Firm Is Hitching Movie Trailers to Local Mall

Screenzone, a start-up company from New Jersey, is bringing movie trailers to shopping malls.

Friday at Torrance’s Del Amo Fashion Center, a 4-by-8-foot screen located near Warner Bros. Studio Store and Suncoast Video will start showing movie trailers to thousands of shoppers. The venture is the first of dozens planned by South Orange, N.J.-based Screenzone.

There would appear to be good prospects for a medium that targets moviegoers at the point of purchase--malls that contain movie theaters. Del Amo is home to both Mann and United Artists theaters. Last year, $19.2 million was spent to advertise the average studio film, according to the Motion Picture Assn. of America. That amount has nearly doubled in the last seven years.

“The majority of the studios’ money goes to broadcast television. We’re trying to offer a more effective way to advertise; [Screenzone] is a lot closer to the decision-making point,” said Gary Leeds, chairman and chief executive of Screenzone.

Screenzone features two large screens (one on each side of the unit), which will show continuous trailers and ads for videos and soundtracks. Closer to the base of the unit are six smaller screens--three on each side--from which visitors can get interactive information on films and show times. Screenzone plans to soon add a credit card ticket-purchasing capability.

“We’ve taken the studios’ very best marketing vehicle--trailers--and made it more powerful,” Leeds said. “We’re not just an [ad vehicle], we’re an attraction.”

Screenzone is yet another example of how studios are using unconventional means to advertise their movies. Studios have placed stickers touting new releases on fruit sold in supermarkets, and pitched movies on ATM screens in 7-Eleven stores.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has linked up with Screenzone to give away screening passes to its upcoming “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer” at Del Amo starting Friday. Still, the firm faces an uphill task. Leeds said start-up costs are high. Though he declined to be specific, he said the initial investment by him and a number of other private investors is in the “many millions of dollars.”

Only two of the major studios are on board for Screenzone’s launch: Sony and Universal, along with the smaller PolyGram and Miramax. In an effort to reach out to the studios, Screenzone has named former Sony marketing head Sid Ganis to its advisory board.