Boxoffice - May 2016

their data without losing control of it. Studios have always
wanted to interact directly with moviegoers, but
that relationship has always primarily existed between
the exhibitor and the moviegoer. Movio Media gives
the studio a chance to see the campaign and notify an
exhibitor with a specific message for a film without
having to go with a specific message to each individual
cinema; it’s all done in one central place. I think we’ve
done 24 films for the major studios over the last six or
seven months and paid part of the revenue back to the
cinema chains. It’s still very much in the early days,
but so far it’s been very exciting and successful.
What is your advice for exhibitors that haven’t
yet devised a data strategy?
The first thing they have to do is keep their data
in order. You start by collecting data, something every
major chain now has. You need to start by finding
some way of collecting data and information about
individual customers. Regal and AMC have had these
systems for a long time but others haven’t. By now
every cinema chain has realized that they have two key
assets: one is brick and mortar (where they run their
cinemas), and the other is the data they have on their
customer base. They’re both uniquely theirs and can
help each other grow simultaneously: building more
cinemas by growing their customer database. Once
they’ve got that database they need to start working to
commercialize it in a way that doesn’t negatively affect
the consumer. You need to use it to get the right message
to the right person at the right time. Our concept
is that all communications still run through a cinema’s
program, so when you receive a communication that’s
coming from a client, that data must always remain in
the ownership and control of the cinema. As soon as
they give it away, they lose control of it; it’s really important
for them to retain ownership of that information.
Movio has created a vehicle where we can set up
a campaign, do a deal with a studio, and get the right
offer to the right people, but it’s all executed through
the individual cinema’s programs. I think those are the
key things: building their own database, getting key
points that have ROI value, and then commercializing
that data in a way they can gain value from. If you just
give your database to a VOD company, guess what’s
going to happen in the future?
What do you anticipate will be the biggest
change in the industry derived from big data?
The biggest change will be accelerating the ticket
purchasing process by creating online ways for mobile
transactions. Mobile will be key to the next stage
of the cinema evolution. I was just in China, and
there’s been a huge step forward in mobile ticketing
there, and that will continue to gain importance for
a number of reasons. One: it’s convenient; customers
can transact quicker. And two, it enables you to capture
all the data information you need to capture a
consumer’s purchase behavior—which is a lot harder
to do from a point-of-sale. That’s why I think the way
that cinemas approach their mobile strategy will be
the biggest change we’re going to see. And once we
see all this data coming in, a number of new things
will come from it. It’s not just marketing that will
change, it’s also the programming of films because
you’ll be able to measure interest in different films
ahead of their release, allowing exhibitors to come
up with scheduling that matches their programming.
Many of these operational tasks will be drawn from
the data and information coming in. Automated
mobile ticketing will be that big change we’re going
to see in the next three years. If you look at China, it
looks like they’re already paving the way for the rest
of us in this matter. n
Movio Media aggregates
moviegoer data to provide
you with audience insights as
well as highly-targeted, costeffective
campaign solutions.
Download the Movio
Overview PDF or request a
demo at Movio.com.
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