Vue Cinemas launches tablet app to propel online ticket sales

Vue Cinemas is building a direct sales channel around a tablet app that pushes branded content to readers in the hopes of spurring online ticket sales.

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Vue Cinemas is hoping films like Gravity can boost ticket sales from its new tablet app.

The Publicis Blueprint created app is a tablet version of the cinema chain’s print magazine that launched earlier this year.

It features interactive videos, articles, and in-app Twitter feed which will be updated weekly. The content aims to highlight blockbuster releases alongside alternative films with readers being encouraged to purchase tickets directly from the app as well as plan weekly cinema trips.

Moving forward, Vue plans to create additional revenue streams around the app through brand partnerships. The cinema chain has already partnered with Sony to promote its PS3 console and says it is exploring further opportunities around readers being able to purchase DVDs, streaming service, downloads and merchandise from the app.

Michael Kalli, head of corporate sales and advertising at Vue, says online is a “key channel” for the business as it looks to prop up ticket sales.

Admissions in September and October 2013 were down 9.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively in comparison to the same months in 2012. This was due to a combination of a weak slate and continued good weather, the business said. It expects an improved performance from the rest of the year off the back of high profile titles such as Gravity, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Thor 2: The Dark World.  

The app is the first major digital announcement from Vue since it was acquired in June by Canadian investors for £935m.

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