Val Morgan has announced the results of the largest-commissioned study by the cinema advertising industry, seeking to quantify cinema advertising’s ROI for the first time.

Conducted by AMR Interactive, Val Morgan claims that the study proves cinema advertising increases consumer propensity to buy and drives return on investment for advertisers.

The report found that per media dollar spent, cinema and TV advertising in combination was 36% more effective in driving increased propensity to purchase than TV alone.

Cinema advertising also contributed to positive uplifts in brand measures, with a 66% positive message takeout among those recalling cinema and TV advertising, compared to 59% for those recalling TV alone.

“Previous research has found that cinema enjoys eight times the recall of other broadcast media – but there was nothing to show how it impacts propensity to buy and advertising ROI. Today we have that proof,” said Val Morgan CEO Graeme Yarwood.

The research found that when cinema advertising was added to a TV campaign, there was a three-fold lift in consumers’ propensity to buy, compared to TV alone.

AMR Interactive conducted research among more than 4,000 people across 11 advertising campaigns in a broad range of categories including automotive, telecommunications, alcoholic beverages, finance, fast food and fast moving consumer goods (food, beverage and personal care brands).

Eleven advertising campaigns were tested, each with the same executions on cinema and TV and which were airing concurrently.

“Cinema advertising has an $80 million slice of the advertising pie but we believe this research, along with our record box office this year, demonstrates beyond doubt that cinema deserves a larger commitment from advertisers,” explained Yarwood.

Brand attributes of liking, brand image, advocacy and value rating among those recalling both cinema and TV advertising also outperformed those recalling TV only.

The cinema industry is enjoying a record box office this year, with sales up 20% year on year, buoyed by strong consumer interest in 3D films.