Bite-sized vertical storytelling is heading to the big screen, kinda.
National CineMedia (NCM), the company behind pre-show ads and programming at movie theaters nationwide, has inked a partnership with the microdramas company aTwist to advertise the studio’s verticals and create bespoke branded content, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Starting this summer, NCM and aTwist will be presenting previews of the latter company’s microdramas during the pre-show of movies, concluding with a QR code that will direct viewers to the aTwist platform. In addition, aTwist, which was founded by Hollywood veterans Jana Winograde, Susan Rovner and Lloyd Braun, will produce ads for brand partners that will show in theaters and on the aTwist app. As part of the partnership, NCM and aTwist will additionally work on inking sponsorships for the vertical studios’ series.
Perhaps best known for their seemingly ubiquitous “Noovie” program hosted by Maria Menounos, National CineMedia runs its pre-show programming across more than 1,650 movie theaters across the U.S., totaling more than 18,500 screens. The company partners with mega-chains including AMC, Cinemark and Regal.
“Movie theaters have always been where people go to lose themselves in storytelling,” NCM chief revenue officer Mike Rosen said in a statement. “This partnership brings new, exciting content to the pre-show experience, and gives brands the opportunity to speak more authentically to an audience that is naturally drawn to compelling, innovative content.”
For aTwist, the deal will expose their brand — which is set to launch late this summer — to some captive moviegoers; at least, the ones not in line for popcorn. The company is starting up in a crowded field filled with both established players like ReelShort and DramaBox and loud upstarts (such as GammaTime, from fellow Hollywood veteran Bill Block). aTwist execs are clearly thinking about how to distinguish their company beyond its promise to bring traditional Hollywood storytelling value to the existing verticals business model.
“We built aTwist around the belief that great storytelling should meet audiences wherever they are,” aTwist CEO Winograde, the former president of Showtime, said in a statement. “There is no better partner than NCM to introduce microseries to moviegoers and bring our storytelling into one of the most immersive entertainment environments. This partnership highlights the unique ways brands can engage audiences through the emerging microseries storytelling format.”
The partnership is yet another example of brands’ wholehearted embrace of microseries as a new way to promote their offerings. Advertisers have gotten excited about the possibilities of using the storytelling format to hawk products in entertaining ways: Think the Marc Jacobs microdrama-slash-ad written by and starring Rachel Sennott, or the Crocs verticals Deja Shoe and Charmed to Meet You. In addition to blue-chip brands making their own microdramas, some companies, like fast-fashion brand Shein, are also diving into product placement in these often soapy series.
