Why Cinemark is testing an industry-first brand campaign

A film buff could probably rattle off their favorite movie trailers without much effort—but could they name their top movie theater trailer? And no, the in-theater AMC ad starring Nicole Kidman doesn’t count!

Outside of the physical cinema itself, where perks of membership or a message about the theater chain may be promoted to theatergoers during the previews, it’s rare for theater brands to advertise much. That seems to be changing: Cinemark recently unveiled its first-ever brand campaign, in an effort that Global Chief Marketing and Content Officer Wanda Gierhart Fearing said aimed to show off the “unique value proposition” that the brand offers.

“Historically, exhibitors have always marketed the film,” Gierhart Fearing told Marketing Brew. “Consumers have been somewhat brand-agnostic in the past, in movie heyday time. Now, we believe, because we’ve been really working on our differentiated experience at Cinemark, we want to promote overall moviegoing and the joy of all of that experience that you get for a great night out.”

The main spot in the campaign, called “It’s Show Time,” shows off Cinemark staff putting together the moviegoing experience while highlighting amenities like cushy seats, big screens, and unexpected concession combos. The ad, which comes in at just under a minute, is part of a broader campaign rolling out in test markets across linear television, CTV, social media, and OOH, with plans to bring it national in 2026. Gierhart Fearing said that she’s hoping the campaign will underscore the emotional experience of moviegoing as audiences continue to look for reasons to leave their living rooms.

“Coming out of Covid, we really watched people wanting to get back out of the home,” she said. “Knowing that that was part of what was coming back to culture, [we wanted to] bring that to life in a big way.”

TV-to-movie pipeline

Cinemark rolled out the “It’s Show Time” campaign in nine test markets, which Gierhart Fearing said were chosen based on “budget and affordability of media,” along with the goal of having the markets be somewhat representative of the national market. Because of the novelty of a campaign for a theater chain itself, testing was a key part of the strategy to determine the media mix, she said.

One lesson she’s hoping to learn from the test phase is how important linear and CTV ad buys will be, especially considering that the channel is historically important for studios’ movie campaigns. (According to data from iSpot, none of the three biggest theater brands—AMC, Regal, and Cinemark—had advertised on linear TV or streaming this year.) And while AMC and Cinemark have both pulled in millions of eyeballs on their social media accounts, only a portion of those views were directed at theater services (like popcorn) rather than film titles: 21.7% for AMC and 7.5% for Cinemark, according to data from Tubular Labs.

“There’s many industries where it works, and there’s many industries where it doesn’t,” Gierhart Fearing said of the TV ad space.

To try to make it work, Cinemark is targeting what Gierhart Fearing calls “the movable middle”: an audience of moviegoers who visit the theater between one and six times a year. For these once-in-a-while theatergoers, the campaign’s emphasis on amenities they can’t (easily) get at home is designed to convince them to choose Cinemark over their own couches.

Meanwhile, Cinemark also views Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences as another opportunity. A 2024 report from The National Association of Theatre Owners found that 90% of Gen Z see at least one movie in theaters a year, and Gierhart Fearing said she is looking toward educating Gen Alpha on elevated in-theater experiences, too.

“There’s Gen Alphas who were raised at home watching streaming and their phones, and they’ve never really had those big out-of-home experiences,” she said.

Get cozy

Communicating the Cinemark experience meant not only spotlighting what movie lovers expect from the theater, but also emphasizing how customers’ engagement with the environment has changed.

In the main spot, customer-made snack combos, like popcorn mixed with candy or jalapenos, feature in the food and beverage offerings, while a social asset invites theatergoers to come to the movies proudly in their pajamas and “snack like no one’s watching.” Emphasizing these personal elements is how Cinemark hopes to encourage people to express themselves in its theaters, David Hohman, VP of creative, told us.

“Come as you are and be comfortable here and enjoy this experience,” Hohman said. “That’s something that we haven’t yet seen in our industry. We haven’t seen those expressions of those moments, and allowing people to show up and be themselves. So we love that. We embrace that.”