April 30, 2007
Theaters preview text messages
Movie theater owners looking for new ways to boost their revenue from advertising have cautiously been reviewing an innovation whose pioneers have included the Army National Guard. The Jounral&Courier reports.
"The Guard, which has deployed recruitment ads to theaters before, fielded a new weapon: text-messaging moviegoers before the previews.
A slide in about 1,100 theaters in December invited patrons to use their cell phones to text in their age and let the Guard tell them about its required fitness level.
Those who opted in were messaged back sit-up, push-up and running requirements. They also got follow-up messages that touted enlistment benefits, such as tuition assistance.
For youth-focused marketers, texting is a "great conversation starter,"says Jason Fulmines, account executive at the Guard's ad agency, LM&O Advertising. He says the time before movie previews - when people are often bored and fidgety - is ideal for initiating a dialogue. "You have a captive audience. And after they're looking at ad after ad, this gives them something different to do."
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