Your Eyes Aren’t Playing Tricks On You!

Cinemark first to bring hologram advertising to Africa

Cinema advertising has been the advertising medium of choice for brands because it can engage various demographics successfully by creating the right conversations, with the intended target market at the right time. Strategic movie scheduling will ensure that a brand’s key message will be received by the LSM the movie intended to reach, which will align with the brand messaging in a cohesive, organic way.

However, globally, today’s retail technology space is beginning to reach a point where brands are losing their identity, making it difficult for players in the space to stand out, and South Africa is not exempt. In response, the largest network provider in South Africa approached Cinemark to look for a unique, technology-driven advertising solution.

In January this year (2018), hologram advertising was showcased as the latest technology in cinema advertising at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. There was no better platform to show this than at one of the biggest world stages that showcase the next-generation innovation, and it had attendees mesmerized. ¹

As a leader in innovation, Cinemark, known for its first-to-market offerings, brought hologram advertising to Ster-Kinekor cinemas. In partnership with its suppliers, Cinemark became the first exhibitor in Africa to offer the hologram advertising, launching it with the first, fully automated theatre in Africa, Ster-Kinekor Sandton. The cinema is newly renovated and has world-class technology to streamline customers’ experiences through online bookings services and self-service terminals.

Driven to deliver on brand KPIs and maximize the cut through nature of the cinema format, Cinemark introduced hologram advertising to influence customer behavior with focus on making keeping up with the latest advertising technology and making it unique, a business imperative.

The advertising technology has been presented at Ster-Kinekor theatres in Sandton City, Rosebank The Zone that are both located in Johannesburg, and Mall of Africa, which is situated in Midrand.

A hologram is focused around light. It is a cross between what happens when you take a photograph and what happens when you look at something for real. Like a photograph, a hologram is a permanent record of the light reflected off an object. But a hologram also looks real and three-dimensional and moves as you look around it, just like a real object. If you tilt your head slightly, the rays of light reflected off an object must travel on different paths to meet your eyes, and parts of the object may now look lighter or darker or a different color. Your brain instantly recalculates everything, and you see a slightly different picture. Therefore, your eyes see a three-dimensional image. Holograms can change colour or show completely different objects, which makes for an unforgettable sensory experience. Some holograms appear to move as you walk past them. ²

Hologram advertising has garnered strong interest from more creatively inclined clients and robust engagement from movie-goers in South Africa.

This is not the first time the Cinemark team has embraced new technologies to drive innovation, in order to increase the return on investment for advertisers.

It has introduced three new advertising opportunities in the past year, that surpassed its key performance indicators. This has enabled the Cinemark team to make smart business decisions about the direction of all its projects.

The opportunities are endless as to how people experience hologram advertising at Ster-Kinekor sites because it is limited only by imagination.

Hologram advertising is increasing becoming the medium of choice for brands globally. The benefits for consumers and advertisers is that it elevates product advertising and creates strong differentiation amidst the clutter in the retail technology space.

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