Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Too many posters!

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Posted by Nicholas Simmons (Member # 2489) on 08-05-2004, 11:56 PM:

I have an unusual problem. I am the almighty keeper of the posters at my place of employment and they are sending way to many. We get BOXES, not tubes with about 20 in each of certain releases. It's the Paramount stuff mostly. Stepford Wives, for example, we probably recieved over 100 one-sheets in perhaps 5 or 6 seperate deliveries. I have up 2 max at any time. I have no idea what to do with so many. Even leaving them in the employee lounge I cant get rid of them so I have to throw them away. Is there a purpose to this madness. I wouldnt complain if they sent 100 posters of something interesting and desireable but that has not been the case thus far. Anyone else encounter this?

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 08-06-2004, 02:19 AM:

we get a bunch of Paramount stuff too....but really just accept it, and if you can't give it away, pitch it. You can tell them that you don't need that many, but what if they only send you one the next time? They are good to keep for Employees and/or Customers....especially ones that liked the movie.

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 08-06-2004, 11:01 AM:

I always used to mute the nonsync and run into the auditorium about 5 minutes before the start of the 7:00 run of that particular film on its opening day.

Get up in front of the audience, welcome them to the theater, hoop and holler and make them cheer, then pull out the box of posters from under the screen (rolled up individually), and fling them at the audience in a frenzy.

The people love it, and it's good PR to have a "mini promotion" like that. Even for a stupid movie, people love to get free stuff even if they're gonna toss it themselves on the way out.

When we got boxes of movie tee shirts, (usually only for the BIG movies) after all the employees got theirs, we'd put them on and do the same type of promotion with the plentiful stuff, and then did the "look under your seat for a piece of paper with the movie's logo on it" game for the tee shirts.

With little effort, you could make the movie FUN! [thumbsup]

The problem is for those theaters who use the [insert your favorite remark here] digital preshow, who wouldn't be able to mute or stop it. Basically, the ad companies prevent you from promoting your theater or the film before the show like this. Another opportunity for showmanship lost. [Frown]

=TMP=

Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 08-06-2004, 01:10 PM:

Thomas,
I'd love to ditch the digital slideshow and do that! I'd find out if anybody in the audience had birthdays and get the ushers to do a TGI Friday's style embarassing birthday song [thumbsup]

And yes, Paramount seems to have an arena full of one-sheets that get sent out. We seem to get an awful lot of them on opening weekend [Roll Eyes]

We just put them on our satellite box office counters that don't get used, people can take as many as they'd like.

Posted by Jannette McQueen (Member # 1885) on 08-07-2004, 10:32 PM:

One thing the cinema I used to work at did with old posters was hold a silent auction for charity. They'd rent the galleries in the mall that the cinema was in to display the posters and people put their bids in a barrel beside it along with the number the poster was listed as.

Actually, staff rarely got any posters since they were all saved for the auction which happened for a few weeks in febuary. The way they did it though, you only get rid of one each, so you'd have to do something a little different [Wink]

But I thought it was a brillaint idea anyway.

Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 08-08-2004, 12:21 AM:

That sounds a little fishy, since they're not yours to be selling in the first place. That aside, the silent auction could work to get rid of them, just call up the top 100 bidders and say, "congratulations, you're the high bidder!" No need to tell them that there were a hundred posters! Anyway, my understanding is that the posters can be given away, or destroyed, but not sold. Even for charity.

Posted by Gordon Hedges III (Member # 863) on 08-08-2004, 10:50 PM:

*RANT*

This has been one of the stupidest things I have ever encountered. Shipping hundreds of one-sheets when we only really need at least two for posting. We also received many STEPFORD WIVES posters along with the SPONGEBOB teasers. I could be lucky to just give them away. What about the SKY CAPTAIN posters I received? Two cases of about fifty and they change the opening date!!!! Next comes THREE cases with the new date!! What am I supposed to do with the old ones?
*RANT OVER*

But with the older posters I try to give them to my employees, especially the ones who are going away to college and want to put something up on their walls. Sometimes I even throw in a few Bus Shelters. That should WOW their roommates! The employees know my fairness and how I try to handle the huge demand posters (i.e. AVP, STAR WARS, SPIDERMAN...)

Posted by Andrew Shingleton (Member # 2257) on 08-08-2004, 11:23 PM:

They make really good wrapping paper for christmas and birthdays. With that amount flowing in you'd never need to buy wrapping paper again!

Posted by JC Cowles (Member # 914) on 08-20-2004, 06:23 PM:

There are many uses for old posters. We always used to put a box of old posters out in the lobby with a "Free" sign on them every few months or so to get rid of the ones the employees didn't want. The Paramount ones make pretty colors in a campground fire [Smile]