Weather and a Movie
Movies have long been seen as not just an escape from reality, but also as a respite from nasty weather. Rain, snow, and extreme temperatures inspire people to hunker down with a good movie, whether by streaming at home, renting, or going to a nearby movie theater. Savvy businesses can take advantage of that by using weather-based triggers to encourage movie-watching in any form.
This article was originally published on Skymosity.com.
Movie Theaters
While movie theater revenue is going up thanks to higher ticket prices, attendance is in freefall, dropping almost 11 percent between 2004 and 2013 alone. Industry insiders blame the drop in attendance on a number of factors, including high prices, poor audience behavior (talking, texting, etc.), and the availability and quality of home entertainment options. The major studios have also been releasing fewer movies. All of those factors combine to encourage theater-owners to get more creative with their marketing efforts. Weather-triggered messaging is one way that leading brands are personalizing their marketing messaging. By setting up seamless email automation that deploys messages when specific weather conditions or temperature ranges are met, theaters can entice people to spend hot, cold, rainy, snowy — or otherwise unpleasant — afternoons and evenings catching a movie.
Although there’s limitless possibilities in the content that can be included in these messages, and no restrictions, some examples that could be used are, as follows:
- “Evade the Rain Tonight at XYZ Cinemas”
- “Escape Hot Temps with a Cool Movie… Theater”
- “Bad Weather Calls for a Great Movie”
- “It’s Freezing Out. Get Warm and Comfy at XYZ Cinemas”
This strategy could be especially effective with frequent movie-goers — those who attend a movie once a month or more. Although they make up only 11 percent of the population, they account for 51 percent of all ticket sales. However, with just a little tweaking, it could be equally effective in attracting people who haven’t been to a movie theater in ages, as the beauty of triggered messaging based off of the weather is the extreme relevance and timeliness of when subscribers receive the message.
Rentals and Streaming
Companies that provide rentals or streaming movies can take advantage of “hunker down inside” weather, too. Whether the weather is hot, cold, harsh, or severe, there’s always relevant messaging for a fantastic excuse for movie watchers to sit back, relax, and let actors take their worries away.
Messaging for rental and streaming services would be very similar to messaging that movie theaters would use, with a little twist. For example:
- “Stay in from the Snow. Stream Emmy Nominated Films from Home”
- “Avoid the Sultry Heat with a Racy Rental”
- “Live Your Rainy Day Adventure Indoors with a Hot New Original Series”
- “Bundle up with Streaming New Releases”
Weather affects almost every facet of consumer behavior, and movies are no exception. The movie industry has a great opportunity to drive sales by optimizing the potential residing in different weather conditions.
With patent-pending and leading technology from Skymosity, smart marketers are able to deploy relevant and personalized messaging to email subscribers, based off of their immediate or forecasted weather conditions. Working closely with top email service providers (ESPs), Skymosity technology allows for seamless weather automation with easy integrations that allow for maximum flexibility. With multiple options for assisting brands to maximize the power of the weather, the movie business will never be the same.
About Skymosity
Skymosity is the leading Weather Targeting™ Platform, powering advanced weather-based technology for some of the world’s biggest brands. With patent-pending solutions for SMS and Weather-Based Email Trigger™ automation, plus website personalization and analytics based on weather, the Skymosity Weather Marketing Cloud™ helps businesses seamlessly leverage big weather data. For more information, visit www.skymosity.com.