The Cinema Sitdown

In the latest episode of The Cinema Sitdown, Dominic Kwaczynski is joined by Lee Shelton, the Director of Exhibition Strategy at Gruvi. Lee previously served as the Head of Digital Marketing and subsequently Digital Projects at Curzon, one of the leading independent cinema chains in the UK.  Throughout Lee’s career, his key goal has been to grow and innovate in the cinema industry through data driven digital advertising. Ahead of his presentation at AIMC, Lee shares his insight on how increased collaboration between film exhibitors and distributors is driving innovation in film marketing.

“The more that a film festival or cinema can do to make the experience feel like a live and special one-off event, the better chance you have of success”  Joining Dom on The Cinema Sitdown is Tom Vincent, the former film curator for Perth Festival and current Program and Ticketing Manager for CinefestOz.  For over 10 years, Tom has curated major film festivals in both Australia and the U.K, bringing the best of world cinema to diverse audiences. Now Tom shares his first hand experience on what it takes to deliver a successful film festival and what makes them a singular way to watch films.

“Every single [Palace] cinema has its own unique identity, its own unique programming ethos, its own unique audience.” Joining Dom on The Cinema Sitdown is Alex Moir, the Head of Marketing at Palace Cinemas. Specialising in arthouse and international cinema, Palace’s emphasis on offering a boutique, premium cinema going experience has seen it develop into Australia’s leading independent cinema chain. Overseeing the overall marketing and branding strategies for the cinema, Alex shares his thoughts on what distinguishes Palace from other chains and how its unique identity has allowed it to thrive through uncertainty and an increasingly competitive film market.

Joining Dom on The Cinema Sitdown is Neil Wirasinha, former Head of Media at Universal Pictures International and current COO of Gruvi. For over 15 years, Neil headed the media team at Universal, supporting the growth of the company worldwide and playing an instrumental part in Universal Pictures’ transformation into a digital first marketing organisation. Sharing his first hand experience, Neil provides an insightful look at how major film studios’ views on digital marketing have changed over the years and how data-driven advertising has helped bridge the gap between studios and exhibitors. 

With the stars unavailable, audiences have become key to promoting the latest releases. After years of unprecedented change, the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WAG strikes in Hollywood are raising important questions about industry practices. However, with much of the industry at a standstill and actors unavailable to promote major studio films, film marketers are all asking the same question - how can distributors make up for the traditional PR cycle coming to a halt? Join Dominic Kwaczynski and Navrin Secker in this episode of The Cinema Sitdown as they discuss how the strikes have forced a change of hand for distributors and how audience driven marketing has been key to promoting the latest releases.

In this episode, Dr. Ruari Elkington, the Chief Investigator at QUT’s Digital Media Research Centre, joins Dom to discuss his research into the cinema industry (in conjunction with Palace Cinemas) and what the theatrical experience represents in the current entertainment landscape. Following on from his presentation at the Independent Cinema of Australia (ICA) Conference, Dr. Elkington provides data-driven insights into how a human centred approach is crucial for independent cinemas to engage audiences and drive regular audience attendance. 

In this episode of The Cinema Sitdown, we take a deeper look at the slow return of older cinemagoers aged 50+ to cinemas post-Covid. We also discuss how digital advertising can be better utilised to market films targeted to this demo through a case study of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

Following up on Gruvi’s focus group from CineEurope 2023, this episode of The Cinema Sitdown explores how cinemas can leverage website data and audience behaviour to convert persuadable audiences and turn them into a primary target group. Dom and Nav reflect on this with a recent case study of Ben Affleck's film AIR.

Dom and Nav look at a film with a lot of bite: shark film The Black Demon and its impressive performance in the Middle East. Using Gruvi's insights, the team investigate how the digital campaign performed relative to similar titles, and the effectiveness of TikTok in driving ticket sales. They also look forward to a busy next few months in cinemas as the upcoming US summer brings a number of major blockbusters to the big screen.