UltraStar Cinemas - ROICOM Consulting, LLC

WHO THEY ARE:
UltraStar Cinemas currently operates 15 locations & 147
screens in 4 Southern California counties and Arizona.
Priding itself on being at the forefront of technology,
UltraStar was the first Cinema Chain in the nation to
complete a Digital Cinema roll out on 100% of its screens,
rolled out the first commercial installation of D-Box Motion
Seats and installed one of the first commercial deployments
of Panavision’s new 3D technology.
A BRIEF BACKGROUND:
Going into the project there were some really positive aspects in working with this client.
UltraStar has a strong background in using new technologies, enhance their end users
experience, and ways to reach their target audience.
While not already using social networking/media for the corporation, within the company
multiple officers and managers are using social media tools on a personal level with great
success. The biggest positive was that UltraStar is a close-knit, family run business with
weekly meetings about the direction of the company. From a content aspect UltraStar has a
major advantage because of the amount of employees with a public relations and marketing
background.
SO WHAT DID THEY NEED US FOR?
From a company level their social networking/media presence was non-existent. They had
these various individual accounts, but didn’t have anything built around the corporate brand
social networking/media wise. They did a good job individually branding specific people
within the company, but were not branding the company. The drawback was that the
company was not receiving any exposure.
Not having a MySpace, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube account was limiting UltraStar from
connecting with some of their key target audience. UltraStar wanted to connect with the
Marine Corps base located just to the north of one of their largest theaters and with movie
goers of all ages in a unified and inexpensive manner.
UltraStar needed a plan to be implemented to create a strong social network to draw in
current customers, new customers and provide a way for customers to contact them in a
public forum.
WHAT WE DID:
We created a plan to connect UltraStar’s customers with the company via social networking
sites. We created a companywide Facebook Account and Fan Page, and programs
specifically geared toward military families and the general public. Utilizing UltraStar’s
existing print and web marketing strategies, we added the Facebook, Twitter and MySpace
logo’s to all advertisements, including adding specific links for each site to the UltraStar
website.
Social networking/media wise we used specific programs for the company that acted as a
mechanism to update these profiles from a central point. We interacted with fans/friends
online as UltraStar and created special discounts and promotions available only via social
networks.
We also used existing connections to spread the word about their social network/media
profiles, specifically to the local military. We targeted current UltraStar locations with in
theater material about their social network profiles, and local sources in communities where
they were planning new locations.
RESULTS:
Since UltraStar had no social networking/media presence results were easy to measure.
Within the first 4 months, we successfully brought many of UltraStar’s customers to their
social networking profiles. With the focused social networking/media plan and push in place
combined with the already strong personal brands established by staff members, UltraStar
saw a significant increase in social networking participants per month.
It was evident that the plan we created was getting their brand in front of their target
audiences. Doing so increased brand recognition, brought more customers into their theaters,
and helped further establish them as a leader in their industry. The program became so
successful that we ultimately had to transition the social networking/media management into
a full time position at UltraStar.