Boxoffice Pro - February 2020

were interested six, eight months ago
have actually signed up. We think that’s
a pretty great conversion ratio.”
Starting with a beta test limited to
a certain number of subscribers, Loeks
explains, was the right call for Studio
C because “we have a belief about a frequency
that’s somewhere between two
and three visits a month that creates
value for the guests and also makes the
model work for us.” There will always
be guests, he acknowledges, who “beat
the system” by using their subscription
service at a much higher-than-average
rate. But, “for us, even if we lose money
on the ticket side of things, because
we’re drawing them in more often, on
the average we’ll make it back up on
the food side of our operation. It’s a little
bit of a gamble. A calculated wager.
… But, on the average, it will be a net
positive for us.”
All told, Loeks explains, Studio C is
taking a “fairly conservative” approach
to entering the subscription landscape,
all with the goal of “ensur[ing] we’re
launching something that we can sustain,
that we can continue to support,
that we can allow our guests to continue
to depend on.” This careful consideration
is what caused the delayed launch
of the program, which Loeks initially
wanted to get off the ground in August.
A November bow gave Studio C time
to make sure the technology behind C
Rewards VIP would provide the best
possible experience.
As of press time, not much subscription
data has come in, Loeks says.
“At this point, what we’re particularly
focused on is the mechanics of the guest
experience and making sure that that’s
relatively seamless for the guests. That
it’s not clunky and cumbersome. …
And that’s been very smooth. It took us
many months longer than we wanted to
be ready to launch because of that! But
it has gone very well and been very well
received by the subscribers that have
signed up.”
Part of C Reward’s VIP beta launch,
of course, is soliciting customer feedback,
which Studio C will then use to
reevaluate its program down the line
and potentially add more features, as
well as expand the program past beta
later this year. “The ability to, essentially,
purchase multiple subscriptions on
the same account”—say, for a couple
who goes to the movies every week—is
proving a popular request. “We do
intend to roll that out in maybe the
second quarter of 2020.”
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