Regal L.A. LIVE: A @Barco Innovation Center
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Barco, a specialist in digital cinema, has launched its new Barco Lobby Experience, a turnkey technology platform that transforms the cinema lobby into an engaging, revenue-generating entertainment center.
Greg Patrick at the official opening
Regal L.A. LIVE: A Barco Innovation Center in Los Angeles, California, can be considered somewhat as an ‘executive briefing centre’ for cinema, but, centred in the lobby of a multi-theatre complex, it is also open to the public, engaging consumers and exciting them about the new movies and offerings available, as well.
It is basically an example of what Barco can do with a lobby to help attract theatre goers.
Barco is turning today’s cinema lobby into an immersive storytelling environment that maximizes customer intimacy, while driving higher revenues. A full-scale demonstration project of the Barco Lobby Experience is now available for scheduled tours by movie studios, exhibitors and other theatre managers. Several tours have already taken place.
The Regal L.A. LIVE theater is located in the area of Los Angeles where the Staples Centre, the JW Mariott Hotel, the Ritz Carlton Hotel and a huge number of impressive digital signs are located – an area sometimes referred to as ‘Times Square West’.
Barco partnered with AEG, one of the world’s largest sports and entertainment presenters, and Regal, operators of the largest and most geographically diverse theater circuit in the United States, in a multi-year, strategic partnership to create the Regal L.A. LIVE: A Barco Innovation Center.
“Visitors can truly immerse themselves in a real-life cinema lobby,” says Greg Patrick, vice-president digital cinema – lobby for Barco. “Exhibitors can now enjoy the convenience, weekly content updates and cost-efficiency of working with a turnkey solution provider to create interactive and engaging cinema lobby for a new generation.”
The Regal L.A. LIVE theater is a fully operational theatre with 14 auditoriums, all equipped with Barco Cinema Projectors, Auromax audio and, one equipped with the Barco flagship laser projector. But it’s in the lobby and halls to the various auditoriums that the Barco Innovation Center is astounding guests.
“There are four engagement zones,” Patrick says. “These are the box office, the concession stands, the feature screen, and digital posters. The box office and the concession stands are operated by Regal, not Barco, but have the usual signage showing film times and food offerings. Barco handles zones three and four, aimed at exciting the public and offering a sort of ‘pre-show’ of opportunities to engage the public.
“To plan it, we looked at how the consumer moves. The large feature screen advertises an upcoming movie. It is flanked by two large portrait verticals. And then, there are some 40-to-60 65” LCD posters with high brightness and ultra-narrow bezels. The aim is to provide a transition zone to get to the show and excite customers with the magic of going to the cinema.”
“We have had a phenomenal response from our guests who are truly amazed and awed by the Barco Lobby Experience,” says Shelby Russell, vice-president, marketing, for AEG & L.A. LIVE. “We see tremendous potential for increasing ticket sales and engaging patrons, while creating a new entertainment experience that they can’t get anywhere else.”
Barco Lobby Experience zones engage customers the moment they enter the theater, while creating opportunities for exhibitors to influence purchase decisions. Periodically, all screens are synchronized with a special offer, eg a concession stand offer or a loyalty club or ticket pre-sale promotion.
The compelling content on the Innovation Center screens has been created by Barco’s professional services which, as required, creates, delivers and manages whatever an exhibitor wants.
By leveraging its strong relationships with movie studios and third-party hardware providers, Barco offers a complete solution designed specifically for the cinema, including all hardware and software as well as the content creation and management services to customize each lobby. It also offers full integration with POS and other corporate platforms and, most importantly, sources the movie assets directly from studios.
The Barco proprietary content management system manages everything from basic content packages featuring digital posters, box office and concession templates, to synchronized screen arrays for a full Lobby Domination sequence. Back-end analytics provide customer interactivity data, enabling owners to adapt content to deliver the most effective messages.
Regal L.A. LIVE: A Barco Innovation Center exemplifies Barco’s vision for modern movie complexes to offer premium, differentiated cinema experiences with cost-efficient and streamlined operations.
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