Static signboards and canvas movie posters are dead!
Multiplexes and movie theaters have started to implement digital signage for cinema to make a fantastic impact on their employees and, most importantly, moviegoers.
Digital signage for multiplexes is a combination of great visuals and data. From dynamic content widgets to breathtaking graphics, digital signage offers a great bet to cinema and multiplex owners.
Digital signage for multiplexes not only helps them to show movie posters but also helps them to display ads, ticketing info, menu boards, seat info, and more.
Top 9 use cases of digital signage for multiplexes
1 – Film promotions
Customers spend a lot of time ‘waiting’ in multiplexes for the movie to start, waiting in a queue to grab snacks and more. This time can be utilized to promote upcoming movies.
It can be done by showing automated movie posters/motion posters, trailers, showtimes, and more. You can also use the display to show QR codes through which they can get coupons for their next show.
2 – Engage customers with social media
Use social media widgets to develop a digital wall of social media that can be used to produce buzz around events and movies. Live feeds excite moviegoers who will be eager to add their own tweets, posts, etc., often with hashtags or geotags that highlight the theater.
Consumers who are engaged like this are more valuable, delivering 4X the value to the brand than an average consumer.
Moreover, social media generates automated content. Moviegoers’ posts will fill the digital signs in a lobby with new content with little to no work from the manager.
3 – Show value-added ads
Digital signage can show multiple media/content at the same time, providing businesses with a more digital infrastructure to add value to messages.
Theater managers who have become digital signage masters are taking advantage of this feature to preserve customer interest in ads.
For instance, they are showing weather updates or upcoming movie titles or news headlines or alongside specials from the concession stand.
Providing such useful or helpful information creates interest in the digital screens, drawing more customers to the advertisements. Inanimate static posters can never achieve this dynamic messaging.
4 – Promote events and increase attendance
Theater managers can promote events and grow audiences by presenting automated event listings on digital screens in the movie theater.
Using content widgets, the digital signage CMS automatically pulls event information from cloud-based calendars or scheduling softwares. The moment the calendar is updated, the listing on the digital signage display is also automatically updated.
The event/movie list can be customized with images, brand colors, text font, etc. to grow brand awareness and maintain message consistency.
5 – Display traffic information
Managers can add value to the digital signage network by showing traffic information.
The screens can be programmed to show traffic as moviegoers exit the theater and head home. They will have quick access to info such as traffic delays, road closures, etc., helping them get to their destinations faster and easier.
Moviegoers will not only learn to see the value in the displays, but they will also be adapted to look at them at specific times. Managers can utilize this by showing additional information, such as movie/product promotions.
6 – Boost concession sales
Vivid videos, eye-catching animations, and bold imagery on a digital menu board generate more sales at concession stands.
Digital Menu Boards can be used to upsell slow-moving items or promote combos. They can also be easily changed from a cloud-based CMS like Xynage to display current inventory, e.g., when the stand runs out of a particular drink, it can be removed from the DMB in a fraction of time.
You can run these promos throughout your digital signage network, and not on the digital menu boards alone. Incorporating QR codes with special offers or coupons on screens away from the concession stand helps drive traffic back to where beverages and food are sold.
7 – Enhance employee communication
Digital signage in multiplexes is a highly efficient means for internal communication that is crucial for smooth operation.
The digital signages can be used in the backroom to show related HR protocols, administrative info, industry updates, competitor activities, coverage in the news, company updates, etc. to make employees updated with movie theater premises.
With a large chunk of movie theater employees born of the millennial age, communication via static posters will not work. Workers of this generation are quite comfortable with technology, and they are used to looking at digital displays for information.
Communicating them through digital signage, a medium that is similar to the devices they interact with every single day is natural and ensures complete absorption of information.
8 – Measure performance
Digital signage in multiplexes is also being utilized to visualize performance metrics and the goals of employees.
You can use widgets to convert raw data into charts or graphs for easy comparison and visualization. For example, current sales numbers in a CSV/XLS file can be converted to a graph/chart and showed on a screen, making it simpler for employees to visualize where concession or ticket sales are at versus where they need to be.
With targeted and real sales placed in front of employees in a digestible format, it is usually the natural reaction to work harder to exceed or at least meet their goals.
9 – Generate extra revenue
With the ease of comprehensive scheduling and customizing content features of digital signage, movie theaters and multiplexes can generate additional revenue by selling advertisement space to vendors and local businesses.
With the heavy traffic, digital signage in multiplexes provides excellent exposure that tech-savvy businesses can leverage.
Final thoughts on digital signage for multiplexes
The value-added advantages of incorporating digital signage in cinemas and movie theaters are virtually endless.
The potential for engaging moviegoers, driving sales, and increasing profits combined with the potential to generate more revenue make the investment in digital signage worthwhile.
With higher profits and better ROI over traditional marketing mediums, the benefits of digital signage in multiplexes should not be overlooked.
