Outdoor Movies Tutorial: Maximize PR at Your Next Event

Outdoor movies are a great way to bring your community together, and an Open Air Cinema outdoor movie system makes the entire process easy and efficient. An OAC outdoor movie system comes with everything you need to start your movie in the park series: a giant inflatable movie screen, a powerful outdoor speaker system, a Cinebox™ audio visual console (that allows you to hook-up virtually any audio-visual device), and a super bright video projector. An Open Air Cinema outdoor theater system makes the setup and production of your event a cakewalk, so all you have to worry about is getting people to show up. In this post, we’ll talk about a few ways you can boost the numbers at your next outdoor movie event. Contact us today at 866-802-8202 to order your Open Air Cinema outdoor movie system, or fill out our online contact form. If you prefer shopping online, check out our online store where you can purchase any Open Air Cinema outdoor movie product.

Increase Attendance at Your Outdoor Movies

There are a handful of ways to increase attendance at your outdoor movies events. Here are a couple steps, that if taken, should boost the numbers at your next outdoor movie event or movies in the park series:

1. Snowball your event so that it can grow every year. As you continue to hold events on a regular basis, your events will snowball and grow. Consistency is the key. If you hold your events on a predictable schedule, such as on the same day of the week, and at the same time of the year, you’ll be guaranteed to grow your events year after year. When you hold your event at the same time, your community members will know when to show up, and they won’t even have to be reminded of the event.
2. Use city mailers. A city mailer is one of the best ways to spread the word about your movie in the park series. If you are putting on your event as your city parks and rec department or if you have the support of your city, having access to the city mailer is a golden tool. Often times a city mailer goes out with the utility bill or other official correspondence. Latching on to this mailer means that every household in your community will get the word about your event, and this is a great way to get people there.
3. Inflate smaller OAC screens as temporary billboards. If you have a smaller Open Air Cinema outdoor movie screen in your equipment lineup, inflate it on the side of a major highway at night, with a video projection advertising your upcoming event. Or attach a temporary sign to the screen (contact us to find out the best way to do this) and use it as a billboard during the daytime. When you use a smaller OAC screen as a billboard, you’re getting a portable billboard (which is priceless), in addition to advertising the medium of your event, an inflatable movie screen!
4. Use local businesses and restaurants as a way to promote your event. Local businesses often have priceless networks and ways to reach their customers through email lists and day to day contact. Encourage them to advertise your event, and trade for sponsorships if you think they have a big enough network. You could even let them set up a booth at your event if it seems worthwhile. Tapping into these networks will pay off big-time.
5. Get in local magazines, newspapers, and TV shows. Local is the key when advertising your outdoor movie event. When you advertise through local media outlets, you know that you are reaching your target audience directly. Outdoor movies are a great local activity, and if you are a nonprofit or city, local media will often advertise your event for free as a media sponsor. You can thank them by placing their logo on your posters, website, and by having a presence at your event.

Enhance Your Organization’s Image Through Outdoor Movies

Documenting your outdoor movies through photography and videography is a great way to enhance the image of your city or organization. Outdoor movie images are inherently community driven, and they are great front page material for newspapers and blogs. So make sure to hire a photographer or find someone who can document your event in a larger-than-life way. This will pay off big time when you land the front page of your local media. This will result in greater attendance at your next event, and will boost the image of your organization, as everyone will know the great things you are doing.

Contact Open Air Cinema today at 866-802-8202 to order your outdoor movie system and to begin outdoor movies in your community.

Outdoor Movies: Marketing at The Event

Outdoor movies are a great way to bring any community together, and they provide some excellent ways to reach your community. When you hold a movie in the park event with your Open Air Cinema outdoor theater system, you’ll have the attention of thousands of people, and so this is a great opportunity to promote your community or mission. In this blog post, we’ll go over a few ways that you can reach out to your audience while you have their attention at an outdoor movie event. Contact us today at 866-802-8202 to order your Open Air Cinema outdoor movie system, and to begin hosting your own movies in the park series. You can also fill out our online contact form by clicking here, or you can purchase any OAC product directly in our online store.

Outdoor Movies: Live Announcements

Live announcements at your outdoor movies are the most direct way to reach your audience, and to spread the word about your next event, or the mission of your organization. Make sure to identify the key points you’d like to communicate to your community when they are at the event. If you have too many things to say, your announcements will simply become background noise, and you might even annoy people who have showed up to see a movie under the stars.

Keep your announcements simple and to the point, and spread them out between fun activities such as a magic show or other games that will keep the attention of your crowd. Hiring a professional MC can go a long way in effectively communicating your message. A MC that knows what they are doing can do big things when it comes to audience participation, and to getting your message across, whatever it may be.

If the leader of your event is boring or is not animated or exciting, you could end up turning away future attendance or you could lose the attention of your crowd. But again, with thousands of people in attendance, live announcements are an effective and direct way to communicate information about future events, to solicit donations to your cause, or to galvanize support for an important initiative.

Outdoor Movies: On Screen Ads

Your inflatable outdoor movies screen is a giant billboard that can communicate anything you want at your event. Your screen provides some precious advertising real-estate, as you have the attention of thousands of community members. You can sell this advertising space as a way to generate revenue for your community, or as a thank you for sponsorships. This can be in the form of short video advertisements, like the ones that you see when you go to your local movie theater before the show.

Encourage your advertisers to keep their messages short an to the point, as you don’t want to overwhelm your audience with ads. At the same time, advertising from local businesses or organizations will be relevant to your audience members, so they should respond well to messages from such organizations.

Outdoor Movies: Physical Flyers

Don’t forget to hand out physical flyers at your outdoor movies event. Printing off thousands of flyers can get expensive, so try to find a local printing company that will sponsor the event through in-kind printing. Studies have shown that a physical reminder is an important way to solidify an idea in someone’s mind. Hire a graphic designer to design your flyer, as this is a special opportunity that you can’t get wrong. Effectively communicating the information you want to get across will pay off in the long run. While your audience is watching the outdoor movie, place your flyers under the wiper blades of their cars. This way you’ll guarantee they’ll see the message you’d like to get across.

There are many ways to communicate the message you want to get across at your next outdoor movies event, but following the above advice will get you well on your way to being successful and effective with advertising to your audience. Contact us today at 866-802-8202 to order your Open Air Cinema outdoor movie system so you can begin your own outdoor movies events soon!

Outdoor Movies: Monetize Your Next Event

Outdoor movies events can provide a great way to generate revenue for your organization. In this blog post, we’ll outline a few steps towards making the most of your upcoming outdoor movie event or movie in the park film series. Call us today at 866-802-8202 to order your Open Air Cinema outdoor movie system, or fill out our online contact form by clicking here. You can purchase any OAC product in our online store, so make sure to browse our lineup of inflatable movie screens and outdoor theater systems today!

Outdoor Movies Money Making Tip #1: Advanced Ticket Sales

If you plan on selling tickets at your outdoor movies event, making your tickets available to people ahead of time will provided much needed revenue for your organization. Set up a purchasing option through your website (this is easy to do with Paypal), and drive traffic to this page through advertising with social media outlets or other effective initiatives. When you sell tickets in advance of the event, you’ll be guaranteed that those who have purchased tickets will show up, as they have already paid for their seats. You can encourage people to purchase tickets in advance by offering incentives to those who buy ahead of time, such as a free bag of popcorn, or an opportunity to sit in a reserved seating section.

Outdoor Movies Money Making Tip #2: Concessions

Everyone knows that concessions are how movie theaters make all their money, and with outdoor movies it is no different. Your audience members will be hungry when attending your movie in the park screening, and providing them with a variety of options for concessions can pay off  in a big way. There are a couple ways to approach concessions when it comes to monetization. The most direct way is to charge for popcorn, soda, water, and other treats, and to manage these services yourself. This option can generate a lot of revenue, but can also turn into a logistical nightmare if not planned properly. You’ll need to own the necessary equipment such as a popcorn popper or shaved ice machine, and have the staff to distribute and handle the food. But if all of this is in order, you’ll reap all of the profits from concessions sales. Many organizations find that this is a big way to raise money.

Another way is to charge local companies to bring food trucks or concession stands.  This can provide a variety of food for your audience, and you can mix it up from screening to screening. In the end, you might not raise as much money as you would if you handle the concessions yourself, but you’ll also save a lot of time and headache. Any way you handle it, having concessions at your outdoor movies event can be a great way to generate revenue for your organization. You could be raising thousands of dollars per event, something that can really add up over an entire series! Make sure to let your audience know that when they purchase a popcorn and drink, that their dollars are going to support your organization!

Outdoor Movies Money Making Tip #3: Sponsorships

Sponsorships can provide a lot of revenue from your outdoor movies events. There are a number of ways to get sponsorships, and focusing on local organizations and businesses will often provide the largest payoff. You can tell local businesses that they’ll have the attention of thousands of locals in attendance at your event, and that sponsoring your screening will boost the image of their company. You can thank them for sponsoring your event by providing logo placement on promotional materials, by granting them on-screen advertisement spots, by vocally thanking them at the event, and by allowing them to set up a booth and hand out flyers at your screening. Local businesses and organizations should jump at the opportunity to sponsor your next event or series, as they are reaching their core audience, and will no doubt see a return in their investment.

Contact us at 866-802-8202 to order your Open Air Cinema outdoor movie system today. We look forward to placing your order, and to getting you on your way to holding your own outdoor movies events!