Youth audiences essential, cinema study finds

New research by Val Morgan Cinema and Kantar has confirmed cinema is a powerful campaign driver among youth audiences. 

Val Morgan Cinema commissioned Kantar to conduct a study on youth audiences to understand cinema’s ability to deliver on high-value younger demographics. 

The research highlights cinema’s power in the AV mix to build incremental reach and its ability to drive greater efficiency and impact per frequency. 

Essential audience

As today’s trendsetters and tomorrow’s economic powerhouses, youth audiences play a vital role in driving brand growth and successful outcomes. Building on the 2024 Famous research study commissioned independently by Val Morgan Cinema, which highlighted brand fame as a key driver of brand growth, Val Morgan Cinema uncovered another crucial insight: youth audiences are essential. 

The study, conducted through analysis of ad equity metrics from Kantar’s Media Reactions 2024 report and cross-media analysis (drawn from Kantar LIFT+ campaign measurements) results among younger audiences, affirmed cinema’s place and value in the media mix for connecting with youth audiences: 

• Cinema has one of the highest advertising equities among younger audiences, making it a powerful tool for building positive brand perception. Its ability to engage viewers fosters brand affinity and long-term loyalty. 

• Cinema delivers incremental reach and multi-channel synergy amongst youth audiences: 44% of cinema’s reach was incremental to TV 

• 31% was incremental to digital 
• 18% was incremental reach to both TV and digital

• Cinema is one of the most efficient media channels, delivering impact far beyond its budget share, delivering 15% share of campaign impact per person (impact per reach percentage) reached with just 6% of the budget. 

Understanding Gen Z

Sharon Hilton, Head of Media Insights, Kantar says, “The research was crucial in measuring and understanding campaign impact and ad equity perceptions amongst the Gen Z cohort. The insights confirmed that cinema is a powerful campaign driver. Audiences are immersed in a high-quality setting where brand messages can resonate – a catalyst for impactful storytelling and deep audience connections. In an era where engagement is increasingly fragmented, Cinema stands to deliver focused, distraction-free moments, ensuring that brand messages are not only seen but deeply felt, creating lasting impressions for Gen Z.” 

Guy Burbidge, Managing Director of Val Morgan Cinema adds, “Youth audiences have been a bedrock of cinema for many years. The channel offers brands something truly valuable for brands – it’s a curated, deeply engaging, immersive experience that has the highest level of ad equity, attention, and mental availability. The power of the big screen translates into genuine brand outcomes. 

“Over the next few months, the slate is full of golden opportunities for brands to align with and leverage globally recognised IP that will undoubtedly deliver youth audiences, with Thunderbolts* in May and 28 Years Later releasing in June. July will see two massive superhero epics – Superman and Fantastic Four: First Steps release – followed by Freakier Friday in August.” 

Visit https://www.valmorgan.com.au/famous to download the full report. 

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