Heading back to the movies? Advertisers are betting on it.

As viewers head back to theaters in droves, the companies that sell ads that run before the main show are breathing a sigh of relief.

Return of the Movie: Armed with box-office data from films like Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange (one of 2022’s biggest releases so far with $803 million in ticket sales after three weekends) and comparatively smaller titles like A24’s art-house hit Everything Everywhere All at Once (the studio’s highest-grossing release), the companies that manage in-theater ad inventory are betting that brands will be eager to market to popcorn-munching moviegoers.

• “We’re here. We’re back,” John Partilla, CEO of Screenvision Media, told Marketing Brew ahead of the company’s upfront earlier this month. “We hope to recapture our place in the media ecosystem and in people’s media planning, and to remind them of our place in this super-premium video mix.”

The cottage industry of cinema

Whether it’s sponsored movie trivia, a traditional 30-second ad, or a big display next to the concession stands, in-theater advertising is big business.

• In 2019, revenue across members of the Cinema Advertising Council, whose members comprised about 90% of US cinema screens and box offices, saw revenues, mostly from on-screen advertising, exceed $809 million.
• But that revenue only flows when movies are playing and audiences are showing up, and it goes without saying that Covid “knocked us out of our saddle,” Partilla admitted. The CAC did not collect data from its members in either 2020 or 2021, but box-office revenues overall were still at about half of pre-pandemic levels last year.

Looking ahead: The US box office is still far from recovered, but the good news is that theatrical releases are roaring back, with just about every entertainment company committing to the in-theater experience and planning hefty summer movie slates. Anticipated blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World Dominion, and Thor: Love and Thunder are among the many titles expected to bring more people back to theaters.

That, of course, makes it easier to attract advertisers: National CineMedia, which has ad inventory in more than 1,600 theaters around the country, tracked an increase in advertising deals in Q1 in theaters, with auto, travel, dining, gaming, wireless, entertainment, and CPG brands leading the way, CEO Tom Lesinski told investors this month.

Click here to read how in-theater advertising is helping brands reach audiences that are hard to find elsewhere.—KS

A new media-slash-marketing-research company is taking a stab at demystifying the wild, wild world of ad tech.

Launched on Monday, Marketecture—which isn’t a bad name for an industry that gave birth to companies like Choozle and Taboola—was created by Ari Paparo, former co-founder and CEO of ad-tech firm Beeswax, whose resume includes stints at Google, Nielsen, and AppNexus.

The pitch: Paparo and his co-founders—media consultant and founder of Shields Strategic Consulting, Mike Shields; a mobile advertising analyst who runs Mobile Dev Memo, Eric Suefert; and former AdExchanger Executive Editor Zach Rodgers—will each take turns grilling separate ad-tech vendors, breaking down their offerings and releasing the findings as both a podcast and a video.

The point is to replace wasteful and what Paparo believes to be costly ice-breaking, get-to-know-you meetings between agencies, brands, and the Lumascape.

So far, the site lists interviews with executives at Magnite, LiveRamp, Innovid, and Habu.

Ad tech is “complex, and the vendors see an advantage to not speaking plainly…They get opportunities they maybe aren’t the best solution for,” Paparo told Marketing Brew. “Replacing that with a subscription that’s a couple hundred dollars a year seems like a no-brainer.”

He also said that the co-founders’ reputation in the industry has helped them land the interviews already posted on their site.

• A monthly subscription is $29.99, but readers can purchase podcasts and videos à la carte for $75. New content will drop twice a week. Shorter, edited videos and podcasts will be available on the site for free.
• He didn’t provide any specific figures on subscription goals or expectations.
• Marketecture doesn’t yet have a sales team, nor has it sold any corporate sponsorships or advertising.

Zoom out: Marketecture isn’t aiming to break news, but to provide an alternative to the vendor-review industry—publishers like G2.com, or market research firms like Gartner and Forrester—which are primarily used as lead generators.

“Journalists cover things when they’re exciting, when there’s news, and that’s very helpful, but it’s not on the schedule that a buyer needs,” said Paparo. “A buyer needs to know right now, ‘I’m looking at these five vendors, and I want to understand everything about these five vendors.’”—RB

Earlier this month, Politico reported that the Supreme Court intends to overturn Roe v. Wade, per a leaked draft opinion. Since then, companies and agencies have remained mostly silent.

Some companies have made statements in support of the right to choose, joined campaigns, or pledged to help employees pay for travel if they reside in a state that bans abortion. Some agencies have encouraged clients to avoid talking about the issue altogether.

With the decision likely to be released within the next two months, according to Politico, we want to know how you think agencies and brands should be responding. Click here to take our anonymous survey and let us know what you think.

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Poolside FM: Find out more about that sunscreen-brand radio station we mentioned up top—yes, it’s a DTC branding play. More on that tomorrow .

Burnout: Speaking of (sun)burn, here’s how to avoid burnout as a social media manager…according to a social media manager.

Insta: And speaking of social media, check out the top Instagram Reels trends to try this week.

See who’s watching : Even as audience viewing habits evolve and content styles shift, Nielsen’s audience-first media measurement counts every view, everywhere. It’s accurate, it’s reliable, and it’s pretty darn essential. Learn more here.*

Dive deep: Read about the rapidly evolving streaming space in Marketing Brew’s new hub, sponsored by Hulu Ad Manager. The latest article just dropped—find it here.

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

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Nothing better than extra sunshine, per this 1951 ad.

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• Shoppable ads keep coming–but do viewers want them?
• Marketers experimenting with Reels are figuring out how to drive lower-funnel results
• During upfronts week, new research sheds light on representation on-screen