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Multimedia Design and Communication programme
Research and Innovation project
Future Cinema - 2015
Group Cool Black
Bethlhem Haddush
Alexandra Sandor
Jacob Juul Jørgensen
Jens Vesterdal
Councillors:
Karen Malene Andreasen
Adam Montandon
1st of April 2011
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Introduction
Lately the cinema is being challenged by home theatres and video on demand. The
last couple of years this has become a more and more serious problem for the
cinema as we know it. They already have problems with pirates who illegally
download the movies instead of going to the cinema. This problem is now even
bigger, since more and more people prefer to stay in their own home and watch
video on demand, which results in the movie theatres losing costumers. In this
project we have been working on innovative concepts for the future cinema, in
order to compete with video on demand, and in order to attract the people back to
the cinema.
Description of current situation
While home entertainment systems have come closer to matching a movie theatre
experience, the truth is a movie theatre experience cannot be matched. Going to
see a premier in the weekend, with a packed excited audience, and a bag of
popcorn and soda is second to none. Unfortunately DVD sales and other cross
media platforms are cutting into theatre budgets and threatening to shut down
theatres across the world. The recent spike in ticket and concession prices is
directly related to the somewhat diminishing market
VOD is keeping people from going to the cinema because they are able to get
almost the same experience at home, for a cheaper price and more flexibility (you
can watch the movie when you want, and you can pause it whenever you please)
But for some people, there's still nothing like the big screen. Some viewers like
sharing the movie with others (kind of like, "why go to a baseball game in person,
instead of watching on TV?") and sharing the experience with 50 - 100 others,
hearing them gasp, laugh or cheer. Stepping on the mashed popcorn on the floor
and having it stuck to the bottom of your shoe – all just part of the ambiance.
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Thesis statement
The future of the cinema is in danger because of the rise of people using video on
demand or people downloading movies illegally.
Even though some people still prefer, and love, the cinema as it is now, it is not
enough for the cinemas. In order for them to survive in the future, they will have to
focus on new innovative concepts. That’s where we come into the picture. To solve
this problem we are taking into consideration the following questions:
» How come video on demand is such a big issue for the theatres?
» What could the future cinema look like, in order to compete with the video on
demand trend, and thereby attracting people back to the cinema?
» What are the strengths and weaknesses of the current cinemas?
» How can the cinema launch and promote their movies to make the cinema
popular again?
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Methods
We have used various methods in order to come up with the best constructive and
creative ideas for the future cinema. We decided to start with a brainstorm, where
we got a lot of different ideas, which we then cooked down to a mind map with the
best ideas.
After this we used desk and field research to gather both secondary data and
primary data. Secondary data is data which already exists, and we gathered this
information from the World Wide Web. Primary data on the other hand, is data that
does not exist yet. We gathered this information by doing a survey in order to
understand how the people feel about the on our subject with the future of the
cinemas.
Mind map method is a great fun way to come up with ideas. While thinking about
this research and innovation project we came to many important questions, for
example: how can we describe people, who live in Odense, what kind of services do
they like to use, what kind of relaxation do they prefer. On some of our questions
we answered based on our experience and individual observations that led us to
this mind map. Mind mapping is a great way to get people involved in a common
task. This also helps us understand how each team member thinks in real-time.
Desk/field research
We received a lot of information from our survey, for example 64% only visits the
cinema 0-4 times each year – which is a very low amount, considering how often
you watch a movie in your home. We also got confirmed that many people prefer to
stay home and watch video on demand or a downloaded movie. Actually 71,4%
preferred staying at home, rather than going to the cinema. The reason for this was
mainly that it was easier, because there are no lines where you have to stand and
wait, and it is significantly cheaper.
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Unfortunately we cannot include the survey, since you have to buy a pro-
membership to download the survey. We made it on www.surveymonkey.com
Mind-map
Comfortable
Home-feeling Active
relaxation
Not
Chairs boring
2 in 1
Special Cinema &
gym
Healthy
Future cinema
2015
Extreme
Fun
Special
wind&scent
effects
Strange
Surprising
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Blue Ocean Strategy
This strategy pursuits to make a new market or create a new demand. We tried to
do that, because at the moment there are a many cinemas on the market, and they
have special products, they provide different special services to the customers. But
in this phase it is called ’Red Ocean Strategy’. This strategy means, is there a
product on the market that is very popular, for example the movies. If we would
like to remain in competition, then we need to change the price, to make our
service or product cheaper. We need to change the colour from red, to clean blue,
to change Red Ocean Strategy to Blue Ocean Strategy. It’s mean we need to find a
new market, a new product. Our group tried to come up with an absolutely new
service, that isn’t on the market yet. Our idea is the gym connects with cinema. We
think it’s innovative, because usually in the cinemas people can only sit in the
chairs, eating popcorn and sweets and look at the movie. We wanted some activity,
and make this program healthier. We also keep in mind people who prefer the
passive relaxation, so for this kind of costumer we want a room that creates “the
ultimate feeling of being inside the movie. We want to achieve this by combining
vibrating chairs and special weather and scent effects in the room which react
accordingly to the movies storyline. For example if they, in the movie, are on a
plane in turbulence – then the seat will vibrate accordingly and there will be a
distinct smell of ‘airplane’. The new effects give more fun and pleasure to the
people, and because of these they will prefer to go the cinema over to stay at home
to see a movie.
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Swot analysis
We decided to do a swot analysis on the cinema as it is now, because it provides
information which is helpful in matching the cinemas resources and capabilities to
the competitive environment. This is also a great way to develop concepts, since it
provides a good overview of the situation.
Positive Negative
Internal Strengths Weaknesses
Social Expensive
Relaxing, stress relief You can’t pause the movie
Big screen – 3D The cinema decides when the
Good surround sound movie plays
Big premiers on some movies Someone might bother you in the
(costumer gets spoiled with gifts room (make loud noises etc.)
etc.) Waiting time
Special experience Each person has to pay for ticket
No cell phones ringing
No car noise
External Opportunities Threats
Possibilities for external support Pirates downloading movies
Big global network – it’s a Video on Demand
worldwide industry Busy lifestyle = no time for cinema
Sponsors Home theatres
3D televisions
Part conclusion
In Danish cinemas there is the opportunity to unwind and get away from the
everyday stress. If you have children it is also a good way to get a break and enjoy
being able to sit quietly and watch a movie, where you at home might often get
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distracted by children crying, traffic noise or a mobile calling. Here you can enjoy
the film in full on a large canvas with a good picture and sound without any
interruptions. But the cinema has more threats and competitors against it. Instead
of going to the cinema and pay a lot for the ticket and transport, many people
would rather watch a movie on their own home theatre.
With video on demand people can with the right antenna subscription rent movies
directly on their TV. Then they have got a plethora of opportunity to see brand new
movies in every genre and there is the possibility to pause the movie if you have to
get extra candy or need a trip to the bathroom - making it easier for individual
consumers. This still costs money, but it is much cheaper than going to the cinema.
When u rent/buy a movie on video on demand, you have to pay the same amount
no matter how many persons you are - as opposed to the cinema where each
person has to pay to see the movie.
Although it has become possible to purchase 3D television, this still costs a lot, and
true breathtaking 3D effects still function much better in the cinema. A 3D cinema
ticket costs a little more than normal, but a 3D television costs a lot more than
regular televisions
It is important for individual cinemas that you have some good contacts, including
different sponsors. At one point in 2010 the company, "Carlsberg" went on a strike
from work, which resulted in "Carlsberg" not delivering products to various clients,
including BioCity Odense. This meant that customers in the cinema were forced to
drink water while watching the movie since "Carlsberg" sponsors Coca Cola and all
kinds of other stuff. If this happens over a long period or frequently it could give
bad publicity, so people would not choose the cinema. Therefore it is important to
have good contacts, so you can avoid situations like this.
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Ideas
We based our ideas on the Danish people’s needs. The Danish people basically
prefer the sporty, healthy lifestyle. Therefore we worked out an innovation that
connects the relaxing and having fun with some sport activity. In this modern life is
also important for the people to save time. This idea allows 2 in 1, the active
relaxation. But if you prefer total relaxation and the feeling of being inside the
movie while at the cinema, then we have just the concept for you also. It should be
worthy leaving your favourite chair at home.
Gym and cinema
The Danish people generally prefer the active lifestyle. It’s mean they usually sport
something, jogging, or cycling. Because of these, we worked on to find out some
way to connect activity and relaxation/enjoyment. It’s the cinema and gym
together. We imagine a gym with a big cinema screen on the wall. As long as the
people training, they can see a movie also and have fun. In today’s fast-paced life
is really practical to find a way, how can people have relaxing and fun, and make
some body activity in the same time. We find one opportunity to carry out that.
The final concept
A cinema usually has like 8-9 rooms where you can watch movies. At the moment,
all the rooms are exactly the same, except they may vary in size and areal. Our
idea is to make several different rooms, so one room is where you can watch a
movie on the big screen and at the same time get your daily work out done.
Another room is then designed to give the watchers of the movie the ultimate
feeling of being in the film. We would install some kind of weather machine in the
room and specially designed chairs to create the ultimate feeling of actually being
in the movie. For example if they, in the movie, are on a plane in turbulence – then
the seat will vibrate accordingly and there will be a distinct smell of ‘airplane’ or
maybe some wind if for example the plane smashes a window while in the sky. We
also image there would be heat in the seats, which would get activated when it is
very hot in the story of the movie. Least but not last we also want it to be able to
sprinkle tiny water drops on the people in the cinema. This could be when, in the
movie, they jump into a lake etc. All these new effects combined gives more fun
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and pleasure to the people, and because of this, they will prefer to go the cinema
because they experience something they are unable to do at home.
Media plan
In order to attract more people to the cinema we think it would be a great idea if
the cinema would sponsor some local sports events, kind of like ‘OK benzin’ does.
That way they would get a good reputation, and people will notice the cinema
more. We also believe that creating an application for Smartphones would be a
good idea. Thru this application movie lovers would get informed about special
events in the cinema and receive updates about the latest movies running in the
cinema.
While using the brainstorm method we also came up with the idea, that if a certain
movie at a certain hour does not have very many people there to watch it, they
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should sell the tickets at half price 15 minutes before the movie begins, and at ¼
price 5 minutes before the movie begins. That way the cinema will fill its rooms,
and make money!
Group reflection
In our group there were three different types of learning styles present: reflectors,
theorists and pragmatists. I think it’s differently learning style made balance in our
group work, but it could have been more balanced since three of us are
reflectors/theorists.
Alexandra and Jacob are reflectors and theorist in the same rate. At first time they
stood back, observed and gathered information and analyzed them. Their strength
is the meticulous collection of data. And they were active to create good ideas also.
But if the group found some new ideas, they first of all analyzed how it is working,
what is the wrong in that idea.
Jens is also a reflector/theorist. He gathered a lot of useful information for the
project and came up with innovative ideas we could use. He coordinated the group
work really well and helped out if anyone was in need. He also put together all the
work from the group into the final report.
Bethlhem is pragmatists. She was active to find out something news, and used
confidently new ideas. She made a picture with Photoshop also.
The work activity of our group was changing during the whole project. In the
beginning of the week the group was in trouble due to illnesses. This meant that
the first two days where not productive at all. But the rest of the days we got a lot
more active and spent many hours working. Unfortunately Jacob was very ill the
whole week, but we communicated over facebook. When we started working it went
well, and the discussions were really useful for the project.
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Conclusion
We have found out that video on demand is a big issue for the cinema industry,
because our research has shown us that at the current moment most people prefer
to watch movies at home due to the better flexibility and cheaper costs.
Furthermore we have come up with an idea on how the cinema could evolve in the
years ahead in order to compete with video on demand. We believe our solution is
very innovative and can benefit the situation the theatres are in at the moment.
This was possible by doing the SWOT analysis and our desk and field researches.
Furthermore we came with some solutions on how they should
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Literature list
» http://www.linkedin.com/answers/product-
management/branding/PRM_BRA/663664-8912783
» http://www.helium.com/items/1023440-how-piracy-threatens-the-movie-
industry
» http://www.linkedin.com/answers/product-
management/branding/PRM_BRA/663664-8912783
» http://google.com/
» http://creatingminds.org/tools/tools_ideation.htm