Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Pens

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Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 12-20-2015, 09:49 PM:

I ordered a few hundred pens this year with "Thanks!" and my theatre name, phone number and website printed on them. I've been handing them out to everyone who comes to the show for the past couple of weeks.

Some people just pocket the pen and say nothing about it, but there's a surprising number of people who are absolutely thrilled to get a "free pen".

It's certainly worthwhile to do something like this once in a while. Spreading the good will around!

(And they are really nice pens, too.)

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 12-21-2015, 03:41 PM:

Whoever uses said pen to write you a thank you note for the pen wins.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 12-22-2015, 07:50 AM:

The Avon Cinema in Providence, RI. did this a couple of years ago for their 75th anniversary. I believe that they were similarly well-received by their patrons.

They also had some very nice coffee mugs made that they sell for some reasonable price (about $10, I think) that have line art of the marquee on them as well as the phone number and web site URL. While I am sure that no one is getting rich off of mug sales, the number of purchases has exceeded expectations.

They also had postcards with a picture of the marquee at one point, although I am not sure if they still sell them.

I have suggested refrigerator magnets (the thin, flexible type) as a giveaway item to several theatres, but no one has taken me up on that yet.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 12-22-2015, 08:10 AM:

I have had magnets here for several years. I give them away to anyone who looks like they have never been here before, or anyone who asks "When is whatever movie playing?" The magnet has the website address on it, so I can say "Just check that website for all of the upcoming movie information."

Everyone likes the magnets too. I have had fridge magnet collectors (never knew there was such a thing) come here to request a couple of magnets for their collection, too.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-22-2015, 03:36 PM:

About 10 years ago I bought a 100-pack of business-card sized fridge magnets, with the intention of making my own hand-outs. As befits my ridiculous schedule, they are still in the storage cabinet. Guess I need to put the employees on that project.

Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 12-22-2015, 03:36 PM:

The pens idea is interesting, hell I have so many guests take pens maybe I should just make all of my pens promotional pens.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 12-22-2015, 03:41 PM:

Just 100 magnets? I ordered 10,000 magnets about four years ago and am now down to the last few hundred so I should probably order some more one of these days.

Promotional stuff like pens and magnets won't do you any good sitting in storage.

For anyone who's interested, these are the pens that I ordered:

Contour Pen

They are a good quality and really quite nice. They were delivered about a week after I ordered them.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-22-2015, 05:52 PM:

quote: Frank Cox
Just 100 magnets? I ordered 10,000 magnets about four years ago and am now down to the last few hundred so I should probably order some more one of these days.

Promotional stuff like pens and magnets won't do you any good sitting in storage.

It was just an experimental thing to see if people would want them. I keep forgetting about the damn things. I run across them once in a while, decide I should do something with them, then something more important comes along and I forget about it. It's your typical lather, rinse, repeat.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 12-22-2015, 06:48 PM:

Mike--why not just leave a stack out by your concession stand for people to take? Or, if you mail out flyers or schedules, include one with each mailing.

Posted by Donald Brown (Member # 5427) on 12-22-2015, 09:17 PM:

At each of the drive-ins that I have operated I have handed out fridge magnets at the box office. At one location, I had the opportunity to issue several versions. They became somewhat collectible!
The most resent magnet that I produced was issued in 2012 for the Skowhegan Drive-In Theatre. While it was derived from the work of a locally known artist and featured a beautiful representation of the drive-in screen, it just wasn't as hot a commodity as earlier magnets were at other venues. I suspect that is due to the degree to which patrons rely on electronic media for theatre information today.