New Cell Phone Courtesy Public Service Announcement to Run Before
Movies in AMC, Cinemark and Regal Entertainment Group Theatres
Nationwide Starting in October
Sprint (NYSE:S) and National CineMedia (NASDAQ:NCMI), operator of the
largest digital in-theatre network in North America for cinema
advertising, alternative entertainment and events, have entered into an
exclusive, multi-year agreement to promote courtesy in movie theatres
through a series of public service announcements reminding moviegoers to
silence their cell phones and refrain from texting during feature films.
The new Sprint courtesy campaign will be created by Goodby, Silverstein
& Partners in San Francisco and placed through Mindshare/Kinetic in New
York. The spots will be seen on more than 14,300 screens in over 1,100
AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CNK), Inc. and
Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE:RGC) movie theatres –
the three largest theatre operators in the U.S. –
beginning in October 2008.
This multi-year commitment follows Sprint’s
recent cinema success with the Sprint Instinct from Samsung movie-themed
campaign, which included a spot running in National CineMedia’s
FirstLook digital pre-feature program, highlighting a
trailer-style clip promoting Instinct: The Greatest Product-Placement
Movie of All Time, a film that promised "no plot, no romance, just
phone."
“This partnership represents a tremendous
opportunity for Sprint and an exciting extension of our proven success
with cinema,” said Simon McPhillips, Media
Director with Sprint. “Sprint customers enjoy
getting whatever they want whenever they want it via the Now Network,
but theatre audiences everywhere appreciate a courtesy reminder with a
relevant and positive message about appropriate cell phone usage.”
“We are thrilled to have Sprint join NCM as
our exclusive courtesy partner to help us preserve the movie going
experience,” said Cliff Marks, president of
sales and chief marketing officer with National CineMedia. “Cell
phone courtesy continues to be a key priority for our movie theatre
circuits and audiences alike, and people are very receptive to these
types of messages.”
Through its FirstLook digital entertainment and
advertising pre-feature program, Lobby Entertainment Network (LEN) and
other promotional products, National CineMedia provides advertisers with
multiple ways to interact with movie theatre patrons. Designed with the
audience in mind, FirstLook showcases behind-the-scenes
features from A&E Television Networks, Discovery
Communications, NBC, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Turner Broadcasting
System, Universal Studios, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and
Warner Bros. that are rotated between theatres about every two weeks to
help ensure that frequent movie-goers are entertained by fresh content.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline
communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers,
businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for
developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including
two wireless networks serving nearly 53 million customers at the end of
the first quarter 2008; industry-leading mobile data services; instant
national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier
1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
About National CineMedia
National CineMedia (NCM) LLC operates the largest digital in-theatre
network in North America through long-term agreements with its founding
members, AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CNK) and
Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE:RGC), the three largest theatre
operators in the U.S., and through multi-year agreements with several
other theatre operators. NCM LLC produces and distributes its FirstLook
prefeature program; cinema and lobby advertising products; comprehensive
meeting and event services and other entertainment programming content.
NCM LLC's national network includes over 17,000 screens of which over
14,500 are part of the company's Digital Content Network (DCN). NCM
LLC's network covers 170 Designated Market Areas(r) (49 of the top 50).
During 2007, approximately 685 million patrons attended movies shown in
theatres currently included in our network. National CineMedia, Inc.
(NASDAQ:NCMI) owns a 42.3% interest in and is the managing member of NCM
LLC. For additional information, visit www.ncm.com.
National CineMedia
Amy Jane Finnerty, 212-931-8117
amy.finnerty@ncm.com
Lauren
Leff, 303-957-1709
lauren.leff@ncm.com
or
Sprint
Dave
Mellin, 720-840-4788
Dave.Mellin@sprint.com