Chris Harris

Odeon Cinemas Next To Embrace Social Commerce

It seems Odeon are Fanatical about Facebook.

This week the UK’s biggest cinema chain Odeon, announced that cinema-goers will now be able to book tickets to films via their Facebook page, without having to leave the social network. Odeon’s embracing of social commerce follows a line of other brands in the UK including ASOS, French Connection, O2 & HMV set to utilise their social media presence to allow customers to purchase from their stores, and with this announcement it is safe to assume that Apollo and Cineworld will be watching closely…

To me, this move seems smart. Why wouldn’t a retailer want to have as many outlets for revenue generation? Assuming that Odeon’s 28K ‘likes’ on Facebook come from fans of going out to watch new films, there’s a perfect target audience to market to whilst the user experience doesn’t require a customer to leave the Facebook domain. Great for minimizing the cost-per-acquisition (CPA). 

Not to forget that Odeon is no stranger to using Facebook as a marketing tool - as it was the first UK cinema chain to launch a ‘check-in deal’, offering customers free popcorn when they ‘checked in’ at the cinema using the Facebook location tool. Facebook deals provides great integration with the wall and social graph, as well as mobile technology. Brands need to be looking at purchasing via social media store-fronts in a similar way. If I can see that my friends are all going to a movie on Friday night, I’m certainly going to think about seeing that movie myself, even before I’ve heard what they think of it. 

The act of turning ‘transactions into conversations’ may seem scary or confusing for many retailers and brands right now, but it is today’s brave and adventurous that will provide the case-studies for others to follow tomorrow… and make a few quid doing it.

For another look at the social commerce landscape, check out an article on Wired here