For over a decade, BR|PR played a pivotal role in the unparalleled success of movie exhibitor Loews Cineplex Entertainment (now AMC). We launched all new marketing programs and opened multiple movie theaters in New York, including Sony Theaters Lincoln Square, where our campaign broke attendance records for the 100-year-old company.
Two BR|PR launches are below.
Reel Moms
Fandango
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Objectives
An example of the many marketing platforms we successfully launched for Loews Cineplex was “Reel Moms,” an innovative weekly film series launched in New York.
The film series, first tested in New York City, offered new parents and caregivers a chance to see first-run adult movies in designated movie theaters and bring their babies with them – without disturbing fellow moviegoers. Every week hundreds of strollers were parked in a Loews Cineplex theater lobby in NY, the soundtrack volume was lowered so as not to wake the tots, lights were left on in the theater and plenty of diaper-changing areas were made available.
Results
Our PR campaign helped Loews Cineplex develop significant revenue streams from empty theatres during the day.
“Reel Moms” become a huge success, attracted sponsors such as Urbanbaby.com and expanded to over 28 top markets nationwide. BRPR helped build the Loews brand as an innovator and attracted an entirely new, and lucrative, audience.
We secured top-tier media stories including The New York Times, The New York Post, Bloomberg, Variety, Washington Post, The Today Show, Associated Press and Reuters, CBS Evening News, NBC Evening News, Newsweek, as well as ongoing media in local markets.
Studios took note of the taste making potential of the mom demographic and began to book films specifically for “Reel Moms”. The media coverage was so extensive and positive that other theatrical exhibitors followed Loews’ lead and launched similar programs.
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Objectives
Launched the groundbreaking movie ticketing service Fandango for Loews Cineplex Entertainment (now AMC Theatres). Loews Cineplex’s goal was an industry first – to encourage consumers to purchase and print film tickets from their computers (in the pre-smartphone era) through a unique partnership with the start-up Fandango.com. Since New York City was the first market to test the viability of the program, securing local as well as national media exposure was critical.Approach
Our goal was to reach potential moviegoers in the New York area through saturation of all available media. To tell what was a new concept, we did what few PR agencies do – we supplemented the press release by providing TV outlets with a Video Electronic Press Kit (EPK) that we created. We filmed the entire process, from computer log-on to walking into the theater, by-passing people waiting on long lines to purchase tickets, and entering the auditorium.
Results
Our EPK allowed us to directly influence the telling of Loews Cineplex’s experiment in movie ticket buying. We achieved complete saturation of the NY market.
We secured coverage in all the NY newspapers. All five New York TV networks aired stories on their news programs using our video. National coverage CNN, Entertainment Tonight and CNBC; even David Letterman heard the buzz and talked about Fandango on his talk show.
Fandango took off nationwide. We helped turn a start-up into a national sensation and industry leader.
