With the recent trickle of big 3D feature film releases looking set to become the proverbial torrent, Tim Butler, Associate Director at legendary UK screen advertising company Pearl & Dean, examines the exciting implications for the world of entertainment – in UK cinemas and beyond

‘The buzzword in cinema for 2009 has to be 3D. After successful forays in recent years with The Polar Express (2004), Chicken Little (2005), U2 3D, Bolt (both 2008) and 2008’s Journey to the Center of the Earth (which was created specifically as a 3D feature, rather than in 2D and altered for the screen), a real and growing thirst for 3D entertainment now exists within the UK cinema-going public.

‘2009 is shaping up to be a bumper year for 3D, with over 20 major releases scheduled. Films range from the recently launched animated Monsters vs Aliens, which was screened in 3D in over a quarter of cinemas nationwide on release, to James Cameron’s hotly anticipated return with the sci-fi opus Avatar, which hits the screens towards the end of the year. Already this year we have seen My Bloody Valentine, and more recently Coraline, which have had astounding box office results, clearly as a direct result of this new and improved format.’

Major investment
‘It’s no longer about ‘gimmicks’: real 3D filmmakers are interested in creating something that pulls the viewer into the experience, not just including a few ‘jump out of the screen’ moments. This resurgence of a film technology, which had long been consigned to the bargain bucket, allied to B-movies and 70s horror sequels, is undoubtedly down to considerable investment in associated technology by cinema chains seeking to develop and deepen the cinema experience.

‘Each of the major cinema chains in the UK, Odeon, Vue and Cineworld, is committed to introducing 3D capacity in their cinemas across the UK throughout 2009. By so doing, they are making the medium much more accessible to much wider audiences. UK exhibitors not investing in this innovation will simply miss out on the box-office opportunity that the new format provides.

‘This investment – in conjunction with major film producers like Disney and Warner Bros producing 3D versions of Toy Story, Bolt and certain scenes in the Harry Potter series, respectively – has also assisted in bringing modern 3D cinema to the masses. Equally, as Jeffrey Katzenberg, president of DreamWorks Animation, recently noted in an interview with CNN, 3D films cannot be illegally recorded with a camera from the stalls – undoubtedly a major attraction for an industry increasingly frustrated by film piracy.’

New 3D experiences
‘The first foray into 3D cinema advertising came in 2007, with an ad produced specially to promote the Red Bull Air Race. The three-dimensional element allowed the brand to convey the excitement, adrenaline and dynamism of the live London air race by truly bringing the experience to life on the big screen for cinema audiences. The commercial appeared on 764 cinema screens across London and the South East. Cinemagoers collected branded glasses before entering the auditorium, and were entertained by a two-minute introduction to air racing before the ad began, taking the viewer though a thrilling, multi-dimensional ride.

‘As the film industry responds to increased demand for 3D experiences in cinema by creating ever more varied and accessible product, the medium is likely to grow and spill over across differing types of cinematic experience. For example, many cinema chains, including Vue, have recently begun screening live events, such as concerts, allowing audiences to share the experience of a music event from the comfort of their local multiplex. Seeing the Genesis concert beamed live from Dusseldorf was a great experience for the viewers, but imagine how it would look in 3D, as if cinemagoers were watching the event from the best front row seat in the house. Vue has even held a live comedy event where cinema audiences could heckle a comedian performing in Liverpool from the relative safety of their cinema seats!

‘This kind of live event can be streamed across multiple channels at the same time. A recent test was performed of a live 3D concert performance by British band Keane. The event was filmed at Abbey Road studios and streamed live to a cinema screen at Vue West End, as well as to a Sky HD channel and to the internet simultaneously. Fans of the band who wanted to watch from their computer screens had been given directions on how to make a set of homemade 3D glasses, so they could experience the full impact of the performance.

‘This multichannel test of the technology worked perfectly across the different channels and has underlined the potential for 3D to work equally well through the medium of the web. At a time when the ‘multimedia schedule’ is key, 3D not only creates an opportunity to connect across multiple touch points by successfully combining cinema, TV and online, but it also does so in a hugely impactful and memorable way.

‘As audiences register their approval of increased 3D output, and this translates into tangible box office figures, it is likely that the 3D cinema experience will develop further, as more brands look to take advantage of the extra dimension it can add to advertising and the experience as a whole.

‘Looking ahead, it doesn’t seem beyond the realms of possibility that film premieres screened online in 3D and/or synchronised performances in 3D will soon be putting film and music fans right at the centre of the action – even from across the other side of the globe.’

While most technology aimed at real estate is focusing on moving to the internet, one California-based direct marketing company is insisting that there is still a need for the human touch

SendPepper, a company that combines web marketing with direct mail, is finding success by offering the direct mail campaigns used by large companies like Amazon to small businesses.

‘As we virtualize all of these services that used to be offered by offices, we are finding that people are looking for that sense that there is someone out there,’ says Landon Ray, CEO of OfficeAutopilot, SendPepper’s parent company.

“There is something much more tangible about having something in your hand and we are finding that there is a demand for it.”

Though maybe part of a rearguard action, SendPepper does unite two of the current trends that are occurring in the real estate market: the use of the web to generate high-value leads, and the recognition of ‘community’.

By using the response rates from targeted and personalized direct mail to direct customers to internet pages, it can then bring them ‘online’ to allow more sophisticated tools to gather information on them.

SendPepper works by linking together interest from the web and offline contact data. Existing paper-based lists are automated and new ones generated. Visitors to a web page generate a record that the system then tracks all the way along the sales cycle, keeping a complete record of web visits and responses to email, which includes phone calls and meetings.

It works by tracking who’s on your site, how long they’re staying, and what pages they’re viewing in real time. Once it has some understanding of you, the system will automatically send follow-up emails, phone calls, or direct mailings at intervals that the realtor specifies. Once set up, SendPepper then automates the process.

‘Imagine visiting a site, looking at a potential property, then receiving a postcard in the mail offering additional details and a personal tour,’ says Ray.

With the debate starting over whether real estate offices will leave their former bricks and mortar to become virtual shadows of their former selves, Ray claims that SendPepper can go some way to solving that.

‘Realtors are famous direct mail users, but in the past it has been batch and blast. Our system changes that by collecting information that then allows you to have a dialogue with your customers.

‘What we aim to do is help you generate a list – and then help you nurture it.’

Ray says that SendPepper does this by noting specific information, such as birthdays and the anniversary of someone moving into a house, then sending out appropriate post cards or emails.

‘Direct mail is a very powerful tool. There has been a slump in its use since the arrival of the web, but now we are seeing it pick up because people are getting very intolerant of their email queues being jammed with junk.’

Ray claims that by sending out personalized cards, tailored to an event, that realtors can show an awareness of their customers that enhances their brand.

The system also offers a personalized landing page system that increases response rates and can be used for particular campaigns.

The glut of properties on the market due to the property slump has put power squarely in the hands of the customer, a change that has been seized on by the commercial real estate broker Choyce Peterson

The firm has launched a radical new website that offers free advice to companies on how to renegotiate their leases and take advantage of the current market conditions.

‘Tenants are now the 800lb gorilla and they actually have a lot of negotiating power,’ said company principal and co-founder Alan Peterson.

‘Up till now it is only large companies that have been able to buy in the expertise to really challenge their leases. The recession has now given all tenants that advantage.’

Current market conditions have seen many companies contracting as they lay off staff – or closing their operations altogether. Those companies downsizing have been seeking either smaller premises or changes to their lease that free them of office space they no longer need – a development that has lead to an inevitable focus on the contracts that they signed in the first place. It is this change that Choyce Peterson is seeking to exploit.

‘Around 90 per cent of people who relocate go through a broker to help them find premises. However, far less than that use a broker to negotiate their leases for them, so we are providing an online checklist for people that allows them to do that,’ said Peterson, adding, that it was now possible to not only get a 20 per cent reduction in rent, but also to get substantial changes in sub-clauses.

‘Some agreements have written into them that a tenant cannot sub-let to a neighbouring company in an office block, which was a clause that put the power into the hands of the owner.

‘Another element that we saw growing was the calculation of square footage to include the lobby and machine and utility rooms. Seeing as everyone in a building shares those facilities it was just a tax that allowed a building’s owners to levy an extra 20 per cent. That can now be negotiated away.’

The move by Choyce Peterson to put information online that might be seen as the ‘bread and butter’ of their business is part of a calculated play by the company to build brand awareness.

It’s a trend that others in the real estate industry are expected to follow suit on. By offering free services such as advice on the local community, information about schools, and the culture and lifestyle of an area, real estate companies will enhance the perception of themselves as an organization.

This associative process is now being used by some of the biggest brands in the world to bolster their image, with companies such as Nike now expected to offer a range of services via mobile phone and internet that will have nothing to do with sports shoes, but which will demonstrate community values, trustworthiness and reliability.

A point not lost on Choyce Peterson. ‘We believe that people coming to the site will view us as experts in the market. Some people will use the free services on the site but we think others will consider the process as too complicated and will see the value in using us to negotiate for them,’ said Peterson.

‘We think that this will raise the bar for the whole industry.’

It is a process that is being gradually embraced by other sectors of the real estate market. Competition for customers is leading to a demand for website differentiation that will enhance customer experience and create brand awareness.

United Lane has not been slow on the uptake. ‘It is one of the reasons for our technology,’ said CEO Aamir Butt. ‘The 3D technology we have developed allows customers to get more out of visiting a site and provides them with a free service that lets them decorate and furnish a property and get some idea of its potential.

‘Being able to do that is good for the realtor because it provides them with leads, and good for the client because it provides them with an enhanced service that they did not have before. That enhanced experience builds trust and reputation for the realtor’s website.’