Company:  Allure Global Solutions, Inc.
(www.allureglobal.com)
Client:  Santikos Theatres

Integrated Digital Media, the Theatre Industry’s Latest In-Store Point of Purchase

Solution
Since the 1950's, beverage companies provided logoed menu boards to their clients as a way to merchandise their products at retail locations. For example, Coca-Cola and other beverage companies’ logos could be found on every menu board and score board in high school stadiums across the country. Today, this form of merchandising and brand recognition is still very much in use although the delivery method is changing dramatically.

Today, the events are larger and the stakes higher. Consumer packaged goods companies fight for the rights to market and promote their products at venues around the world. They strategically place static signage in various locations hoping to catch the eye of a television camera. Also, event-specific, targeted marketing campaigns specifically directed towards fans prior to and after the actual event or game are used to increase brand awareness. They give product companies a lift in sales at the venue, reinforce positive brand recognition, and are a vehicle to introduce and promote new products.

Relentlessly, packaged goods companies have searched for new ways to launch their products to thirsty or hungry consumers. The “Out-of-Home” media is the favored medium of choice. The primary reason is that it puts consumers and brands together at the quintessential purchase decision-making moment, in an environment where the consumer is often in high spirits. Food and beverage companies contend that when the consumer is content they tend to purchase more than they originally planned. We call this the, “Point-of-Consumer,” the place and time where brands interact face-to-face with consumers.

The battle to influence consumer behavior has catapulted to new heights beyond high school score boards and simplistic, concession stand menu boards. The advent of dynamic digital technology has created a paradigm shift in concession and beverage marketing. At the forefront of this emerging, digital trend is an Atlanta based company, Allure Global Solutions, Inc.
 
The Theatre industry is one of the early adopters in the integration of digital media. Today, sophisticated movie theatre owners utilize digital software in their box office, menu boards for concession stands, movie posters, and auditorium signage. The benefits are both tangible and intangible. Digital box offices educate the consumer regarding availability, movie times, and pricing. Consumers are captivated by moving images on menu boards prompting them to purchase more at concessions. Digital movie posters inform them about future attractions and digital auditorium signage guide movie goers throughout the venue.

The digital media frenzy has significantly reduced costs for the cinema owner which is an added bonus for the bottom line. No longer do they agonize over whether the movie poster was put up or taken down at the correct time. Neither are they concerned with price adjustments, as changes are made swiftly due to the POS system interface that is hosted, supported, and maintained by a web-based central server. The digital media system guarantees ultimate flexibility for marketing, advertising, and sales.

San Antonio based, Santikos Theatres, an Allure Global Solutions’ client, best illustrates how digital media technology, integrated with their existing POS system, can produce merchandising at the “Points of Consumer” throughout the location. The Silverado 19 IMAX Theatre, in Houston, TX, utilizes Allure Global’s dynamic Digital Menu Boards, Digital Movie Posters, Digital Auditorium Signage, and Digital Box Office (DigiBox©). This theatre provides a superior example of an evolutionary change in the movie-going experience. They have 19 auditoriums with Digital Film Projection, Digital 3D and Sound, as well as curved screens, a full service restaurant, 2 mezzanine bars, a Gelato and Coffee bar, and state of the art gaming area.

Pundits have estimated that over two million people will attend this location within the next year. Therefore, the Silverado offers a unique opportunity to create a digital environment where messaging can influence consumer purchasing behavior at the “Point of Consumer”. In addition, real-time information, which is automatically updated when the POS system refreshes, is provided.

Allure Global installed a total of 70 screens, both LCD and plasma, at the Silverado 19 IMAX Theatre. There are eight 42” LCD screens for the Digital Box Office, eighteen 50” plasma screens for the Digital Menu Boards, nineteen 42” LCDs for the Digital Movie Posters and twenty-five 24” LCDs for the Digital Auditorium Signs.

The following are details regarding this location:
The Digital Movie Poster solution, displayed in portrait format, allows for the delivery of full color, digitally animated, high-resolution posters that draw attention and entertain. Located in the lobby and hallways, this solution displays animated movie posters as well as content to promote beverages sold at the concession stand and various new and/or existing products throughout the theatre.

Digital Menu Boards use the Allure Global Enterprise Solution with new flexible components which allow for engaging motion-graphic marketing messages all managed through a central server. This Enterprise application solution is easily integrated with the existing POS system. Digital Menu Board technology increases concession sales, reduces merchandising costs, and raises guest awareness.
 
A large screen displaying animated beauty shots of beverages pouring over ice and other imagery which promotes brand awareness and appetite appeal are a part of the overall solution for Santikos Theatres. Allure Global has seen sales lift for digital promoted products in the area of 7-9% for their digital menu boards in a theatre environment. Also, internal proprietary research with a beverage company and a theatre chain has shown that the incidence of a beverage purchase is 10% greater after viewing its digital imagery on a screen, than from its static counterpart.

The Digital Box Office (DigiBox®) solution allows the theatre owner to display digital movie posters with times and ratings in full color at the point of contact when the consumer is purchasing a ticket. Integration to the theatre’s POS solution for real-time data provides show-times and feature information such as title, ratings, run-time, sold-out, and cancelled notifications. In addition, the Digital Box Office Solution allows the theatre owner the opportunity to merchandise products sold at concessions. The obvious benefit is yet another critical touch point to the consumer. Theatre research shows that, on average, one out of three ticket buyers purchase concessions. Raising that percentage, even slightly, significantly impacts the bottom line.

Digital Auditorium Signage is a new and exciting solution that offers an additional merchandising opportunity. Transforming traditional auditorium signs into dynamic digital signage educates and informs moviegoers with the movie name, show times, rating, and auditorium status. By integrating with the existing POS system, Digital Auditorium Signage instantly changes auditorium information reducing consumer confusion and frustration. In addition, it provides another touch point to the customer.

Through the use of Allure Global Solutions’ digital products and services, Santikos Theatres find it easier to manage consumer oriented content at the “Point of Consumer”. The impact on human behavior is dramatic as the significant lift in sales indicates. Technology and innovation have propelled these industries forward leaving the mundane, static menu boards to high school stadiums.

About Allure Global Solutions, Inc.
Allure Global Solutions, Inc. is an enterprise software development company providing software solutions, and comprehensive services and support for its array of digital media and POS solutions. The company, located in Atlanta, provides an unprecedented array of products for the theatre, restaurant, convenience store, theme park, and retail spaces. Allure Global provides back office capabilities, POS and self order systems with digital merchandising, digital menu boards, digital product merchandising, digital order confirmation, digital box office and digital movie posters systems.
 
The company’s mission is to create, develop, deploy, and maintain enterprise software solutions including those designed specifically to integrate, manage, and power ambient client owned networks. These networks manage data and marketing content that has been proven to influence consumer purchase behavior at the point of consumer.
 
For more information please contact: Robert Lawrence, EVP Marketing & Digital Media.
rlawrence@allureglobal.com
(770) 951-0000 x341
Allure Global Solutions, Inc.
400 Embassy Row, Suite 580
Atlanta, Georgia 30328
www.allureglobal.com