Seniors offer audience potential for UK cinemas
Britain's cinema owners need to work harder to persuade older consumers away from their TVs and enjoy the big screen experience.
Senioragency UK managing director Dick Lumsden, speaking at the UK Cinema Industry annual conference at BAFTA in London's Piccadilly, said the vast majority of seniors have turned away from the cinema in recent years and have been largely ignored in the marketing mix.
But he told delegates that they should consider the sector as a major revenue opportunity as we go through the current recession. Senior consumers - particularly those aged between 50 and 65 - have a proportionately higher disposable income than the younger age groups and, through sheer volume of numbers, could be the sector which fills empty seats during the economic downturn.
He said: "Traditionally, the most active audience has been the 15-24 year old sector, and research shows that only five per cent of 55+ consumers are regular cinema goers.
"But there are now 21 million 50+ consumers in the UK - and many of them could be persuaded to visit the cinema more regularly if cinema owners address their concerns and reasons for not turning up.
"Our own research identifies a list of prejudices, including lack of time, lack of choice or preferring to watch movies on TV, cost, and the perception that the cinema ambience will be noisy, uncomfortable and unwelcoming."
Lumsden said: "Some of these concerns are just plain wrong, and by addressing them directly through targeted marketing, the potential to increase the number and frequency of cinema visits is huge - unlike in the 15-24 age group where the desire is already there, but their visiting pattern is limited by a lack of disposable income."