Sprint Delivers Mobile Coupons For Movie Theaters

movie theater

Sprint has broadened a mobile marketing coupon campaign that delivers subscribers discounts on drinks and snacks at more than 500 movie theaters nationwide. Supported by Screenvision and bCode, the plan to create the world's largest coupon redemption network will extend the service to 900 theaters in 2010.

Through bCODE's SMS-based mobile wallet platform, Sprint subscribers can text the keyword "Sprint" to "22633" to receive on their phone a redeemable message for a concession stand discount coupon in participating movie theaters, such as Century 9, Carmike, and Galaxy 16 Cineplex, among others.

Cinema advertising company Screenvision partnered with bCODE to deliver the SMS-based mobile coupons. The text-message coupons are redeemable in the theater at a MediaPlane device, an interactive touchscreen kiosk in the theater that reads the bCODE's technology and provides digital content, offers and entertainment.

The MediaPlane scans bCODEs from mobile phones, redeems the coupon and prints point-of-sale redemption tickets. Locations offering the discounts cut across New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Houston and Dallas.

Consumers select a specific offer, and the MediaPlane prints a barcode coupon they can take to the concession stand. bCODE also provides technology to support a loyalty-point program through digital content downloads, where consumers gain access to favorite music, trailers and games. The application also provides access to social networks to update status and leave comments in real-time.

Sprint's strategy is based on retaining subscribers, according to Michael Mak, bCode CEO. "The network will allow us to keep track of what each person buys," he says. "The mobile coupon information is tied to the person's, but it's an opt-in process, so privacy issues are not a concern. It also takes one link to opt out."

The opt-in process will also allow Sprint to retarget consumers with other discounts even after they have left the theater. These offers could range from discounts on movie tickets and music to DVDs or items related to the movie titles.

A HipCricket study released Wednesday suggests that marketers miss opportunities to connect with consumers via mobile phones. The second annual HipCricket Mobile Marketing Survey reveals that of the consumers who receive mobile marketing offers and coupons, 47% recall the brand -- and of those, 94% remember the specific action they are asked to take.

The September study, based on 511 email responses, also suggests that 41% of respondents have visited a retailer's Web site from their mobile phone. Of those, 70% search for store locations, 51% search for store hours, 39% want directions, and 29% search for coupons and promotions.

 

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