| Industry | Cinema Advertising |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Key people | Simon Rees (Managing Director), Jeremy Playle (Commercial Director), Sarah Cratchley (Director of Research & Insight) |
| Owner(s) | Cineworld Group plc (50%), Odeon Cinemas Ltd (50%) |
Digital Cinema Media is an advertising company first formed in July 2008 by Cineworld Group plc and Odeon Cinemas Ltd. The firm supplies cinema advertisements to both of the company's cinema chains.
Recently, Vue signed a deal that saw the chain join the DCM brand from January 1, 2011. The deal now makes DCM the most profitable cinema advertising firm in Europe, supplying advertisements for nearly 90% of cinemas in the UK.
In 1996, Carlton Screen Advertising was created by Carlton Communications on their purchase of the cinema advertising company Rank Screen Advertising from the Rank Group, which supplied cinema advertising for Odeon, Cineworld and then ABC and UCI cinemas before the resepctive takeovers by Odeon. Following its buyout of Virgin Cinemas in 1999, UGC joined the group before its UK business was taken over by Cineworld in 2004.
In July 2008, Cineworld Group plc and Odeon Cinemas Ltd acquired the company as a 50-50 joint venture. Its name was subsequently changed to Digital Cinema Media (DCM) for the company's UK sites. The new look and identity first came into force on October 1, 2008. The Republic of Ireland sites continue to use the Carlton name. In April 2011, DCM changed their on-screen identity for the second time.
Following the current trend of the latest films becoming available in digital 3D, DCM announced plans to go down that route with advertising. In December 2009, the hugely popular film Avatar was the first film in Britain to be coupled with a 3D advertising reel.
Each film that is released in 3D now comes with a selection of advertising spots in that format. These adverts are shown after the regular 2D reel, interluded with a sponsored message, informing the audience that they must now put on their 3D glasses to enable the chance to view the following adverts in 3D.