Filmology offers a special form of cinema voucher that suits the avid filmgoer. In partnership with big cinema chains such as Cineworld and Odeon, as well as with independent cinemas, Filmology offers discounted cinema vouchers, paper or e-cards, with 30-40% off the box office price.

For the full report on Voucher Schemes see pages 28-32 of the May-June edition of Reward

Mike Croston, who heads sales at cinema voucher company Filmology, is quoted as saying that speed of delivery is becoming an important factor as technology enables the giving of e-vouchers that can be instantly redeemed.

“E-cinema tickets create something that is almost instant” he says. “A cinema e-ticket is given to someone who knows they are entitled to it, that they can call on it immediately is a real plus.”

“During the initiative we have awarded cinema vouchers to our students to raise attendance and drive good behaviour. It has proven a good value for money reward.

“The world of film offers escapism, which is excellent for these students, particularly as some have challenging home lives. Also, the students love the fact that they can watch new releases quicker and this adds a real “feel good” element to the process.

“Helping to create a positive association to the school for learners is beneficial to their overall performance and we offer a reward that they actually want.”

Read the full story on Secondary Education.

Courtesy of Filmology, as part of their lead-up to the Oscars, Business Zone are giving away a director’s chair that will be personalised with the winner’s name plus two free movie ticket vouchers to use at any of Cineworld’s 80 cinemas around the UK.

Click to enter NOW. Closing date 23rd February.

Technology, notably smartphones and online, is potentially driving major changes in the way vouchers and giftcards are delivered and redeemed. However, the rate of progress in these developments depends on the speed of retailer investment. Social gifting and applications will also develop further in the next three years.

During the recession, vouchers and giftcards increased in popularity as flexible benefits. They are used to help staff reduce the cost of shopping by allowing them to purchase at a discount. This has contributed to growth in the business-to-business market.

Sales of paper vouchers will decline as plastic and digitals sales grow, but all are likely to survive because they each have unique features that suit particular markets and usage, such as convenience, practicality and trophy value.

Pauline Gibson, Business Development Manager of cinema voucher supplier Filmology, also feels that emerging technologies and increasing ownership of smartphones are leading to significant changes in the way that giftcards and vouchers are delivered.

John Starr provides insight into the current trends in giftcards and vouchers, and how the future looks for firms that use them as benefits and motivational rewards. Pauline contributes to the debate; read the full article from Pay and Benefits Magazine.

The new and improved deal developed for PruHealth by Filmology, the cinema promotions and benefits specialists, will now include one free ticket a week per member of the Vitality scheme valid at all Cineworld and Vue cinemas across the UK.  As some policies such as family packages have more than one person as a member, several members of a household may be included.

Vitality scheme members will also now be able to take advantage of Filmology’s phone-based ticketing system that uses codes. This will provide more booking flexibility for members, helping them to use the offer more easily.

Nicholas Read, Director of Business Development of PruHealth, comments: “Cinema has proved to be a highly popular reward among Vitality members, so through Filmology we are happy to offer an even more substantial package to motivate them.  The previous reward – one ‘2 for 1’ ticket per month per policy valid at Cineworld – which we have offered up to now proved to be a great success.  The new, enhanced, offer is sure to provide an even more inspiring reward for our members.”

David Pearson, Managing Director of P&MM Sales Promotion and Director of Filmology adds: “It is testament to the power of cinema as a reward, proven over the last two years, that PruHealth has decided to increase its offer.”

This story has been reported in Personnel Today, COVER and Workplace Savings and Benefits

Read the full article in Marketing Week.

While AB InBev is “disappointed” with its surprise appearance in Flight, so too is William Grant & Sons about the role of Stolichnaya. The fact that each company is so concerned about audience reaction to their brands’ presence in the film is endorsement of the medium’s power, albeit backhanded.

With Flight pulling in £15.7m at the US box office at its opening weekend, the two drinks companies clearly believe that large audiences will notice the brands and take away negative messages about them when they see Denzel Washington, as a drunk pilot.

Whether positive or negative, both brands clearly see that cinema influences their target audience.

Read the original article and John Ridley’s comments in full on the marketing Week website.

In a letter published in Marketing, John Ridley, Business Development Director with Filmology, asserts that: “There is plenty of evidence to debate the assertion that ‘getting into bed with films is a risky business’.” He goes on to cite: “A film certainly doesn’t need to be a ‘hit’ to deliver a great brand promotion. Sex and the City 2 was widely seen as a box-office ‘miss’ but Muller ran a fantastic partnership with it that engaged the correct audience…”

Contact John via email or on 0845 634 1433 to discuss films currently in production that might be the right film partnership for your brand.

Shireen Alvis of Lee, Senior Sales Manager of Odeon and UCI Cinemas joined the panel.
“We are quite lucky in that our product is a cinema ticket, which has a set value in people’s minds. This enables us to sell both cash vouchers in the form of gift cards and cinema tickets in the form of ticket vouchers. Our gift cards allow use across all of the products we sell, while ticket vouchers offer good discounts against the retail price of tickets and are therefore popular.”

How do you use vouchers and incentives?
“We use them in various ways, one of which is through a deal with our agency, Filmology. This means employees of organisations we work with can access discounted vouchers for their local Odeon cinema. We also use them short-term to fill business ‘troughs’. Currently we are using a 40 per cent off voucher online via a viral campaign.”

If you offer vouchers as incentives to other businesses, how do you leverage the consumer brand of your parent company?
“We maximise our strategy by incorporating both Odeon’s and our partner Filmology’s branding. We strive to be innovative and ensure that what we offer is both current and takes into account how our customers want to fulfil this demand.”

Some big companies, for example Tesco, are pulling away from vouchers. Can you see more brands following this path?
“I don’t believe that Tesco is “pulling back from vouchers” per se, rather it is using its ClubCard data to better target the offers it makes to customers. It isn’t fewer vouchers, it’s more targeted vouchers and, yes, I think that’s certainly the way to go. We implemented our Odeon Premiere Card a couple of years ago and now have over two million card holders. I can certainly see us using data to provide more appropriate offers for our customers and would expect most brands to do the same.”

So is mobile the next big thing in vouchers?
“We have a new system which allows vouchers to be emailed or sent to a smartphone. With the growth in smartphone ownership, there’s extensive scope in terms of the delivery of vouchers.”

Read the comments from the whole panel on the Marketing Week website.