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When I wrote the topic on "How to run a successful single screen theatre", one of the subjects that I spoke about was advertising and promotion. I think that we all agree that the internet is the most important form of advertising available today, but we shouldn't totally count out newspapers, at least not yet. The daily newspaper industry has shot themselves in the foot with the exorbitant rates that they charge which makes it almost impossible for theatres, and many other small business’ to afford such advertising. However, I still believe that weekly newspapers can serve us well as they are reasonably priced, and fill a void left by the dailies and the internet whereas they cover local news that can't be found at the other sources.

It's important though to design newspaper ads so they stand out in a way that they don’t become lost among the other ads. If the paper has several theatres advertising and they put all the movie ads together on the same page along with other entertainment establishments creating an arts page, all the better, but if you’re the only movie ad and are just dropped in between all sorts of other types of business’, you need to make your ad, regardless of size, totally different so that it stands out and grabs attention.

While running an ad larger then a 1 col. inch is unaffordable for most in a daily, the weekly should allow you to place a larger ad, such as a 1 x 4 or 1 x 6, or even a 2 x 4 or more. Sizes such as this, while large enough to be seen, also give you enough room to design an ad that can help SELL both the movie and the theatre.

Always remember the rule of the 4 Ws. What, When, Where and Why. The first 3 must be in every ad, and the 4th if there is room to do so. What… the movie, Where… the theatre, When… the showtimes, and Why… the stars, descriptive copy about the movie, parking, air conditioning, prices etc., etc. Don’t make a box ad and place all the information within in one typeface and size. It won’t attract any attention. Use artwork provided by the studio whenever possible, or at least the official logo for the title. Use interesting borders, boxes and circles for various components of the ad. Place some copy on an angle so that it’s different than anyone else’ ad on the page.

Try and design an ad or a series of ad shells that reflect the character of your theatre. Since I have restored my theatre to its original 1933 appearance, I design all of my ads to look like they came from that period. Believe me when I say that ads designed as though they came from the 1930s… do stand out.
Try to be as creative as possible. Today with computers and photoshop, it isn’t difficult to make eye catching newspaper ads. It can be a lot of fun as well. There have been quite a few books published over the years on movie advertising. I’m sure they can be found doing a little research on the internet.

I spend an hour or two each week making up my ads. The following link shows some of the ads that I have used recently. Ads such as these, even though only 1 col. x 5 in. really stand out on the newspaper page.

www.flickr.com/photos/61967621@N04/5676911696/

those are really cool, Roxy. I think I'll give mine a once over and see what I can do to dress mine up.

I agree. Those ads should stand out. I had my ads done using mostly reverse printing (white on a black background). I see that Roxie uses some of that technique among others. I also always had my theater's graphic logo of a rearing horse leaning against a shield/crest with the theater's name included at the top of every ad (also in reverse printing). It was unique and recognizeable. You could find it on the page with just a glance, even though my ads were only 1x4.

anyone wants to know what it takes to succeed should only spend time listening to Roxy. Those are really cool ads! Great creative work, Roxy.

Here is what I came up with. Not as cool as Roxy's but I think they're an improvement. I'll keep refining them each week to make them fresh

wow, great job!

leeler,

That's a great lookin ad, and I bet you had fun making it. Each time you do it, it will become easier. Soon, you'll look forward to making your ads each week.

I agree that newspaper advertising is frustrating due to the attitude of many of them. It took months to get our paper to consistently place our ads next to the other theater ads. For the past 6 mos they have gotten it right after I told them I would not pay for the ad. There were time when we would be column 1 when the rest would be in column 5 & 6.

We currently only do Fri & Sat. We may do Sundays when the peak season hits. No other theater advertises Mon-thurs.

My wife does our ads and I believe she does a fine job.

Nice and very helpful tips, but what do u do when ur competition is using a full coloured page for their adverts!?