Concourse Media principals James Andrew Felts and Matthew Shreder announced today a deal with Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) to distribute Moviebill, an interactive new product that has been crafted to enhance and extend the 21st century moviegoing experience. The inaugural edition will be announced later this year for a 2018 launch.
Created by Shreder and Felts, Moviebill is a multi-faceted augmented reality platform driven by the hand-to-hand distribution of its flagship product, a 28 page premium-quality handbill. Each issue of Moviebill is tailor-made and will promote one of the most highly anticipated blockbuster movies of the year. The editions will be hand delivered directly to each moviegoer at Regal theatres. Editions will be free for ticket holders of the featured movie and will only be available at Regal Cinemas starting on opening weekend of each movie’s wide release.
To accompany each edition, readers will access never-before-seen augmented reality activations and exclusive digital content. A custom visual recognition scanner, built directly into the Regal Cinemas App, will bring the content to life and create a multi-faceted, seamless online and offline experience. Moviebill will be available on all 7 + million of Regal Cinemas App user’s devices at launch, making it the largest entertainment-focused augmented reality platform to date.
“Moviebill provides an experience for moviegoers that helps bring the movie to life and promotes a deeper connection to the movies in our theatres,” said Ken Thewes, CMO, Regal Entertainment Group. “We chose to incorporate Moviebill because it continues our goal of enhancing the moviegoing experience, giving movie fans more of what they want directly in their hands.”
“Circuits like Regal have done an incredible job at enhancing the theatrical experience,” added Matthew Shreder, co-founder and publisher of Moviebill. “We’re excited to be launching this new product early next year to give moviegoers more content about the movies they’ve paid to see, as part of their ticket price.”
Designed as a collectible souvenir that is meant to go home with the moviegoer, each edition of Moviebill will feature exclusive cover art for the featured movie and will be individualized with the local theatre name and copy number.
All of the major film studios are working with Moviebill to provide exclusive augmented reality experiences related to behind the scenes features, deleted scenes, games, talent commentary and other special features for the largest and most anticipated movies each year. As a media outlet, Moviebill offers access to fans acting as a direct line of communication between the biggest stars, the most influential directors, and the most creative minds behind the movies we love most.
“Moviegoers expect the highest level of entertainment and Moviebill provides an opportunity to deliver more value to those premium consumers at the place where they provide our industry with the greatest return,” said Shreder.
In addition to studio level content, the “Cast” section will activate content from IMDb, the #1 movie website in the world. Scanning an actor’s picture will allow readers to move seamlessly from reading Moviebill to completing the experience digitally across a variety of information, trivia, polls and video content.
With a seven-figure circulation commitment per edition, Moviebill will be one of the largest circulated physical entertainment media outlets at launch to an audience that is highly desirable to brands and advertisers. Moviegoers demonstrate they are among some of the most engaged and selective consumer groups with disposable income, and those who attend opening weekend of a film are also considered deeply devoted movie fans and ultimately early adopters of technology and influential opinion leaders.
“Synergy with partners is key,” said Felts, co-founder and publisher, Moviebill. “Moviebill is engineered for efficient and powerful partnership executions. Moviegoers demand great content and Moviebill delivers a seamless and open source solution for brands to reach this audience.”
Moviebill will work with brands and advertisers to create custom activations that have full AR capabilities within the platform. A full suite of data management and engagement analytics tools will support the platform to enhance content and deliver actionable results for partners. Moviebill has commissioned Trigger Global to build the augmented reality technology who is responsible for some of the most high-profile augmented reality campaigns, including film-related activations for the “Star Wars: Find The Force” global campaign, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “The Hunger Games” franchise.
“Moviegoers are still movie lovers after they leave the cinema,” added Felts. ”Moviebill allows our brand partnerships the ability to create a lasting and trackable relationship with this highly coveted audience.”
Commenting on the physical medium, David Bridgers, Chief Design Officer, stated: “We have designed a beautiful and durable product that people can revisit frequently and collect for years to come. It’s a physical representation of the theatrical experience that gives moviegoers the opportunity to deepen their connection to the movies they love.”
