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Welcome to the latest episode of the Marketing Vanguard podcast. Today, Jenny Rooney speaks with Amy Tunick, CMO of National CineMedia (NCM).
Amy shares how NCM positions cinema as “CTV Plus”—offering advertisers guaranteed audiences without bots, fraud, or frequency issues—and discusses the company’s post-pandemic revival.
With experience spanning entertainment, advertising, and media, Amy explains NCM’s approach to engaging audiences throughout the entire moviegoing journey, from pre-show content to in-lobby activations.
She highlights current moviegoing trends, innovative branded content opportunities, and NCM’s unique role as the U.S. representative to Cannes Lions, connecting the entertainment and advertising industries.
“We see cinema as another CTV platform, except we know the butts are in seats and there’s no bots or fraud—it’s a brand-safe environment with no frequency issues,” she says on the podcast.
With a background spanning entertainment, advertising, and media, Amy previously worked at the William Morris Agency, ran Grey Activation PR and Talent at WPP for 15 years, and led CNN’s in-house content studio before joining NCM in August 2021.
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Key takeaways:
[00:00] Cinema as a Premium Advertising Channel — Amy positions cinema as “CTV Plus,” explaining: “We see cinema and that unique environment essentially as another CTV platform, except the difference is we know the butts are in seats, and we know there’s no bots or fraud.”
[02:50] Post-Pandemic Cinema Revival — Amy discusses the challenges and subsequent revival of cinema after Covid: “Covid was tough for everybody, but in particular for the cinema business. There was about a six-month window when literally all the movie theaters were shut down. The good news is we’ve completely bounced back and then some—in December 2021, Spider Man was in theaters and there were more 18- to 34-year-olds that went to that opening weekend than watch the Super Bowl in February.”
[10:44] The Full Moviegoing Experience — Amy highlights how NCM can engage with audiences throughout the entire moviegoing journey: “We have the lobbies and, really, the whole consumer moviegoing journey. The minute the trailer drops and they are anticipating it or they’re buying tickets in advance, we have that data. So we can hit them right when they walk in, whether it’s movie posters, branded concessions, or an actual lounge or other photo activation.”
[12:01] Current Movie Trends — Amy shares insights on current movie trends: “I would say the biggest trend I’ve seen in the last two years is the horror genre. Horror is huge. People don’t wanna be scared on their couch by themselves. They wanna be scared in the theater surrounded by friends or strangers, and it’s not limited to October anymore.”
[18:17] The Cannes Lions Connection — Amy explains NCM’s unique role with Cannes Lions: “NCM also has this unique role as the U.S. representative to Cannes Lions. Being the rep is like an extension of the Cannes Lions marketing team in that particular market. We also run the annual Young Lions competition in the United States, it’s a great way to talk about cinema in the creative community and build different partnerships versus straight media buys.”
[23:26] Bridging Entertainment and Advertising — Amy discusses how brands are becoming content creators: “Brands are absolutely creating their own IP. They are working with directors and writers on different kinds of storytellers. E.l.f. Beauty is a good example of a brand. They produced a 15-minute film, ‘Cosmetics Criminals,’ they did a partnership with us where they ran that film on our screens leading up to the Mean Girls movie. And then they did events and screenings around it, and that’s a great example of brands funding entertainment and then distributing it.”
[25:21] Future Innovations — Amy shares upcoming innovations at NCM: “We’re constantly innovating in our data-driven measurement products and in different ways that we can serve clients specifically in that more performance marketing space.”
