Hispanics Go to the Movies: Starring Mobile and Social [Insights & INFOGRAPHIC]

A new report, Hispanics Go to the Movies: Starring Mobile and Social found that Hispanics’ movie-going habits far exceed that of the general US population, however discovery and purchasing habits were not as technology-driven as expected, given recent Hispanic mobile usage statistics.

Hispanics’ top sources for movie discovery are traditional ones, such as word of mouth, in theatre movie trailers and TV ads.  While 75% use mobile to find movie listings, 92% of respondents still buy movie tickets at the theater.

The results were even more surprising given the respondents were members of the MocoSpace mobile gaming platform.

The findings indicate that the movie industry has opportunities to better reach, engage and increase sales by enhancing mobile capabilities and content. Almost 85% of respondents expressed interest in mobile capabilities and content enhancements. Top areas for improvement included mobile enabled deals and promo alerts, reward programs and trailer previews.

Holidays and opening weekends stand out as opportunities to better market and reach Hispanics via their mobile phones. 73% of Hispanics reported going to a movie theater over a holiday and 58% on movie opening weekends.

“We are honored to have taken part in this very relevant, important endeavor. Our agency, along with our client NBC Universal Motion Pictures, and dedicated media partners, see great strength and value in continued research and analytics of Hispanic entertainment consumption habits, especially when it comes to motion pictures in the United States. Good research lights the way for us to continue building Latinos’ participation in today’s vast entertainment landscape.”

The respondents were:

•    Hispanics residing in the US with 89% speaking English and Spanish almost equally at home.
•     62% between the ages of 18–34.
•     55% females, of which 50% have children under 18 years of age.

Key findings:

•     Hispanics surveyed are avid moviegoers; 75% go to a movie at least once a month and 34% go more than three times a month.
•     Over half of respondents (53%) reported going to the movies with 2 or more people: family-movie/taking the kids going topped the list at 35%; taking in a movie with friends at 34% was the second top reason; date night a close third at 32%.
•     58% tend to go by the end of opening weekend with Friday night being the biggest night at 26% followed by Saturday at 20%
•     Holidays are often celebrated with a trip to the movies with 73% going to the movies during the Holidays. The top holidays for the movies were:

                     Halloween 42%                    

                     Valentine Day 41%

                     Labor Day 33%

                     Christmas Day 32%

                     Memorial Day 29%

                     Thanksgiving Day 27%

    Top five sources for finding new movies were:

•         TV ads at 57%,
•         Trailer at movie at 47%
•         Recommendation from friend/family 42%,
•         Trailer seen online 39%
•         Buzz on social media 30%

    Overall, Hispanics are more likely to share about a movie that they LIKE versus DID NOT LIKE. One-to-one communications are critical overall whether they LIKE or DO NOT LIKE a movie. 40%+ shared their opinion via social network sites.

•         If Hispanics LIKE a movie, most will share their opinions by talking to people about a movie in person 55% and texting 54%.
•         Talk to people about the movie in person 55%
•         Text friends to tell them to go see the movie 54%
•         Share my opinion about the movie via social network 46%
•         Call a friend to discuss the movie 25%
•         Write an online movie review 8%

    If Hispanics do NOT LIKE a movie, they are more likely to share opinions on social media.

•         Talk to people about the movie in person     47%
•         Share my opinion about the movie via social network 41%
•         Text friends to tell them to NOT go see the movie 35%
•         Call a friend to discuss the movie 24%
•         Do an online movie review 7%

    65% watch a trailer before going to see the movie.

    While 75% use their mobile to find a movie listing, 92% purchase a movie ticket in person at the theater. Top sources for finding movie listings included:

•         Go to my local theater’s site      39%
•         Use a search engine site like Google   23%
•         Go to theater and see what is playing 16%
•         Use Fandango       11%
•         Use other movie app/site 7%

    54% felt that buying movie tickets on their mobile phone was too hard

    85% were interested in at least one of the mobile features and functionality enhancements tested. Topping the list were:

•         Promos and discount alerts       38%
•         A movie reward program for mobile     34%
•         A better way to see movie trailers on my mobile phone    32%
•         A calendar feature for alerts for when tickets go on sale    26%
•         An app that makes it easier to buy tickets on my phone   22%
•         More movie promo ads    21%

Top mobile marketing and commerce opportunities for reaching Hispanic moviegoers:

#1 – Holiday and Opening weekend promos and deal alerts: Get more Hispanics to choose your movie or theater by offering promos and campaigns around holidays and weekends. Simple promos and deal alerts, campaigns on high movie going times are a reasonable and easy action to implement for attracting more Hispanics to a show-time at your theater.

#2 – Make it a more local/social/rewarding movie experience: Movie going by nature is a local experience. It’s not surprising that up to 39% of Hispanics go directly to a local theater’s site (39%) to find a listing.  A little more surprising however, is that 16% are physically going to a theater to see what movies are playing.  Given the high rates of opening weekend or holiday attendance, there are opportunities to have more location-specific experiences and social events focused in top Hispanic DMAs, to drive buzz and sales for theaters or movie producers.  We believe there are many easy and cost-effective social tactics that will help reward and incentivize customers e.g. a badge for the person who gets the most friends to attend, free popcorn if customers purchase tickets as a group of four or more movie goers.

#3- Facilitate mobile movie ticket sales: A surprising 92% of Hispanics are buying their tickets in-person. 54% felt that buying tickets via mobile was too difficult. 22% felt a better mobile ticketing app was needed. We believe that further exploration about the types of app and usability features that will encourage customers to buy tickets on their mobile is needed.

Hispanics are interested in using social media and mobile phones for movie discovery and ticket purchasing. Is the movie industry ready to employ tactics for better engagement?