S1/E13: Should you have an "Eventising" team?

LABNOTES is a production of SECTORLAB and presents ideas from my unique take on R&D for arts organizations. These ideas are put to use in consulting.

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Season 1 / Edition 13

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CASE STUDY

“Eventising.” It may not be a word, but the Alamo Drafthouse has a team dedicated to it.

Alamo’s been called “the coolest movie theater in the world” and has experienced double-digit growth since the pandemic, bucking their sector’s trends. According to Chief of Staff & Strategy Heather Morgan, the eventising team has played a part in why.

This group works closely with the curatorial team (who selects the films and balances the “seasons” for each of their 44 locations) to devise ways to activate the non-film part of the experience. Their charge: “How do we help people have more fun? How do we turn this into ‘an event?’”

This manifests in ways ranging from more supplementary layers at their (in-house) bar (e.g. trivia, drag bingo) or F&B offerings (themed cocktails or menus) to ways in which the “product” itself is altered: such as fully-interactive party screenings that feature audience participation throughout.

Here are some highlights:

Creating brand-specific experiences: they’ve turned their annual screenings of the Christmas movie Elf into a unique, in-demand holiday tradition with a produced “show” layered on top of the movie: there’s a host, a prop bag containing items used at key points during the film (a scratch and sniff card, an elf hat, puffy snowballs to throw), and singing / quoting along is encouraged.

Maximizing demand: For last summer’s global Barbie phenomenon, they had a step & repeat for taking & sharing pictures, had themed props, pink cocktails, encouraged audience members to dress in pink, and even debuted themed (Alamo-branded) merchandise.

Helping struggling product: For 2015’s Magic Mike XXL - not predicted for box office success - they turned screenings at Alamo into a themed party, with a custom drink menu, pink dollar bills to throw at the screen, and other activities closely tied to the film. This became a big success at many locations, far outperforming expectations on what was viewed as a weak product.

All of this contributes to the overall brand perception of Alamo as a fun, funky, and different kind of place to watch a movie; creates a sense community and loyalty among its audiences; and drives increased revenue (highly “eventised” experiences often feature higher ticket prices).

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OBSERVATIONS

• My experience in our sector is that much of our planning stops at the curatorial step – the choice of what’s going to be performed, exhibited, etc. What if we had a team whose job was asking, as Alamo’s eventising team is charged, “how do we help people have more fun?”
  

• While many of us ARE looking at how our events and experiences as a whole can be improved, I think Alamo shows us that there’s another level of event design and audience engagement (and perhaps even product lines) that can be considered to help connect art and audiences and help them have a great time.
  

• Remember that in LaPlaca Cohen’s seminal report on the motivations and trends affecting cultural institutions, “having fun” was the top motivator for cultural participation.  How often is that goal foregrounded in our conversations about programming, visitor experience, etc.?
  

• Alamo’s an interesting case study – I’ve featured them a few times so far in how they’ve embedded themselves into the communities they’re a part of, and how they turned traditionally weak days into opportunities to cultivate loyal audiences. If you’re familiar with them, you might say that I’m glossing over the fact that they’re differentiated by offering restaurant quality food and craft beer service during their screenings. To me, though, that can (and has) been copied by competitors, and their true differentiator is in how they demonstrate their core brand value of “a deep love of movies” - a place where movie-lovers feel at home - of which I feel eventising is a perfect example (along with these other areas I’ve highlighted).
  

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