S1/E1: New Alamo communities

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Season 1 / Edition 1

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I recently talked to the Chief of Staff & Strategy for the the Alamo Drafthouse.

If you’re not familiar, Alamo’s been called “the coolest movie theater in the world” and have bucked trends in the larger theater industry in a big way, boasting double-digit growth both before AND after the pandemic.

They’ve developed a cult following nationwide, even beyond the cities that house one of their 44 locations (more on this in later editions).

One takeaway I got from my conversation was around their concept of the “Community Manager”

These individuals are placed in each of the markets they occupy, and are responsible for proactively forging partnerships and relationships with the communities they’re a part of.

They do that by…

• …seeking out booking the space for community needs: hosting forums, issue-related screenings and discussions, voter registration, clothing and food drives.
  

• ….assisting schools and PTAs with fundraising for their causes – offering tickets for fundraisers and hosting fundraising events at their spaces.
  

• ….plus the more “conventional” solicitation of corporate/space bookings and group sales.
  

What this does is not only to create awareness for the theater, but also furthering the brand value that Alamo is substantively and authentically integrated with the community.

By serving the community’s needs, they help their own ends.

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OBSERVATIONS

• I think this helps Alamo feel more authentically like a “public space / asset” than many cultural organizations do – and reach a more diverse constituency.
  

• Something I heard a lot from them was that one of their goals was just to get people comfortable coming to their space, through methods other than their screenings (aka “main product”), as unfamiliarity with a space can be a big barrier. In my experience, we’re preoccupied with making our art more accessible, but maybe we should step back and consider this barrier as well (and this strategy can help).
  

• I think this kind of role is ripe for adoption – but the only way it works is if its prioritized institutionally… no sense doing this if the person in this role is stuck with “whatever’s left” in space bookings. It might look like lost revenue in the short term, but good brand perception ultimately leads to more donations & tickets.
  

• For those of us without venues, I think a lot of this is still applicable – the meeting of community needs is more important than the space its done in, and I could imagine these being good ongoing partnership opportunities (a food drive in collaboration with your local library / hip restaurant / etc.).
  

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