allstate has steadily increased its spending on cinema advertising over the past few years, Ms. Cochrane said.

The company has used the ad time before a movie to introduce commercials before they are seen on television and has experimented with other types of messages, including a branded public service announcement urging viewers to refrain from texting on their mobile phones in the theater and while driving. Some Allstate agents have also invited their clients to free movies, Ms. Cochrane said.

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Campaigns for the Ad Council and DoSomething.org, a Web site focused on getting young people involved in social change, will also be introduced in the show. The Ad Council campaign will feature a public service announcement on the General Educational Development test, for adults who do not have a high school diploma.

Screenvision is also collecting data on how moviegoers use the app, something that is very valuable to advertisers. ‘There’s accountability,” Mr. Lindstrom said, noting that ad agencies preferred an interactive component in an ad buy.

There are about 40 million visits a month in the United States to movie theaters featuring Screenvision advertising. The industry leader, National CineMedia, provides online, mobile and theater advertising opportunities for advertisers and claims 671 million visits to its theaters a year.

This year, National CineMedia will host its first upfront presentation, part of the springtime frenzy in which media companies present their offerings to advertisers. Screenvision has hosted upfronts in the past and plans to have one this year, a company representative said.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 3 of the New York edition with the headline: An Upgrade For the Show Before The Show. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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