Fandango: Lights! Camera! Mobile!
Fandango has implemented a new mobile offering to complement its online and phone movie ticketing services.
With the company's latest application, users of Web-enabled mobile phones and PDAs can access film information and ticketing at mobile.fandango.com. Moviegoers can text Fandango at short-code "FNDGO" (36346) for access to specific movie and theater information as well.
The new service delivers comprehensive movie and theatre information, such as reviews, showtimes, theater amenities, directions and maps; as well as alerts when tickets go on sale for upcoming movies.
So, according to Fandango, you can quickly get showtimes for your favorite movies, and receive mobile alerts of advance ticket availability for highly anticipated films such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Chronicles of Narnia and King Kong. For instance, as part of a mobile campaign, moviegoers could send a film title and ZIP code (e.g., "KONG 94103") as a text message to "FNDGO" and receive showtimes and ticket availability for nearby theaters.
an imageFrequent moviegoing and active mobile use often go hand in hand, so says Fandango CEO Art Levitt.
"With nearly 200 million wireless subscribers in the U.S. - and over 50 million mobile devices connected to the wireless Web - it makes perfect sense for us to launch this service. This new platform will extend the Fandango brand and broaden our reach, while offering fun services such as text messaging, premium content and mobile promotions," he asserts.
Fandango's mobile marketing services will enable studios and other marketers to deliver mobile marketing campaigns and promotions to targeted, active moviegoers and allow them to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns through ticket purchases.
In the future, user will be able to dowload movie-related ringtones, wallpapers and games as well as premium content, including movie trailers and exclusive clips. Fandango plans to also add location-based services, which could provide additional information (such as restaurant listings) to moviegoers based on their geography.
Also on deck is virtual movie tickets, yet another way to bypass the box office—by offering users a barcode on their wireless device that can be scanned by the ticket-taker.
Levitt opines, "At the end of the day, it's all about creating a more convenient moviegoing experience—whether you're sitting in a restaurant, discussing which movie to see, checking reviews and showtimes and purchasing tickets on your phone, or waiting at an airport and planning a family weekend at the movies from your PDA."