From the lift of a 35-year ban on cinemas in Saudi Arabia, which has paved the way for cinema exhibitors to unveil six cinema locations (single screens and multiplexes) in Riyadh and Jeddah – with more on the way across the Kingdom, to a paradigm shift across the rest of the region where exhibitors are investing in opening new locations, renovating existing locations, offering innovative ways to watch a movie – luxury cinema seating and F&B options to suit a variety of moods, the overall ambience of cinema has redefined movie going experiences in the Middle East.
Superhero and action movies are no doubt the most popular with audiences of this region. Nevertheless, irrespective of the movie genre, cinemas continue to have a consistent line-up of blockbusters throughout the year – delivering impressive admission figures.
Whether launching a new brand or product, marketing a special event or new residential complex, promoting a special offer or advertising a brand awareness campaign, cinema is the ultimate platform for memorable storytelling, helps advertisers target specific audiences, builds deeper audience engagement and delivers valuable incremental reach when added to a brand’s media mix.
Check out Motivate Val Morgan’s Cinema Update for 2018, and make cinema an integral part of your media plan in 2019!
Spotlight on Motivate Val Morgan
Cinema – A Force to Reckon With (Section 1)
Cinema – A Force to Reckon With (Section 2)
Cinema – A Force to Reckon With (Section 3)
Contact a member of our sales team for cinema advertising opportunities in 2019
Avengers: Endgame marks the culmination of what is arguably Hollywood’s greatest ever storyline, one which began with the release of Iron Man more than a decade ago and has captured the imagination of a generation ever since. This blockbuster has broken several records in the past few months which include – the highest-grossing worldwide opening weekend, highest admissions in the UAE, highest trailer views within 24 hours and the longest runtime in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The unprecedented anticipation surrounding this film has led to exceptional box office numbers.
Highest-Grossing Worldwide Opening Weekend
As announced by Disney, Avengers: Endgame pulled in an estimated $1.2 billion in worldwide box office in its opening weekend – effortlessly smashing the record of $640.5 million done by Avengers: Infinity War which released last year. The figure makes this star-studded movie the first film in history to surpass $1 billion in ticket sales in its debut weekend – creating a new benchmark in the world of cinema.
Highest UAE Admissions
With over 485k admissions, Avengers: Endgame broke records in the UAE for having the highest admissions in the first four days since its release (Wednesday 24th April – Saturday 27th April 2019), beating the record held by The Fate of the Furious (2017) by 39%.
Last year, Avengers: Infinity War ran for a total of 23 weeks in the UAE and did over 730,00 admissions, making it the No. 1 movie in UAE’s ‘Top 10 Movies of 2017’. Avengers: Endgame is most likely to garner a larger lifetime admission figure of close to 750k admissions in the UAE.
As per Gulf News, a Disney source confirmed that Avengers: Endgame released across 300 screens and has collected Dh26.4 million since its opening day. A well-placed UAE cinema source also stated that the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe recorded well over 500k admissions across the first five days of its screening, becoming the biggest film to ever release in the country.
As of May 7th 2019, the movie has done over Dh40 million at UAE box office.
VOX Cinemas has also confirmed Endgame’s record run since its opening. As per a spokesperson from VOX, “Avengers: Endgame broke our record for advance ticket sales, more than doubling the number of tickets sold in our previous record for the film Baahubali 2. The movie contributed [towards] 80 per cent of the three-day weekend box office and the highest recorded admissions across VOX Cinemas on 26th April 2019.”
Reel Cinemas reported a ‘record-shattering’ opening weekend with the release of Avengers: Endgame, adding that it had doubled its box-office results over its prequal – which took six days to reach the same collection.
VOX Cinemas and Reel Cinemas, together with other cinema exhibitors across the Middle East – such as AMC Cinemas (KSA), screened the movie throughout the day (on a 24-hour basis) during the opening weekend to match the demand of ticket sales.
In addition to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, VOX Cinemas also confirmed that the film broke records in Muscat (Oman) and Kuwait.
Highest Trailer Views
According to Disney, the first official trailer of Avengers: Endgame – released on December 7th 2018, is the most viewed trailer across 24 hours in movie history with over 289 million views (tabulated across multiple platforms – YouTube, Facebook and Twitter). This anticipated trailer surpassed previous records set by Avengers: Infinity War of 230 million views and The Lion King teaser which racked up 224.6 million views.
Longest Runtime in the MCU
While most MCU movies are over two hours long, Avengers: Endgame is the first installment to cross the three-hours threshold with a runtime of 3 hours and 2 minutes – 22 minutes longer than Avengers: Infinity War.
In 2018, not only did Avengers: Infinity War top the worldwide box office, but it was also the only movie to hit more than the $2 Billion mark in worldwide box office revenue of 2018 – making it the fourth highest grossing movie of all time after Avatar (2009), Titanic (1997) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). Avengers: Endgame is forecasted to be an even bigger hit than its prequel, and moreover, it has a chance of becoming the highest-grossing film of all time – on pace to dethrone Avatar.
Avengers: Endgame is expected to gather momentum as one of the most successful movies in history with fans already booking to watch the movie for the second time round.
Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe films:
Spider-Man: Far from Home – 4th July 2019
Black Widow – 1st May 2020
The Eternals – 6th November 2020
Black Panther 2 – 12th February 2021
Shang-Chi – 7th May 2021
Doctor Strange 2 – 5th November 2021
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – 6th May 2022
Sources: Screenrant, Hollywood Reporter, Gulf News, , The National, Arabian Business and CNBC
Reel Cinemas unveiled the initial phase of its brand-new cinema at Al Ghurair Centre in the UAE on Monday 22nd April 2019.
The first phase of the cinema features 8 screens with a total of 1,210 seats, and is located within a dedicated wing across two floors.
Al Ghurair Centre – the region’s first shopping destination and one of Dubai’s longstanding flagship icons, is located in Deira, the heart of Old Dubai, and features over 270 brands and more than 50 restaurants.
This new state-of-the-art cinema follows Reel Cinemas’ latest strategy of digitisation with a focus on reshaping ‘moviegoing’ as a distinctive ‘lifestyle experience’.
Commenting on the opening of the new location, Sami Al Hakeem – Vice President of Al Ghurair Centre said, “The opening of Reel Cinemas has been carefully planned to offer a completely new experience within this part of Dubai and further enhance our daily visitors shopping & leisure experience. This launch is the first of several new brands and announcements lined up for this year under the revitalisation strategy that was launched last year. The all new Reel Cinemas megaplex will be the latest addition aiming to diversify and revitalise the leisure & entertainment offering at Al Ghurair Centre.”
“We are aiming to innovate across every touch point and offer an urban shopping and entertainment experience to our guests,” he added.
Spread across 75,000 sq ft, Reel Cinemas is set to launch its remaining 10 screens at Al Ghurair Centre later this year. With the completion of phase two, the new megaplex is expected to include a total of 18 screens with a total of 1,800 seats, and will feature Platinum Suites, Dolby Cinema and Reel Junior.
We at Motivate Val Morgan would like to congratulate Reel Cinemas on the opening of its new cinema at Al Ghurair Centre, and as the exclusive cinema advertising partner, welcome this new location to our circuit in the UAE.
Contact us for more information on cinema advertising opportunities at Reel Cinemas – Al Ghurair Centre.
Related Articles:
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Reel Cinemas Launches First Dine-In Cinema at Jebel Ali Recreation Club
New Locations in the Motivate Val Morgan Cinema Circuit
Reel Cinemas | The Dubai Mall | New Platinum Suites and Screen X
Sources: Images Retail Me and Arabian Business.
As the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan are pleased to announce that seven leading advertising professionals from the UAE have been selected as jury members for this year’s Festival.
The seven leading advertising professionals who will represent the UAE in the Awards and Shortlist jury panel under Print & Publishing, Design, Glass: The Lion for Change, Media, PR, Direct and Brand Experience & Activation categories include:
Awards Jury
Print & Publishing:
Fouad Abdel Malak
Executive Creative Director
TBWA\RAAD
With over 18 years of experience in the region, Fouad is currently serving his second stint at TBWA\RAAD in Dubai as Executive Creative Director, after holding the creative helm at BBDO Dubai for 4+ years.
His career highlights include key business wins and leading some of the most awarded teams in the region, as well as working on sought-after brands such as: Nissan, Louvre Abu Dhabi, KFC, Pepsico, Emirates Airlines, MARS, du, GE, among other notable names.
Fouad drives business results, winning: multiple Grands Prix from Integrated to Direct, and Golds’ at major award shows on SCB, Nissan, Domino’s, MARS, Louvre Abu Dhabi, MTV, and many others from Cannes Lions to the Dubai Lynx and beyond.
He’s a ‘Disruptor’ by nature and is most passionate about integrated ideas centered around innovation. Not only was Fouad named 2019 Executive Creative Director of the Year in the MENA Region – according to the official B&W 2019 Report, but was also ranked 8th worldwide according to The Big One Rankings.
Design:
Vidya Manmohan
Executive Creative Director
Grey Group
From walking out of the gates of medical school and entering an Art campus, to switching from art direction to copywriting half way through her advertising career, Vidya has constantly followed her passion.
After four decades in Dubai and having witnessed sand dunes transform in to skyscrapers, this charming young lady from India, proudly says she’s ‘Made in Dubai’.
Her work reflects the culture around her, be it the awards won in Radio, Print, Design, Outdoor, Integrated or Advertising for Good.
Vidya has been on the Jury of International Award Festivals that include: Clio, NewYork Festivals, Lisbon Ad Fest and recently was also a part of the Young Guns and Adfest, and says she learns as she shares her knowledge.
When asked on how she copes with advertising, this mom of an 18-year old, smilingly adds, “You don’t teach a mom how to cope.”
Glass – The Lion for Change:
Ali Rez
Regional Executive Creative Director – Middle East & Pakistan
BBDO Worldwide
Ranked amongst the Top 15 Creative Directors and the Top 10 Art Directors in the world by the Big Won Report, and named the 2018 South Asian Creative Person of the Year by Campaign Magazine, Ali is one of the most awarded ECD’s in the Greater Middle East region.
Ali has won more than 350 accolades in his career which include multiple Gold Cannes Lions, Gold Clios, D&AD pencils, Gold Effies, One Show pencils, a United Nations peace award, and the honor of setting a record of winning 4 Grands Prix for one campaign at Dubai Lynx.
His creative experience – shaped in the USA at Y&R and Goodby Silverstein Collaboratory and followed by a move to the Middle East, has contributed to BBDO being named Network of the Year at Cannes Lions, Effies, Dubai Lynx, Spikes Asia and AdStars, and Impact BBDO being named Agency of the Year at Dubai Lynx 2019.
Ali has lectured at Oxford University, exhibited at Tate UK, spoken at TEDx, traveled to 122 countries, and captained a county cricket team in the USA. He actively volunteers to fight for gender equality, and has won the inaugural Glass awards at both Dubai Lynx and Spikes Asia.
Please Note: Awards Jury members will join the jury committee in Cannes, France and will receive a complimentary pass to the Festival along with their accommodation paid for in full.
Shortlist Jury
Media:
Tarek Daouk
CEO
Dentsu Aegis Network MENA
Tarek has been at the centre of innovation in media, content, and digital media in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for almost two decades. He built Starcom Mediavest Group into an early leader in the space, launched innovative new business models such as the content agency LiquidThread and landed Cannes Lions and numerous other awards.
Throughout his career he has amassed a wealth of industry experience, working with a number of blue-chip advertisers including GSK, GM, Mars, Mondelez, P&G, Samsung and Visa.
Today, Tarek is committed to supporting advertisers with their businesses in the region by building a next generation agency – focused on the convergence of creative, media, data, and commerce and which enables the design of unique experiences for consumers.
PR:
Valerie Tan
Vice President – Public Relations, Social Media and Internal Communications
Emirates Group
With 18 years of experience in communications, Valerie has held leadership roles in-house and at a global PR agency in Singapore.
Based in Dubai, she leads an in-house team of 30 professionals, overseeing a support network of over 80 agencies in the implementation of internal and external communications activity for Emirates Group – which comprises the global airline Emirates, the air services provider dnata, and over 100 subsidiaries. The Group employs more than 100,000 employees with operations in over 80 countries on six continents.
Prior to her current role, Valerie worked at a large communications agency in Singapore, leading its healthcare practice, select corporate accounts as well as media skills training and crisis communications.
Valerie was recognised in the Holmes Report Top 100 Most Influential In-house Communicators in 2018, and received an Individual Achievement Sabre Award the same year. She was also recognised in the inaugural PRWeek Middle East Power Book. She most recently served on the jury for the 2018 MEPRA Awards.
Direct:
Dhruv Warrior
Associate Creative Director
VMLY&R Dubai
Dhruv spent a little over 7 years working for JWT Bangalore in India – first two years in client servicing followed by a switch to the creative side, before moving to VMLY&R Dubai in 2015.
His time at JWT saw him work on brands across a multitude of categories. He has diverse work experience spreading across different brands and categories such as United Breweries, Google, ING, Levi’s, Van Heusen and Parikrma Humanity Foundation to name a few. His major successes came on his work for Nike, as he was instrumental in the execution of the ‘Bleed Blue’ and ‘Make Every Yard Count’ campaigns which were awarded at multiple global award shows including Cannes Lions, Clio’s, One Show, and D&AD. The ‘Make Every Yard Count’ campaign was named in the Top 20 films globally by the Gunn Report in 2015 and the Top 10 films & Top 10 digital campaigns in 2014 by the Big Won report.
While at VMLY&R, Dhruv has worked on the agency’s key brands which include Mall of the Emirates, Mashreq Bank, Nando’s, American Garden, UNHCR, Dubai Font, General Mills and more.
He has been an essential part of a team whose work has been recognised by international and regional award shows and has helped VMLY&R EMEA gain regional and global recognition – which includes Regional Network of the Year in 2017 and No. 3 globally in Industry Craft at Cannes Lions.
Dhruv has won awards at Cannes Lions, Clio’s, Spikes, One Show, D&AD, Adfest, The Effies, Goafest and Dubai Lynx. He was named in the 2014 list for Top Copywriters in the World by the Big Won report and was also listed in the Top 30 Under 30 Hot Young Creatives in 2014 by Economic Times.
Brand Experience & Activation
Marie Claire Maalouf
Creative Director
Impact BBDO Dubai
Marie-Claire holds a Master’s degree in Creative Advertising and a Bachelor’s degree in 2D/3D Animation from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts. Graduating top of her year in 2005, she received an excellence award and was offered an internship in France at the ENSAD — École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs.
During her diploma presentation in 2006, where leading advertising agencies were invited, she was offered to join the Impact BBDO group and has been with them for over a decade, working on their wide range of global brands including Mars, PepsiCo and Johnson’s.
Her work has been recognised at Dubai Lynx, Adfest, Global Cristal Festival, MENA Cristal, Effies and Cannes Lions — she has even hugged a real lion.
Please Note: Shortlist jury members will conduct the first round of judging in advance of the festival – from the UAE, and will be invited to attend the Festival with a complimentary pass.
This year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will run from 17th – 21st June 2019.
We at Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan warmly congratulate the seven judges who will represent the UAE as awards and shortlist jury members at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, and wish them all the very best with the judging ahead.
The 17th edition of the prestigious UAE Young Lions Digital Competition, hosted by Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan – the official UAE representative of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, in association with Dubai Media City took place on Saturday 20th April 2019 at the offices of Motivate Media in Dubai Media City. The Judging and Awards Ceremony followed on Monday 22nd April 2019 at the In5 Media Innovation Centre in Dubai Production City, with Arwa Al Jundi (Art Director) and Warsha J. Dhemani (Copywriter) from Livingroom Communication named the Gold winners of the competition.
The wining duo was selected from a pool of 16 participating teams, and will be flown on an all-expense paid trip to Cannes to represent the UAE at the International Young Lions Digital Competition, which will be held in June 2019.
Not too far behind them were Sumer Kotwal (Art Director) and Gaurav Maitreya (Copywriter) from Publicis Sapient (Gold winners of last year’s UAE Young Lions Digital Competition) who bagged Silver.
With so many creative ideas and inspiring submissions, determining the Bronze winner was a challenge, and this year, the UAE Young Lions Digital Competition saw a tie between three teams – Felipe Menezes (Art Director) and Sabine Haddad (Copywriter) from TBWA\RAAD, Alan Hong (Art Director) and Poroma Pant (Copywriter) from Saatchi & Saatchi Dubai, and Nour Mohammad (Art Director) and Peter Mazloumian (Copywriter) from Socialize.
Other participating agencies at this year’s competition included:
Leo Burnett Dubai, APCO Worldwide, Mullenlowe MENA, Publicis Middle East, RAPP Middle East, Wavemaker, Amber Communications, Rain Creative, and McCann Health Dubai.
The ‘Creative Club’ who judged this year’s competition comprised:
Manuel Bordé – TBWA\RAAD
Prajakta More – McCann Health Dubai
Ali Shabaz – RAPP Middle East
Georgine Hajjar – Wavemaker
Mohamed Bareche – Publicis Middle East
Seyoan Vela – Livingroom Communication
Samer Zouehid – Saatchi & Saatchi Dubai
Anton Marais – Leo Burnett
Prasad Pradhan – Amber Communications
Pascale Youssef – APCO Worldwide
Alfonso Arbos – Mullenlowe MENA
Shwan Nazar – Publicis Sapient
Shamrock Nevis – Rain Creative
Rafael Bergamini – Socialize Agency
Shyam Vipin – Praxis Advertising
This year’s client was World Food Programme (WFP) – the food- assistance branch of the United Nations and the world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger, and the competition was sponsored by Getty Images and Xerox Middle East.
Ian Fairservice – Managing Partner, Motivate Media Group, said “After 17 years of hosting the Young Lions competition, we have seen some inspiring work from these exceptional young professionals. This year is certainly not different and I’d like to wish Arwa and Warsha from Livingroom Communication the best of luck representing the region in Cannes. I’m sure they will be great ambassadors for the UAE.”
Majed Al Suwaidi – Managing Director of Dubai Media City, said: “Dubai Media City is proud to collaborate once again with the UAE Young Lions and Motivate to encourage the rise of digital platforms and the region’s creativity. As our mandate to support the growing upcoming talent, the UAE Young Lions and Motivate competition provides the opportunity for our people to gain recognition and grow their careers. Our partnership, with the collaboration of our incubator in5 media, looks forward to a successful outcome and we wish all the participants great learnings every success.”
Congratulations to the winners and a job well done to all 16 teams that participated in this year’s competition.
The UAE Young Lions Digital Competition – hosted by Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan, in association with Dubai Media City and supported by Getty Images and Xerox Middle East, aims to unveil the brightest creative minds from across the UAE, and is part of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity – the world’s biggest celebration of creativity in communications. The International Festival will take place from the 17th to the 21st of June 2019 in the city of Cannes, located on France’s mesmerizing south coast and will offer five days of award ceremonies, seminars, workshops, master classes, exhibitions, screenings and networking.
Up until 2018, Motivate Val Morgan Cinema Advertising – official representative of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the UAE, nominated one student to attend the Roger Hatchuel Academy – a student learning programme carefully designed to offer students of advertising, communications and other creative disciplines, the head-start they need to secure a role within the competitive creative industry post-graduation.
In 2019, Motivate Val Morgan recommended three students whose submissions were reviewed by a global panel of 7-9 jurors from Cannes Lions – comprising of a diverse mix of professionals from reputed education institutions, the industry and related creative fields. Earlier this month, the panel of jurors selected Meera Saeed Humaid Alaraj Alsuwaidi – a student at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree of Communication & Media Science, to represent the UAE at the prestigious Roger Hatchuel Academy which will take place from the 17th – 21st June 2019 in Cannes, France.
The Roger Hatchuel Academy is a student learning programme carefully designed to offer students of advertising, communications and other creative disciplines, the head-start they need to secure a role within the competitive creative industry post-graduation.
Students can expect a programme tailored to the current industry landscape, one which combines classroom sessions and a selection of official Festival content – under the guidance of course tutors Abraham Abbi Asefaw and Maksimilian Kallhed – Co-Founders of The Pop Up Agency.
Academy students get full access to the Cannes Lions Festival, including the five Award Shows and the Young Lions Party. They will also have exclusive access to the Jury rooms, which are closed to all other attendees of the Festival. This is a unique way to navigate the world’s most important discussion of creativity in communications, and an unrivalled opportunity to network with other future Lions-winners.
Creative leaders that have previously lectured at the Academy are – Bob Greenberg, Bob Isherwood, Neil French, David Droga, Jim Stengel, Michael Conrad and Tham Khai Meng, to name a few.
Commenting on being selected, Meera AlSuwaidy stated, “ I can’t even put into words how honored I am to be a part of the Roger Hatchuel Academy class of 2019, I’m also very proud and grateful to represent my country in this event. This wouldn’t have been possible without Dr. Park – my advisor, who has guided me through it all and has always believed in me, even at times when I wasn’t confident in my abilities. He has always inspired me to be the best version of myself, and I knew the best way to appreciate his efforts was to earn my spot in the academy. Travelling to different parts of the world has opened my eyes and broadened my thoughts and perception about my surroundings – you can say that it is the fuel that channeled creativity into my work. With this opportunity, I will begin a new journey as a determined communication and media student eager to learn, rather than travelling as a tourist, and will attend this academy that is filled with various opportunities to help build up my character, skills and future career. In addition to that, it is an experience that will help me find inspiration to bring creativity into media. In conclusion, I am very excited to meet my fellow classmates, some of the most creative minds from all over the world under the same roof. This is a once in a lifetime experience that I will cherish forever.”
Park Beede – Graduate Coordinator and Assistant Professor at Zayed University, said, “Everyone, in the College of Communication and Media Sciences, is extremely excited for Meera, to be selected for this opportunity. The rich tradition of creativity at Cannes Lions is a recognized pinnacle of achievement in our field, and the Roger Hatchuel Academy offers such a wonderful opportunity for young creatives to experience this energy. We know that Meera will be an excellent ambassador of creativity for the UAE, contributing to the diverse cultures brought together in this talented group of up-and-coming creative minds. We look forward to all the experiences Meera can absorb during this opportunity and bring back to share with her fellow students. We also appreciate the gracious support of Motivate Val Morgan in nurturing young talent to be tomorrow’s creative professionals. The opportunity for students to share firsthand experience from seasoned professionals is a truly unique opportunity.”
Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan would like to wish Meera AlSuwaidy the best of luck as she embarks on this journey, and we hope her experience and learnings at the Roger Hatchuel Academy will create positive impact and contribute to her future endeavors in the industry.
VOX Cinemas opened its fifth location in KSA at Kingdom Centre (Riyadh) on Tuesday 16th April 2019, and as part of this launch, introduced a new luxurious cinema experience – the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia. The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official opening of this premium cinema and was graced by HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud – a member of the royal family.
The cinema features 8 screens with a total seating capacity of 228 seats, and includes VVIP experiences – an amalgamation of a fine dining concept, boutique décor and state-of-the-art audio-visual technology (immersive surround sound and crystal-clear projection). Each auditorium has been designed to provide guests with a breathtakingly luxurious experience and features reclining leather seating with individual call buttons for in-cinema waiter service. The gourmet menu includes unique items such as 24k gold wrapped steak frites, 24k gold coated chocolate fondant, gold dusted salted caramel popcorn and bespoke mocktails made with exotic ingredients.
In an interview with Vogue about the new VOX Cinemas, Mohamed Al Hashemi – Country Manager for KSA at Majid Al Futtaim, said, “It will be a different experience to watch films. It does not appear as a cinema, it is a luxurious dining experience with screen displays, and it is the first of its kind in the Middle East to open in Saudi Arabia.”
He added, “In the Kingdom, 30 million people are different in taste, some of them want a different cinematic experience and some want to buy cheaper tickets, and every product we offer at VOX has certain customers.”
“Since launching our first multiplex in Riyadh Park a year ago, we strongly believed in the future of entertainment in Saudi Arabia. Today, we are brought one step closer to achieving our vision with the launch of one of the most luxurious cinema experiences in the world. The journey has been nothing short of inspiring and is one that we will continue to be a part of as we break new barriers in parallel with the growth of our operation,” he said.
With the opening this new location, VOX Cinemas presently operates 47 screens across Saudi Arabia – 35 screens in Riyadh and 12 screens in Jeddah, and according to Al Hashemi, VOX Cinemas is due to open its next location in Dammam – the capital of the Kingdom’s Eastern Province.
As the exclusive cinema advertising partner of VOX Cinemas – across the region, we at Motivate Val Morgan would like to congratulate VOX Cinemas on its opening at Kingdom Centre in Riyadh, and warmly welcome this new location to our circuit in Saudi Arabia.
Contact us for more information on cinema advertising opportunities in KSA.
For more information on locations and movie timings, visit https://ksa.voxcinemas.com/
Related Articles:
VOX Cinemas Opens Fourth Location in KSA – The Roof
VOX Cinemas Opens at Al Qasr Mall in Riyadh
VOX Cinemas Opens at Red Sea Mall in Jeddah
VOX Cinemas Opens in Saudi Arabia at Riyadh Park Mall
Sources: Eye of Dubai and Vogue
Nestlé Pure Life – popular brand of bottled water, recently booked a cinema campaign through Motivate Val Morgan, at VOX Cinemas – Mall of Egypt.
Booked through Zenith Media, the cinema campaign featured an on-screen commercial and included a sampling activity inside the Kids cinema at VOX Cinemas – Mall of Egypt.
On-screen Advertisement:
A 30 sec. on-screen commercial was booked to screen from 3rd April until 7th May 2019. The advertisement informed children to look inside the water bottle (placed in the cup holder), for a message pertaining to hydration and the importance of water.
Watch the on-screen commercial below:
Sampling Activity:
A sampling activity was scheduled to be executed in 4 bursts over 4 weekends during the month of April.
1st Burst: 04th – 06th April 2019
2nd Burst: 11th – 13th April 2019
3rd Burst: 18th – 20th April 2019
4th Burst: 25th – 30th April 2019*
*The activity scheduled for this weekend will be executed for 3 additional days.
Nestlé Pure Life bottles with a special packaging label – featuring images of animals such as Gorillas’ Leopards, Lions, Penguins, Parrots and Frogs, were placed in the cup holder of each seat, while some of the bottles were placed below select seats.
As the trailers commenced, the on-screen ad also displayed a message asking the audience to look under the seats for another bottle. The kids who found these bottles received a discount voucher from Toys’R’Us .
As part of the sampling activity, usherers were hired to distribute flyers to cinemagoers entering the Kids cinema.
Interested in running a similar integrated cinema campaign in UAE, Lebanon, Oman, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait or KSA?
Contact a member of our sales team for more information.
Related Articles:
Samsung | Integrated Cinema Campaign | UAE
Wego | Cinema Campaign | UAE and KSA
Carriage | Cinema Brand Activation | VOX Cinemas – Mall of the Emirates
Kibsons International | Cinema Campaign
Source: Nestlé Pure Life
Samsung – South Korean multinational electronics company, recently completed 10 years since the launch of its Galaxy S series, and to celebrate this joyful occasion, the brand presented their most recently launched flagship smartphone – Galaxy S10, to select people at various locations across the UAE.
As part of this celebration, an integrated cinema campaign was booked through Motivate Val Morgan, which included an exciting and engaging cinema activation (or as we like to call it – ‘Cinevation’) and a 30 sec. on-screen ‘special position’ advertisement.
Cinevation:
Booked through Cheil, the Cinevation was executed on Friday 1st March 2019 at VOX Cinemas – Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi (6:30 movie session) and Mall of the Emirates in Dubai (7:50pm movie session) – alongside ‘Fighting with my family’ starring Dwayne Johnson and Florence Pugh, and was one of many activations executed by Samsung across the UAE. Other touchpoints included Dubai Football Club, Gemayze, UFC Gym, Carrefour, Knowledge Park and The Dubai Mall.
On-screen advertisement:
In addition to the Cinevation, a ‘special position’ on-screen ad – booked through Starcom MediaVest Group, screened for a period of 4 weeks from 14th February 2019 at VOX Cinemas – Yas Mall (Abu Dhabi), Mall of the Emirates (Dubai) and City Centre Mirdif (Dubai), and Reel Cinemas – The Dubai Mall and Dubai Marina Mall.
Contact us to book similar integrated cinema campaigns in UAE, Lebanon, Oman, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Related Articles:
Uber – Cinema On Screen Campaign and Activation
Carriage | Cinema Brand Activation | VOX Cinemas – Mall of the Emirates
RAK Tourism Development Authority’s Cinema Activation
Source: Samsung
How would you describe advertising of this day and age in one word? Overwhelming?
Over a hundred years ago, marketeers could choose to communicate messages through two main mediums – newspaper and radio (the first mass media form of communication that offered near real-time delivery).
Today, there is an arsenal of channels available for marketeers to convey their message – newspaper, radio, magazine, television, digital and SMS, which has led to audiences becoming immune to relentless brand messaging.
In April 2017, Procter and Gamble, one of the world’s largest advertisers, blasted the ad industry for overwhelming consumers with advertising. “There’s too much crap,” said P&G’s chief brand officer Marc Pritchard, in a speech to the American Association of Advertising Agencies – in a transcript seen by CNBC.
“We bombard consumers with thousands of ads a day, subject them to endless load times, interrupt them with pop-ups and overpopulate their screens and feeds,” he said.
With audiences tuning out as a result of advertising overload, how can brands effectively reach their target audience in this day and age?
New research by MESH Experience – commissioned by SAWA, suggests that cinema is a powerful marketing platform, ideal for boosting brand influence.
The study captured and analyzed over 4,500 brand experiences from more than 1200 people across 3 countries using MESH’s proprietary ‘Real-time Experience Tracking’ approach. The categories covered in the study comprise Automotive, Finance, Services, FMCG and Electronics. Participating organizations included National CineMedia (USA), Screenvision Media (USA), Cineplex Media (Canada), and Weischer Media (Germany).
Information displayed in image courtesy MESH Experience
Below are key insights that analyses the role of cinema vs. other media:
As context for this study, and pointed out by a recent Deloitte study, it is no longer enough for brands to simply communicate features and benefits because people want to understand more about the brand’s social purpose, particularly younger people. We also know that people are overloaded with information and this probably explains why in this MESH study we saw that more than a third of paid media messages are self-reported as making people feel “neutral” towards the brand.
Information displayed in image courtesy MESH Experience
Consumer information overload is creating a challenge for brands wanting to convey more complex concepts to customers who are time-poor with less attention to give.
The study conducted by MESH Experience discovered that the cinema environment delivers the greatest proportion of positive brand experiences vs. any other media with 2 out of 3 experiences being positive and virtually no negative experiences.
Information displayed in image courtesy MESH Experience
Information displayed in image courtesy MESH Experience
And this emotional engagement, where people spontaneously tell us their experience is positive, is leading to much deeper advertising comprehension:
Spontaneous descriptions for cinema brand experiences generated a word count that was 20% longer than those for online experiences and 12% longer than for TV.
Information displayed in image courtesy MESH Experience
These comments conveyed detailed product descriptions as well as depth of emotion.
Information displayed in image courtesy MESH Experience
Cinema is generally perceived to be an awareness building medium, however, this study saw how brand experiences in cinema generate action:
Study participants who experienced brand messages in Cinema were 43% more likely to feel inspired to find out more about the brand vs. brand experiences with other media.
Information displayed in image courtesy MESH Experience
Information displayed in image courtesy MESH Experience
And the depth of a cinema brand experience makes people feel 50% more connected to others which can lead to conversation, and we see is a key driver of brand consideration.
Information displayed in image courtesy MESH Experience
There is a direct relationship between building emotional connections and establishing brand recall value, and cinema advertising allows brands to craft concrete and solid brand images in the minds of their consumers. Creating brand recall is the crucial element required in pushing sales and driving revenue.
Cinema advertising allows brands to paint a picture on a larger canvas, deliver a story with a louder voice, and communicate a message with more focused attention – all of which combine to make it the only Superhero among all advertising mediums.
Fiona Blades, President and Chief Experience Officer, MESH Experience commented “What we have discovered is that cinema has the power to penetrate deeper to connect brands to people. Even if the same creative is shown repeatedly in another medium, it may never hit the high notes of one cinema viewing. This shows the vital role that cinema can play in a brand’s media mix. And is why, when you add cinema to other media, such as TV and online, it turbocharges the impact on brand consideration.”
Cheryl Wannell, CEO, SAWA, continued “As an industry we believe in creating trustworthy environments for advertisers to communicate in. What better place to help customers understand a brand’s purpose than Cinema. This research once again validates the strength of the Cinema medium as viable choice in any campaign especially when trying to engage the hard to reach demographics of Millennials and Generation Z.”
As a result of these initial findings, a second phase is already in the works for 2019.
Motivate Val Morgan is a full member of SAWA (Global Cinema Advertising Association)
Sources: SAWA, MESH Experience, CNBC, Research News Live and On Digital Marketing
