Los Angeles-based Fandango [1], which bills itself as the leading digital destination in the US for ‘all things movies’, and National CineMedia [2], ‘America’s Movie Network’, announced today a new strategic relationship that will bring Fandango’s original video content to the big screen nationwide as part of NCM’s ‘FirstLook’, America’s #1 cinema advertising pre-show.
The deal will also exclusively provide NCM with a select aggregated set of Fandango’s moviegoer demographic data, which NCM will combine into its broader data management platform, enabling more effective in-theater advertising and content targeting for NCM’s marketing partners.
Starting this month, moviegoers will see advertising spots and a variety of comic vignettes from Fandango’s new ‘We Love Movies’ campaign, featuring the company’s first ever brand personality, movie superfan Miles Mouvay, played by ‘Saturday Night Live’ star Kenan Thompson. The videos celebrate moviegoing and will be seen as part of NCM’s ‘FirstLook’ pre-show on over 20,000 movie screens nationwide.
In the first half of 2016, Fandango will also introduce more original content to NCM’s ‘FirstLook’ program, including its award-winning Fandango Movieclips video series, ‘Reel Kids’, hosted by comedian Dan Perrault. ‘Reel Kids’ is a short form series where kids provide their honest and often humorous feelings on theatrical movies.
As part of the relationship, Fandango will provide NCM with select sets of aggregated moviegoer data from various films. NCM will integrate these film specific insights along with other premium data sources as part of an overall integrated data solution to more effectively identify moviegoer segments for improved audience targetability.
“We want to super serve moviegoers anytime and anyplace with engaging movie information and video content,” says Paul Yanover, Fandango president. “So it was natural for us to team up with NCM, whose ‘FirstLook’ in-theater program is enjoyed by millions and is a great distribution platform for Fandango’s video content.
“We look forward to working with NCM to deliver exciting new programming to moviegoers, and are happy that our new data relationship can help ensure that the right content and advertising reaches relevant audiences.”
“Fandango is a top provider of original content for movie fans, so this relationship is a natural fit,” says Cliff Marks, president of sales and marketing, NCM. “Their insights into moviegoer behavior will be a key piece of movie audience data that will be added to our growing data and targeting capabilities platform, as we look to better serve our in-theater audiences and marketing partners with timely, targeted and relevant content and messaging.”
Fandango is the leading provider of online and mobile movie tickets in the U.S., reaching 42 million unique visitors per month, according to comScore, and selling tickets to 27,000 screens nationwide. Fandango entertains and informs consumers with reviews, commentary, celebrity interviews and trailers, and offers the ability to quickly select a film, plan where and when to see it, and conveniently buy tickets in advance. For many theaters, fans can print their tickets at home or receive them as a paperless Mobile Ticket on their smartphones. Fandango’s top-ranking movie ticketing apps for Apple’s iOS devices and Google’s Android Platform have garnered 49 million downloads to date. The company also operates the #1 movie trailers and content channel on YouTube with Fandango Movieclips, which can be found at its dedicated website [3] and its recently-launched mobile app for iOS and Android. Film fans can also find Fandango on Facebook and on Twitter.
National CineMedia is America’s Movie Network. As the #1 weekend network in the U.S., NCM helps brands get in front of the movies that shape the national conversation. More than 700 million moviegoers annually attend theaters that are currently under contract to present NCM’s FirstLook pre-show in over 40 leading national and regional theater circuits including AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings Inc. and Regal Entertainment. NCM’s cinema advertising network offers broad reach and unparalleled audience engagement with approximately 20,050 screens in approximately 1,600 theaters in 187 Designated Market Areas® (49 of the top 50). NCM Digital goes beyond the big screen, extending in-theater campaigns into online and mobile marketing programs to reach entertainment audiences. National CineMedia Inc. owns a 45.2% interest in, and is the managing member of National CineMedia LLC.