If the fun of moviegoing is that shared sense of thrill that takes place in a dark theatre on opening night, this year’s ShoWest/NATO Marketing Achievement Award winners brought that spirit to their promotions, making them relevant to local audiences, fostering community connections, and bringing the movie magic to the lobby. With the release of Enchanted and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, castles proved to be a particularly popular lobby addition among this year’s winners. Viewers of Sex and the City and Bottle Shock were wined and dined in accompanying events, and the breast cancer foundation Susan G. Komen for the Cure turned up twice as a charitable cause. For the prizewinners, complicated construction and artwork, dressing up, and manning booths were just part of their ever-changing jobs. With new movies coming out every week, they’re already busy planning their next promotions and entries for the ShoWest Awards.

Lee Milstead for Prince Caspian
When Lee Milstead, a four-time ShoWest award winner, promotes a film, he goes big. Over his 12 years, he has crashed a spaceship into the concession stand for Lost in Space, built a pirate ship for Pirates of the Caribbean (which he has stored for the next sequel) and, for this year’s “Best Use of Media & Events for a Major Release” win, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, he constructed a battering ram out of a tree felled by a storm. The fully operational, gussied-up tree trunk, which Milstead jokingly called his "Medieval keyless entry,” wowed patrons at Regal’s Virginia Center Stadium 20 in Glen Allen, VA, with its functionality and its size. “We build it so it looks like it wouldn’t fit in the building,” Milstead explains. “You can’t tell where the seams are, and you put it up when people are not around.” Patrons were even allowed to try out the battering ram by knocking small items over, “because there is a certain art to it. You have to know just how to swing it.”

Besides his big creations, Milstead tries to anchor a film in its history and reality. For Prince Caspian, that meant tying in the promotion to the local Renaissance fair, and bringing in costumed Renaissance actors to interact with patrons on opening weekend. He also decorated the rest of the lobby and built a pop-up castle to complement the battering ram. The size and intricacy of his inventions mean theatre regulars are always asking about the “next big thing.” Currently, he’s working on a nine-foot dinosaur and a Roman chariot for the Night of the Museum sequel, as well as a 14-foot Starship Enterprise, warp drive, and NASA appearance for Star Trek, ensuring his patrons turn out to his theatre to see the blockbuster creations that go along with the blockbuster films.

Garet Sechrist for Fireproof
Garet Sechrist’s promotion of independent release Fireproof helped push it to “our best independent opening in the history of our theatre,” the Cobb Pinnacle 14 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. For someone who views his own work as a “labor of love,” the movie’s heartfelt subject made it exactly the kind of movie Sechrist likes to promote. Throughout Fireproof’s run, he would see “grown men and women leaving the theatres with tears in their eyes. The movie really touched a lot of people.” Since the main character is a firefighter, the theatre designated the local volunteer fire department as its charity recipient and raised over $1,000, an additional boost to a film that was already doing well at the box office. The winning “Best In-Theatre Display for an Independent Film” featured a fireman in regulation gear propped up on a ladder and putting out a house fire. The fire, constructed behind a window, glowed and sputtered smoke. Adjacent to the house, Sechrist also built a fire truck complete with the name of his community’s fire station, Gulf Shores 59.

Ben Castillo for Sex and the City
For the release of summer movie Sex and the City, “Best Community Event” winner Ben Castillo created just the sort of occasion that Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte would love. The “ladies night out,” originally floated by New Line but abandoned, was adopted by Castillo, who designated the Susan G. Komen breast-cancer research foundation as a beneficiary for the night. Attendees at Santa Rosa Entertainment Group and North American Cinemas’ Sierra 16 in Clovis, Calif. paid $35 for specialty cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, massages and other girly treats, followed by a screening of the movie. Advertised on radio and in the newspaper, the evening quickly sold out. After the theatre scrambled to add an additional screening, attendance swelled to over 500, raising over $5,000 for the charity.

By tapping the promotions/marketing director of the mall where the theatre was located, Castillo was able to multiply the number of vendors that participated. Department store Gottschalks, one of the most generous vendors, sent their creative department to decorate the outdoor venue, contributed to many of the over 50 gift baskets that were part of a silent auction, and added a sample Sarah Jessica Parker perfume to each attendee’s gift bag.
Although Castillo walked around that night “like a chicken without a head,” he remembers the overwhelming chorus of compliments and thanks from patrons for the tremendously successfully evening. Castillo, who started out as an usher and was promoted to another location shortly after the event, can’t think of doing anything else besides the movie business. The constant influx of films means he always has new movies to see and new promotions to plan, keeping his interest up and challenging him to come up with fresh ideas.

Ayah Hasan for Bottle Shock
To kick off her theatre’s re-launch as an art house, promotions coordinator Ayah Hasan organized a series of events around the premiere of Bottle Shock, the independent film based on a 1976 showdown between French and Californian wines. The battle-of-the-grapes offered an opportunity for Hasan to organize wine tastings and reach out to the Charlotte Film Society, whose members would be the prime audience for Regal’s Park Terrace Stadium 6 in Charlotte, NC.

A special screening was arranged with the Film Society, with the proceeds donated to the group. Hasan also organized on-site and off-site wine tastings where attendees could taste and judge French and American wines, and decorated the theatre with lattice and grape leaves to add visual appeal. “Of course, anything with alcohol draws people in,” she laughs.
Using trade-outs to promote the film on television and radio increased awareness, and many drop-bys for the wine tastings later ended up seeing the film, making the campaign a greater success. For Hasan, who is collecting her first award for “Best Use of Media and Events for an Independent Film,” her greatest fulfillment comes from “seeing people participate and care” after “doing all this detailed work and freaking out.”

David Wallace for Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium
Creating Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium in the lobby of the Regal Augusta 10 in Augusta, Maine was no easy task, but it’s an effort that won David E. Wallace the “Best Overall Promotion and Showmanship” award. “There wasn’t a spot in the lobby that wasn’t part of the promotion,” Wallace, a former art teacher, explains. Latticework and a toddler’s train were mounted on a 40-foot-long, four-foot-high island, the windows were painted with pictures of toys, and the whole staff dressed up. Paper airplanes supplied by Fox were used for an airplane-throwing contest. Kids assembled and decorated the airplanes, launching them in hopes of winning free movie passes. Wallace, who views promotions as a “perk” of the job, appreciated that the movie, which blended toys and magic, allowed him to provide an experience for his core demographic, the families that turn out at his theatre. Even a lemur, which appears in the film, made an appearance after a successful call to a company that works with live animals. Not forgetting charities, the theatre sponsored an American Red Cross-sponsored blood drive at a high school, and gave away tickets specially marked with Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium at a Kiwanis Club auction. Wallace also earned a “Best Community Event” nod for his efforts.



Scott Timko for Beverly Hills Chihuahua
For the past eight years, North American Cinemas’ Airport 12 in Santa Rosa, Calif., has held PAWW, Pet Adoption & Wellness Weekend, which encourages pet adoption and showcases different pet-related services. This year, the release of dog-themed Beverly Hills Chihuahua provided the perfect tie-in for the event, which “Overall Promotion and Showmanship” winner Scott Timko planned for the Saturday of opening weekend. Family crowds were treated to a diva contest featuring Chihuahuas “dressed up to the nines, looking exactly like the ones in the movie in some cases,” and a Chihuahua kissing booth.

A very friendly Chihuahua gave a lick to all those willing to pay a dollar. Vendor booths, face-painting, free food, and casino games rounded out the fair-like event. Proceeds of over $1,500 (including $196 from the kissing booth) benefited the local shelter, and 30 pets were adopted on-site. Inside the theatre, families with recently adopted pets could take a picture in a staff-created “doggie salon,” a display with 11-foot walls painted with dogprints everywhere and silhouettes of preening Chihuahuas. While some families came to see a movie and ended up walking out with a pet, many attendees adopted a pet in the weeks after the event, as Timko did at a previous PAWW. With the added boost from Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Airport 12’s PAWW was able to raise awareness about many pets in need of a home, and the necessity of cute clothing when they go out for a walk.

Todd Hiler for “The Pink Bucket Project”
The idea of a pink popcorn bucket which would contribute to the Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer snowballed into an all-encompassing, pink-themed campaign across ten Celebration Cinemas locations. The Pink Bucket Project Committee, which included general manager Todd Hiler, spent months organizing the one-month event. During the October promotion, purchases of the jumbo-size popcorn bucket doubled, with 50 cents of each sale going towards the breast cancer fund. Donation boxes were also placed in the theatre, and an array of pink-colored concessions, as well as a special gift card, all added to the contributions, which totaled an astounding $24,898.

The ten theatres participating in the circuit-wide drive decorated their lobby using the popcorn bucket as a theme, leading to giant buckets full of old popcorn and clever designs like a popcorn bucket cut in half and attached to each side of a window. To add even more pink, the company changed their website to pink and gave pink shirts to staff.
Throughout the month, representatives of the Susan G. Komen foundation, including survivors, were present at the theatre. Patrons, many connected to breast cancer themselves, welcomed the chance to talk about breast cancer, and many came up to managers thanking them for choosing a cause so personal to them. An auction of children’s artwork raised additional funds, further involving the community in Celebration’s charity efforts. The Michigan-based theatre circuit also appreciated that the money raised stayed local, meaning community members will directly benefit from “a pretty prominent cause in our area.” In all, a well-deserved winner of the “Heart of Showmanship” award.

Nicole Wells for Prince Caspian
“Best In-Theatre Display” winner Nicole Wells, who “loves being able to express myself as an artist,” put her skills to use for Airport 12’s promotion of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. The windows outside the theatre featured her paintings of Aslan, Prince Caspian, a castle and a polar bear. Inside, she created and assembled a walk-through castle that thrilled young patrons. During the event, kids could have their picture taken with Prince Caspian, sit for a caricature, or enter a raffle to win a number of prizes donated by Disney and local merchants. All proceeds benefited Sonoma County Literacy Coalition, an apt charity for a movie based on a beloved children’s book.

Marlyn Hodgens for Enchanted
Any child wanting to play make-believe after seeing Enchanted only needed to go to the lobby of Muvico’s Pompano 18 in Pompano Beach, FL. After entering through castle doors, princes, princesses and evil stepmothers posed for photos with patrons beneath a banner donated by Disney, even lending them tiaras for the shots. Under the guidance of managing director and “Best Presentation Binder” winner Marlyn Hodgens, the staff also created a set of New York City, complete with some artistically rendered graffiti, out of old standees. Kids—who “definitely had the most fun,” according to Hodgens—raced around to a castle bounce house, a cartoonist, a face painter and a balloonist. With raffles of promotional materials and items donated by vendors going to Toys for Tots, many kids were able to benefit from the fun generated by this event.

Scott Rosemann for Chelsea Classics
Not wanting to be just another generic multiplex, New York City’s Chelsea Clearview developed an ongoing series, Chelsea Classics, to personalize the moviegoing experience. Hosted by drag performer Hedda Lettuce, the Thursday and Saturday-night program shows classics, and especially camp classics like Mommie Dearest, as “outreach to our neighborhood and gay clientele and family and friends,” states Scott Rosemann, managing director of the theatre and winner of “Best Use of Newspaper.” Each week, ads for the coming week’s program appear in gay-themed newspapers HX and Next. Because an important part of the program is its use as “a marketing platform for everything else we do: gay independent films like Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom, gay-oriented first-run films like Sex and the City and Mamma Mia!, and special programs like the Met Opera, Cirque du Soleil and Rent,” these films with cross-appeal to the Chelsea Classics audience are included in the newspaper ads and mentioned during the pre-show, encouraging viewers to come back on Fridays and Saturdays and choose Clearview as the place to see the blockbuster or specialty film. This year, by partnering with HX and hosting their annual awards show, the theatre received an ad credit covering 50% of their annual outlay for ads in the magazine. While the series does make money, Rosemann emphasizes that its biggest return comes from its ability to create a relationship with patrons, who make Chelsea Clearview their first choice in a city where there are movie theatres in every neighborhood, but no community-oriented neighborhood theatre.