Curious Film connects filmgoers by phone
We’ve all heard it before: “The management of this cinema requests you to please turn off your phone for the following film”. The message is as old as the technology it once represented and has not yet evolved to allow brands to invest in captive cinema audience time.
Says Pete Grasse, executive producer at Curious Film: “Why would I ask my consumer to turn off one of our most direct means of engaging them?”
As a result, Curious asked its recent Pop-Up Cinema audiences to: “Please Turn Your Phone ON!” prior to the film screening, prompting them to take photographs, engage with other film viewers and with the film sponsor, Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum.
By signing into @curioussjpopup via Instagram, the captive audience was instantly connected with fellow filmgoers and registered to win a prize for the best uploaded photo from cinema sponsor Sailor Jerry Rum. In addition to the prizes, filmgoers could access both the Curious and Sailor Jerry Facebook sites.
The audience reacted instantly to the communal call to action. In total, 50-plus photographs were uploaded, ‘liked’, and shared throughout the night. More photos were circulated and ‘liked’ throughout the following day, further documenting people’s interest in the event.
Grasse added: “In 2011, I attended the Sawa Seminar at the Cannes Advertising Festival and was surprised by the overall lack of creativity in cinema advertising. One of the flagship examples was an animated ‘turn off your phone’ pre-film message branded by a multinational teleco. I knew we could do better than that.”
‘Please Turn Your Phone ON!’ is the first of several Curious initiatives to connect with filmgoers interactively and comes amongst its recent successes in filmmaking, distribution and advertising. With a Grand Prix at Cannes, films screening at the Sydney and Melbourne Film Festivals, and a raft of advertising accolades, Curious continues to punch above its weight.
Melbourne marked the second of Curious’ Pop Up Branded Cinema events in Australia; a new initiative by Curious that sees exciting venues play host to exclusive screenings of films distributed by the production company and supported by forward-thinking brands looking to reach and connect with like-minded audiences.
Curious Film’s cinematic success has most recently attracted a new round of sponsors for a rocket-fueled line up of pop-up branded cinema events throughout the year, with the next one set for August 2012. To jump onboard and find out more about Curious’ branded cinema opportunities contact Peter Grasse via email here.
1 Comment
That looked like it hurt. Thanks again for a great night.