merit
Our campaign set out to jar people out of their collective at-home stupors into realizing what they’re missing out on when they wait to see the latest movies at home, setting Regal apart in a crowded field of theaters all touting the in-theater experience. Instead shining a light on what movie-watchers might miss by not watching at the theaters. With the message “Don’t Wait For The Movies To Come To You,” we aimed to nudge people away from their mobile devices and streaming services—to see buzzworthy movies on the big screen, the way they were meant to be seen. In Regal Cinema’s cushion-y chairs, of course.
While the movie theater business has thankfully rebounded since the pandemic, growth had yet to reach pre-COVID levels in 2023 – thanks in part to the habits movie-watchers picked up, having everything they could possibly want to watch at their fingertips on the comfort of their own couch.
So to get more butts in their seats this summer, Regal Cinemas came to us to help create a sense of urgency around experiencing the big summer movies in the theater, when everyone’s talking about them - a timely and culturally relevant message with all the chatter that was surrounding “Barbieheimmer.”
Directed by late-night comedian-actor-funnyman Andy Richter, the campaign’s three :30 film each use a familiar movie character types — and some surprise Hollywood magic — to remind viewers that waiting for the movies to come to them means missing out on what everyone else is talking about.
The national campaign went into the market at the start of August. In a first for the movie theater industry, the spots ran across connected TV (CTV) networks and paid social and digital meeting viewers when they needed to hear it most: while streaming content at home on televisions and mobile devices. The campaign also extended to "in-store," with pre-movie trailers in Regal theaters.
The campaign resulted in statistically significant movement of key brand metrics, including purchase intent, consideration, brand favorability, and a 9% lift in brand awareness.
