MovieTickets.com leverages beacons to reach mall shoppers with studio content
Movie ticketing application MovieTickets.com is leveraging mall-based beacons to enable film studios to reach its users with messaging promoting film trailers and ticket purchases.
The digital destination for film fans is partnering with Mobiquity Networks, which powers a leading location-based mobile ad network, to trigger campaigns in mall common areas leveraging beacons. The news reflects how advertisers such as film studios are increasingly looking to reach mobile users in the apps that they use frequently.
?Studios have consistently expressed a view that there is a very strong correlation between mall shoppers and movie-goers,? said Jim Meckley, chief marketing officer at Mobiquity Networks.
?There is also a strong correlation between the locations of our mall network and movie theaters - in fact, there are more than 1,700 unique theaters within a 10 mile radius of our networked malls,? he said.
?The MovieTickets.com app obviously provides the perfect audience segment for studio advertisers, and our network ensures that the messaging potential is maximized by triggering the engagement based on time and location.?
Targeted notifications
When someone with the MovieTickets.com app on their phone walks into one of the participating malls, he or she will receive a targeted notification about new releases on their smartphone with the goal of driving awareness of movie premieres and box-office sales.
The messaging is only triggered for users who have opted-in for local notifications and only if they are near to one of the network?s beacons.
MovieTickets.com expects to announce several movie partnerships soon.
Film fans have embraced apps such as MovieTickets.com to find show times, watch trailers, read reviews and access exclusive content as well as news.
By leveraging mall-based beacons and the MovieTickets.com app, film studios will be able to reach consumers when they are nearby movie theaters at a time when they may be thinking about seeing a film. By providing a link to a movie trailer and the ability to purchase tickets, studios can intersect with consumers at the moment when interest may be high.
Audience crossover
Movie studios have long been mall advertisers because of the crossover they see between mall shoppers and moviegoers.
With a presence in 320 U.S. shopping malls, Mobiquity Networks claims to have the largest shopping mall-based beacon-advertising network in the country.
MovieTickets.com provides advance movie ticketing for 240 theater chains representing more than 28,000 screens worldwide.
?Users of the app will receive a local notification ? equivalent to a push notification ? triggered by proximity to our mall network,? Mr. Meckley said. ?Campaigns will certainly include trailers, ticket purchase and other relevant offers and content - ultimately the location-based engagements will only be limited by the creativity of the studio marketing teams.?
Final Take
Chantal Tode is senior editor on Mobile Marketer, New York