World premiere: Cinema advertising goes programmatic

Weischer.Cinema introduces Programmatic Cinema. With this, Germany becomes the first country globally where cinema advertising can be booked and delivered programmatically. This new technology offerings is provided by the programmatic specialist Virtual Minds.

Hamburg, June 29, 2022 – Cinema advertising is now also available to be booked programmatically: Weischer.Cinema, the leading cinema advertising marketer in the DACH region, is launching Programmatic Cinema on July 1. This will allow for cinema-goers in Germany to be reached through programmatically delivered spots, which is not only an evolutionary step in cinema advertising but also a world premiere: Germany is the first country to provide automated booking and delivery for cinema advertising.

For advertisers, this form of targeted communication opens up new possibilities. Previously, they could already flexibly schedule their spots based on film, location, day, and time. Now, they can enrich and refine this segmentation with data from the programmatic ecosystem. Advertisers can model their target audiences using a mix of static and dynamic data and deliver their spots accordingly. Weischer.Cinema provides the necessary technical infrastructure for the playout side and supplies the ad server. Virtual Minds, a leading European programmatic technology provider, serves as a strategic partner by offering platforms for automated, data-driven media trading. The programmatic purchasing is done through the Active Agent Omnichannel DSP, which has exclusive access to cinema inventory in Germany. The provision of advertising space is handled through the Omnichannel SSP from Yieldlab, specializing particularly in yield-optimized marketing of moving image inventory on the big screen.

“In recent years, we have professionalized and streamlined the booking of cinema advertising to a high degree. In addition to scheduling based on film, location, day, and time, we are now introducing programmatic capabilities to cinema,” says Stefan Kuhlow, CEO of Weischer.Cinema. “We combine the best advertising effectiveness with the fairest billing model, making it easy to plan and book analogously to online media.” Programmatic Guaranteed Deals with pre-targeting will be possible from July 1. In a further expansion phase, auction-based purchasing logics will be possible at a later date.

Weischer.Cinema expects that Programmatic Cinema will attract new customer groups, especially those investing predominantly in programmatic multichannel communication. Access to the cinema screen is now significantly facilitated for them. The interest is substantial, with several test clients already on board at the launch.

“With its super-plus-size screen and its special, unparalleled media usage situation, cinema is one of the most exciting moving image advertising media,” explains Dirk von Borstel, CEO of Virtual Minds. “Whether standalone, in cross-screen campaigns, or in multi- or omnichannel concepts: Connecting Cinema to the programmatic ecosystem significantly multiplies communication possibilities for the advertising industry based on efficient digital booking logics. We are very excited to embark on the programmatic future of cinema advertising together with Weischer.Cinema.”