n a desperate bid to reach the oft elusive but cash-strapped college students, some advertisers are sponsoring free movies on campus. Advertisers sponsor movie showings on college campuses as a vehicle to reach students during their leisure time. The message is plastered on pre-event publicity and at the venue. Some of these movies are beamed just prior to their release.

Some analysts believe cult movies are good targets for this type of screening. Posters, fliers, street teams and ads in campus publications, print and online ads, are used to publicise the movies. Ads appear on campus a week or two prior to the screening. Some advertising programmes built around these free movies have the option of product demonstration and sampling. Even tickets are branded.... more