Impacts of online culture in digital marketing for cinemas

Abstract

Digital marketing is a very useful tool that cinema theatres can utilize in their marketing plan. As a large portion of customers for a company are now available through the click of a mouse on digital platforms, companies these days tend to spend most of their marketing budget on encompassing the internet and social media. It is very easy to reach people through such digital outlets, while also simultaneously difficult to stand out in such vast circumstances. Taking into note the various challenges and studying the different behaviours and desires of potential customers can be a very useful tool while determining the framework that a company may use to design their marketing strategy. The different types of theories were gathered from books, online websites, statistics as well as the various online behaviours exhibited on social platforms such as Instagram and Twitter/X.

This research dives into the digitalization of marketing in today's age and some useful marketing frameworks that could be made use of by a cinema company. Having a strong and established framework helps to shape a stable marketing plan. The research also explores the different advertising tactics of film companies, as well as customer behaviours online and internet culture surrounding the film domain. It aims to study the various ways that a cinema can appeal to their audience. This is carried out through quantitative qualitative research. The data analysed has been used to offer suggestions and possible solutions for the client company after conducting an interview with them.

The research showed that a strong digital marketing plan would be very attractive to cinemagoers if a company is willing to engage and participate in online conversation surrounding film media on the right digital platforms. Taking part in trends over the internet can appeal to a large audience as they are influenced by them very often. The results of the research were used to provide a variety of recommendations and ways to increase the customer base and encourage engagement. These were derived from the survey results. The qualitative part of the survey also brought to light new suggestions that could ensure a customer to return to the cinema. The results also indicated that social media was the main source of film and TV related news to reach an audience. The research concludes that a well curated marketing team can be highly beneficial for a small company with big competitors. Suggestions also include the possibility for more in-depth research in order to verify the applicability of the research already conducted.