Screen Advertising
Advertising on the screen brings your message to the many people who patronize the Colonial and understand the importance of supporting local business. The Colonial is open 358 days a year, and each week, an average of 850 people come to the theatre to see one of our 12 film screenings and our increasingly popular live performances. As our programming continues to expand, we will continue to draw new and larger audiences. Click here to download information about screen advertising.
So how does it work?
Thanks to a generous grant from The William Penn Foundation, we now run the slide show using a digital projector and PowerPoint; and the slides look fantastic! The colors are much brighter and more vivid than before, and we can now run animated slides as well! Another benefit to using PowerPoint is that we can add new slides or make changes to existing slides in a matter of minutes, rather than days.
The slide show runs for 30 minutes before every film and live performance. The show includes about 60 slides and each slide is on screen for 10 seconds at a time, so your ad will appear approximately three times before each film or performance. We also encourage our screen advertisers to provide business cards, flyers or other materials for patrons to pick up in our lobby.
What does it cost?
The first slide costs $80 per month. If you can make a commitment of six months or more, you will receive a 15% discount ($408), and for a commitment of a year or more, you will receive a 20% discount ($768). Additional slides, running simultaneously, are $40 per month.
Can you design a slide for me?
We are now offering enhanced design services to make sure that you get a great looking slide up on the screen! Just give us some direction about the message you want to communicate and send us any existing artwork (a logo, graphic or photo, for example) that you would like us to use and we’ll take it from there. You can email these files to kirsten@thecolonialtheatre.com. We’ll work on your slide and email you a design for approval within two weeks. Design services are priced as follows:
- Basic still slide design: $80
- Copywriting: Add $30
- Animation: Add $40
- Photography: Add $40
What do I need to know to design my own slide?
Each slide is on the screen for about 10 seconds, so it is important to think about a message and design that registers with the viewer quickly. Also, the slides are imaged horizontally, not vertically, so you should start with a landscape page layout rather than a portrait page layout. Ideally, the size of your slide should be 10” wide by 7.5” high. Generally a darker background and lighter text looks best (a white background with black text does not translate very well when projected on the big screen). We can accept the following formats: Microsoft PowerPoint, pdf, and jpg. Just email your file to kirsten at thecolonialtheatre dot com and we’ll start running your ad as soon as we receive payment.
When do you need my payment?
We need to receive your payment in advance. We cannot design or run your slide without receiving payment first. We're happy to set up a payment plan if you sign up for six months or more of screen advertising.
We're now accepting credit cards for screen advertising, membership renewal, annual appeal contributions, and ticket purchases to select events. We're using Click & Pledge, a simple and secure site that works with non-profits to process credit card transactions. Click here to go to Click & Pledge.com.
If you prefer to pay by check, please scroll to the bottom of this page and click on the link to download information. Then, fill out the included form and send along with your check made payable to: The Association for the Colonial Theatre (ACT), PO Box 712, Phoenixville, PA 19460.
Who do I call if I have more questions?
Please call Kirsten Van Vlandren, our Assistant Director, at (610) 917-1228 or email her at kirsten at thecolonialtheatre dot com.
Click here to download information about screen advertising.