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Topic: 2 screen or smaller theatre

Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003

posted 09-11-2006 12:47 PM

Kara,

I've sent you an E-Mail with an offer to help. For a couple of bucks a week, there's some things that can be done to increase your theater's awareness level, and that can lead to improving your theater's web site as well.

But definitely take advantage of the publicity opportunities that are out there. Having a myspace page is only going to appeal to a certain audience, and the theater's web site really needs to communicate the showtimes, ticket prices, and other important details over everything else.

The impression people get online is one of the factors they're going to use to determine if they want to visit your theater (which is the ultimate goal of your operation). There are many obstructions to that goal at this time, and clearing them out will help tremendously.

Depending on your audience, the newspaper advertising may be a waste of money. I know of a few theaters in Michigan that skip the newspaper altogether because the value just isn't there. Unless you're in an area that resists picking up the phone or going online for your showtimes and information, the money spent on print ads could be put back into the theater or into other media.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-11-2006 12:52 PM

On newspaper advertising: It depends on the movie. If the show appeals to teens, probably 90% of the awareness comes from the internet, trailers, and marquee. If it's an adult movie, such as "Million Dollar Baby," a much larger part of our audience finds out the showtimes by looking in the paper. The key is having an ad that is easy to read, and always in the same spot on the same page if possible. Our ad is always on page 3 above the fold, which I think is the perfect place for an ad.

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Matt Fields
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 545
From: Ohio, United States
Registered: Jun 2005

posted 09-11-2006 09:38 PM

Here's my newspaper advertising story:

A couple of years ago, I advertised in the local papers. I would design the ad and e-mail it to the papers.

One week I screwed up and put the wrong times in for one of the movies.

Friday and Saturday rolled around and everything went fine.

Sunday afternoon, a lady comes in for the movie 20 minutes late. The movie had already started. She told me that was the time in the paper. I apologized and gave her a pass even though I thought she just misread the ad since no one else came at the wrong time.

Just to make sure, I checked the paper and all of the showtimes were wrong and the times in the paper were later then the actual showtimes.

No one was reading the ad since no one besides this lady came at the later time.

I have never advertised with either paper since and seen no decrease in business.

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Kara Tillotson
Film Handler

Posts: 87
From: Manistee Mi
Registered: Jul 2006

posted 09-17-2006 06:11 PM

our newspaper is run by idiots. They could make multiple errors in one sentence. I was thinking of us advertising the ice cream thing there though....
just fro fun...go to the geocities website....I found an art decoy layout and tweaked some stuff.

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Ron Curran
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 504
From: Springwood NSW Australia
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 09-17-2006 07:24 PM

If you send complete material or at least a word file to the paper you can retain some control over the outcome.

It is a good thing to have your local media on side. Make the effort to meet and speak with them. They need you and you need them.

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 09-17-2006 07:27 PM

Our paper limits liability for insertion errors to the cost of the screwed-up ad... which doesn't help much on Friday, when they can't fix the problem until the next Monday or Tuesday.

To get around most of that, we started doing our own ad. We make it up in Pagemaker, then export it to PDF and email it to the paper. All they have to do is get it inserted... which they do... usually.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-17-2006 09:50 PM

That's exactly what I do. (Pagemaker, PDF, e-mail.) Our ads look better than most of the paper's homegrown ads.

Agreed wholeheartedly with Ron that it's good to have the media on your side. I don't know how much free advertising we've gotten from "news" stories about things happening at the theatre, but it's a lot.

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