Mediaboss Marketing

LOS ANGELES, April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --The fast-growing event cinema company Iconic Events announced today that the company has enlisted theatrical circuits representing over 1,000 locations to the expanding network of theaters playing its programming, and that Steve Bunnell, the respected theatrical distribution and exhibition veteran, is coming on board to lead Iconic's growth efforts as chief executive officer. The announcement was made by Iconic Events Executive Chairman Michael Lambert.

Iconic Events was formed last year by Lambert, a longtime owner of movie theaters, along with former Cinemark CEO Tim Warner and several leading media, exhibition, and entertainment industry entrepreneurs with extensive experience in the industry. The event cinema company was quietly launched after Lambert and Warner consulted with key members of the community, who enthusiastically endorsed the need for exhibition to have more programming choices for their theaters and have since signed up to be part of the Iconic network.

Iconic Events has already become a significant distributor of live sports events and other unique and desirable fan favorite programs. Iconic is focused on working with its theater partners and expanding the variety and types of event cinema content presented in their auditoriums. Event cinema programming includes on stage access to rare concerts, live Q and A's for premieres of new movies, cast reunions of classic movies, anime, premiere episodes of beloved series from networks and streamers, and even regional and local sports.

Event cinema, defined as non-traditional entertainment released in theaters as special limited-engagement event programming, is the fastest growing segment in exhibition in the United States.

Event cinema's audience is five times larger in Europe and other international markets than in the U.S. The appointment of Bunnell, one of the industry's most accomplished and recognized veterans, to lead this new venture is a further sign of Iconic's commitment to capitalizing on the potential growth opportunity and increased demand for specialized content in this sector. Live and special event programming is built on activating content-specific fandoms and followings, who will share the excitement of new content.

"Iconic Events has had an incredible start by securing the rights to UFC fights, live boxing matches, and other highly desirable and marketable content for distribution to our growing network of movie theaters," said Lambert. "Steve Bunnell understands the business like few others. His special vision for expanding live and other content through his relationships and experience on both sides of the theatrical aisle at Cinemark, Universal, Regal, and most recently Alamo Drafthouse, makes him uniquely qualified and perfectly suited to lead Iconic as we broaden our programming and extend into categories including concerts, music videos, live Q and A's for premieres of new movies, cast reunions of classic movies, anime, premiere episodes of beloved series from networks and streamers and even regional and local sports."

"Now, more than ever, theaters need the additional programming choices like those being offered by Iconic. We already have access to over one thousand theaters representing nearly ten thousand screens in the US, with more live-capable theaters being added every day," said Bunnell. "There's enormous potential for growth in this sector of the business in the United States by making this content broadly available to any and all exhibitors, and I'm tremendously excited to be leading Iconic's efforts. Putting optionality into the hands of exhibition and giving them more choices for their customers couldn't be more important."

Fueling growth in the Iconic network is a no-strings approach to building long term relationships with partners. "More and more, the multiplex is seen not just as a local theater. It is a community entertainment center and an event destination. We are delighted to have such fantastic response from our community they understand their customers want more event cinema in their theaters, and more importantly, they understand the upside for their bottom line especially right now, when every dollar counts," said Bunnell.

Iconic Events has already seen significant success with live UFC events, starting in January with the Connor McGregor/Dustin Poirer fight. The company has quickly grown from just a dozen test locations to over 150 live-event-capable theaters that brought the most recent UFC live event to audiences this past weekend. Iconic will also bring audiences the super middleweight fight between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders on May 8 through a new partnership with DAZN, and will bring the rematch of McGregor/Poirer to theaters in the just-announced UFC event on July 10.

Behind Iconic Events is a world-class team of industry leaders. Founded by Michael Lambert, Mark Rupp, Steven Menkin, and Tim Warner, Iconic is dedicated to bringing live and other special events programming to movie theaters.

STEVE BUNNELLis one of the most respected studio executives in the industry and has strong relationships with both exhibition and distribution. His extensive knowledge of the theatrical landscape in the U.S. as well as Latin America has given him a unique perspective in providing a global overview. He joins Iconic Events from Alamo Drafthouse, where he served as SVP, Film Content Buying Licensing, responsible for booking decisions at the chain. He previously served as chief content officer at Regal Entertainment Group, where he led all programming decisions for their 560 locations nationwide, and as EVP/general sales manager for Universal Pictures, where he determined release dates, created distribution plans, and set the sales policy for all Universal films in the domestic marketplace. Bunnell's prior exhibition experience also included six years as chief content officer for Cinemark based in Dallas and served as head film buyer at Loews Cineplex Theaters in New York City.

MICHAEL LAMBERThas spent the last 40 years in public and private companies acquiring, managing, and growing US and international media and technology businesses, including broadcasting, cable and channel development, digital spectrum management, film and television production and distribution, music, and cinemas. On the film side, Lambert was co-owner and co-chairman of Village Roadshow Pictures Group and for over 25 years has been an owner/operator of exhibition companies including Act III Cinemas, Gold Class Cinemas (sold to iPic), Studio Movie Grill, and Rave Cinemas (sold to Cinemark). Earlier in his career, he served as 20th Century Fox's president, Domestic Television, responsible for TV production and distribution in the US; executive vice president of HBO, responsible for the co-financing and worldwide distribution of HBO film and television, and president, Viacom, Domestic Television, where he was responsible for US television distribution and new media, including the company's early activities in cable television.

TIM WARNERis the former CEO of Cinemark, one of the leading exhibition companies in the world, operating 504 theaters, with 5,794 screens in 14 countries. He joined Cinemark in 1996 as senior vice president and president of Cinemark International, leading Cinemark's efforts to build its international operations for over 10 years. He was later promoted to president and COO of the company, and then CEO and board member as Cinemark became the number one-attended theatrical exhibition company in the world.

MARK RUPP, Iconic Events' CFO/COO, is aseasoned executive with over 20 years of public and private company experience in the telecommunications and media & entertainment industries. Rupp spent 13 years at Verizon, ultimately as head of Mergers and Acquisitions, then served as executive vice president of Triton Cellular Partners and as chief operating officer of one of the nation's largest municipal wi-fi systems, known as Wireless Philadelphia. He then became co-founder, director, president & COO of SpectiCast, one of the fastest growing producers, financiers, distributors, and marketers of event cinema worldwide. He went on to serve as managing director of CineLife Entertainment, which delivers world-class event cinema programming to art houses, luxury cinemas, and commercial theater networks.

STEVEN MENKIN, the CMO of Iconic Events, has over 30 years of industry experience as a producer of 17 feature films, documentaries, and TV series, and as a distributor and marketing executive. He has worked with nearly every major studio and the leading independents in the film and entertainment industry. Through his marketing companies Deliver Your Audience and Ingaged, Menkin is an acknowledged and sought-after innovator in consumer digital marketing. With the utilization of the proprietary Open Social marketing tech platform, he has launched over 400 social and digital campaigns that activate, engage, and capture the sharing networks of fans and influencers across social media, which result in direct-to-audience fan databases for Hollywood studio clients including Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros., Lionsgate Films, Fox Television, Fathom Events, Focus Features, Roadside Attractions, and CBS Films. His book publishing clients include Penguin Random House, Dutton, Putnam, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, St. Martin's Press, Hachette, Macmillan, and Doubleday.

Iconic is working with content rights holders to distribute fresh and unique programs to satisfy ever-changing moviegoer demands and is focused on some of the most successful genres in event cinema, including live sports and music, anime, new and classic films, fine arts, faith-based programming, talent commentaries, and other added value content. In addition, Iconic is working with musical artists to develop events around album drops, giving them access to a premium communal experience coast to coast, in cities large and small.

For information on the company, or updates on future Iconic Events programs coming to theaters near you, visit http://www.iconicreleasing.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Steve ElzerElzer & Associates[emailprotected](213) 392-4660

SOURCE Iconic Events

http://www.iconicreleasing.com

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Iconic Events Signs Up Theater Circuits Representing Over One Thousand Locations As Industry Veteran Steve Bunnell Joins To Be Chief Executive Officer...

Crocs is known for its clogs, sandals and Jibbitz footwear products. Credit: thinkretail / Flickr.

US-based footwear retailer Crocs has reported first-quarter revenues of $460m, an increase of 63.6% compared to $281.2m a year prior.

During the quarter, the companys average selling price was up by almost 8% to $17.64 due to an increase in direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenue. Its operating income increased to $125m and its diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $1.47.

Crocs DTC revenue increased by 93.3% to $170.1m, compared to $88.0m in the first quarter of last year. Wholesale revenues rose by 50.1% to $290.0m, compared to $193.2m a year earlier.

The retailer said that its business experienced growth in all regions and channels. The 75.3% increase in digital sales represented 32.3% of revenue.

In the quarter, the companys Americas revenues were $276.4m, up by 87.1%, while its Asia Pacific revenues increased by 20.1% to $82.6m.

Its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) revenues were $101.1m, an increase of 41.0% on a constant currency basis.

During the quarter, Crocs was able to sell 25.9 million pairs of shoes, a 51.5% increase over last years fourth to first quarter.

Sales of the companys clogs increased 87% year-on-year, its sandal revenues rose 17% and sales of its Jibbitz product range more than doubled compared to last year.

Crocs CEO Andrew Rees said: We are thrilled with our first-quarter results. The strength of the Crocs brand is exceptional, experiencing growth across all regions and all channels.

In the first quarter, our global brand momentum continued to strengthen, and we benefited from economy starting to emerge from the pandemic and government stimulus in some important markets.

We continue to drive brand relevance and consideration through a multifaceted marketing approach that leverages digital and social marketing, celebrity and influencer campaigns and collaborations.

The company expects revenue growth of 40% to 50% for this year, and capital expenditures of almost $100m to $130m for supply chain investments.

In February, GlobalData reported that Crocs revenues rose to $411m in the fourth quarter of last year. This was an increase of 56.5% from a year earlier.

The companys net income had increased from $19.9m to $183.3m, and its EPS had increased from $0.29 to $2.69.

More:
Crocs records 64% increase in first-quarter revenues - Retail Insight Network

With Mother's Day just around the corner, TikTok has published some new insights into how its users are engaging around the event, and how marketers can tap into such, in order to boost their Mother's Day promotions.

TikTok starts off with this somewhat surprising claim:

"Did you know that more than one in four TikTok users is a mother?"

That seems like a lot, particularly given the younger skew of TikTok's audience. But then again,with more female users than male, and a broader audience spectrum than most would anticipate, the data highlights the platform's potential from a marketing standpoint, with many influential, older users now reachable through the app.

That in-built audience has provided TikTok with a range of insights into the products that mothers are looking for on the platform, which could help to shape your Mother's Day promotions.

As you can see here, most TikTok moms want a vacation.

I mean, don't we all? A year in and out of lockdown will do that to you. But with travel still off the cards for many, there are various other considerations that TikTok moms are looking to as the day gets closer, which could highlight key opportunities for related brands.

TikTok also says that mothers on the platform are heavy mobile phone users.

"They're more likely to see your content through a phone screen, and they often discover brands through social media.Marketers should take notice, and reach them with immersive advertising in mobile-first environments for maximum impact."

TikTok also notes that Mother's Day activity ramps as the day gets closer, with a big jump on the day itself:

"We looked into activity around relevant hashtags like #mother,#mothersday,#gift,#giftformom and #mom this time last year on TikTok, and here's what we noticed: Mother's Day-related content and activity saw a big spike on the day of, compared to the day before.This held true for the volume of content posted, as well as views and engagement on that content."

These are some valuable pointers for marketers, which could point to both immediate opportunities, in terms of Mother's Day gift promotions, and ongoing recommendations through TikTok, with mothers also likely to showcase their gifts in video clips posted on the day.

TikTok recommends that marketers look to share special offers leading into the event, and to use TikTok ads as reminders, to ensure that users remember that the day is coming up.

These are some handy notes, and they could highlight new considerations for your Mother's Day outreach.

You can read TikTok's full Mother's Day insights here.

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TikTok Shares New Insights into How Users are Engaging Around Mother's Day in the App - Social Media Today

PHOTO:REDPIXEL

The signs in the digital customer experience industry have been clear for years now: marketers and those charged with creating digital experiences recognize that customers and prospects navigate brands digitally outside of websites. No argument here. And the analysts have been clear too: No more web content management labels for software that builds and manages websites. Are brands themselves abandoning websites? From the looks of things, not even close.

Case in point: The CMO Survey found most companies made investments in the performance of their digital marketing over the past year in optimizing their company website: 73.8%. That was ahead of digital media and search (65%), direct digital marketing (57.3%), data analytics (56.5%) and marketing technology systems or platforms (53.8%).

I guess its not too surprising in the year that weve just had that many CMOs invested heavily in their websites, said Tom Capper, senior search scientist at Moz. Theres never been a better time for it.

As the COVID-19 pandemic raged on and on, digital marketing activities like online experimentation and/or A/B testing (45.4%), managing privacy issues (28.5%) and machine learning and automation (20.4%) were at the bottom of the priority list. And the website took precedence. Why?

The website, even though it seems a little bit more tactical, is really the entrance way into the firm experience, said Christine Moorman, T. Austin Finch, senior professor of business administration at The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University and The CMO Surveys founder and director. And so if you screw up there, it's not like you're going to have a chance to go much further. My interpretation is (CMOs) put dollars down there to make sure that they got that right, but some of them may not have been optimized. Consumers were coming at them from all different kinds of directions, but with COVID, the website was the portal in for most of us.

Related Article: Why Your Website Is Key to Accelerating Digital Transportation

The CMO Survey did not break down what marketers wanted to optimize about their website. Lead generation? Infrastructure? Scalability? Website cleanup? Were guessing every brand could stand to improve in all of these departments, especially infrastructure and scalability, which proved challenging for even brands with the backing of some of the bigger web content management software providers.

For the record, we do know this from The CMO Survey, the industries with the most representation for optimizing websites during the pandemic was consumer services and transportation, tied at 88.9%. It was followed by tech/software/platform companies at 62.7% and consumer packaged goods at 56.0%.

In what ways should marketers be thinking about optimizing their brand's websites? Generally speaking, there are two areas that need the most attention: personalization and ecommerce, according to Shift7 CEO Andrew Walker.

First, when users come to your website the things they interact with should be personalized to them via any number of segments including geography, industry, product recommendations and so on, Walker said. Of course, to do this, you need to have as much data on your customers, and those who come to your site, as possible, so that's always going to be the foundation of personalization."

Further, Walker added, if you don't have the ability to transact with customers in some way, whether that's directly taking payment, collecting leads or directing them to a specific retailer, that's a big strike. "Brands must optimize their ecommerce presence to compete," he said.

Accessibility needs to go beyond serving people with disabilities and catering to different languages, according to James Bourner VP, media and partnerships ofJellyfish. Ensuring the experience and functionality are at parity across users' screens and devices is critical.

Furthermore, Bourner added, brands with apps need to ensure the app and web experience is one," he said. "With an eye to the future, we expect the avenues for consumers to access content to expand. For example, the effectiveness of Shops on Instagram is an indicator of this.

For ecommerce, the website needs to be optimized for a frictionless shopping experience. In other use cases, access to specific information or documentation needs to be easy, Bourner added.

Customer research and UX may demonstrate different customer priorities on mobile vs. desktop, or app vs. site, Bourner said. Still, the content must be optimized for both, and user journeys tweaked to reflect any differences in the reason people are visiting the different environments. Consistency through a sales cycle is an important consideration, and robust CMS and CRM systems that allow users to pick up where they left off, regardless of screen, improves the overall customer experience.

Related Article: 6 Ways B2B Websites Fail to Engage

Can a website still be the backbone of a brand's digital experience? It's difficult, but right now, the website probably can be the center of a brands DX, according to Bourner. However, he called that alone poor advice for most and not a solid long-term vision, or something that will always be possible.

Rather, brands can prioritize their website for defining that experience if they need to but really these moves should be dictated by data. Make the place that most of your customer interactions or transactions happen be the backbone of your experience, Bourner said. Ultimately, marketers ignore all other channels at their peril.

Whatever you have to do, be sure to plan for a holistic future. Think about how the user experience and content delivery will happen across all channels and screens. Expect them to increase.

Realize the data and insight you can create from having a unified view of customers is immense, Bourner said, and expect customers to want the right experience regardless of where they are and how they consume content, media and digital services.

Walker feels the website should be the backbone of a brands digital experience. While it should never be the only touchpoint of a brand's digital experience, a brand's website can be one experience it fully controls: a center of a unified experience architecture that might integrate with many systems under the hood but feel seamless to the customer.

It should also act as a hub for many other touchpoints including external ecommerce channels, digital advertising, social media, SEO and the like. Ultimately though, Walker added, the brand's website is its digital face and is well worth investing in ensuring it delivers the experience its customers are looking for. We see tremendous potential for returns on investment when brands invest in this backbone.

Read more:
Why So Many Made DX Investments in Their Websites - CMSWire

Creating content is a fundamental activity that cannot be ignored anymore in SEO or Search Engine Optimization. Content creation is the first contribution of data to any channel and in particular to digital channels for an end user/audience. A lot of people know that creating a content is not easy, but it is one of the most powerful ways to make money online as well as improving your reputation as an authority in your selected niche. In this article, I will discuss the ways on how you can create a compelling content.

You have to understand that marketing by creating content requires a comprehensive strategy and approach to be implemented. You should make a deep analysis of your targeted audience and what kind of content will perfectly fit into your marketing campaign. This is the first step in SEO or digital content creation. It will enable you to properly define each keyword you are going to include in your marketing mix and also give your readers an idea of what to expect from your website or online marketing effort. Every piece of content you produce must have an effective hook and a highly readable and search engine friendly content.

For example, if you are working on creating content for your e-business, you should identify your target audience and find out what keywords or niches they want to see when searching for useful information. Then, you have to analyze what kind of solutions you are offering that your buyer will definitely find useful. You should create a blog post around a keyword and link it to your site, so the buyers can get a full view of what you are promoting. Once you get a positive response from your buyer, then you should try to convert the interested buyer to become a subscriber or even a buyer.

You should also carry out a content audit or checkup before you start creating content. A content audit will identify your strengths as well as your weak areas, so you can improve your strategy and reach your goals. It is better to carry out a blog post audit on a regular basis. However, if you do not have time to carry out a blog post audit, then you can create useful content for your buyers by using Google AdWords or you can even hire a content writer to help you write useful content.

When creating content for your e-business blog, it is important that you create an overall persona for your business. Each and every person has a different purpose and a different personality. For example, the persona of your business could be based on the product, target market, geography, brand name, services offered, reputation management, media exposure, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Based on your persona, you should plan a strategy to promote your content. You should think of a way to make your content easy to find online, while at the same time providing useful information for your buyers.

The second part of content creation is identifying the keywords or niches that you should promote or market using your blog posts. The first part of creating content around a specific keyword or niche will provide the information for the buyer while the second part of creating content around this information will help in increasing the ranking of your site on various search engines. You should start creating content around keywords or niches that are difficult to rank in search engines on Google. This may involve purchasing relevant keywords or finding free keyword tools.

Once you are done with building the first persona for your business, you can move on to building the second persona or social media audience. For example, if you are creating content for Instagram, you should keep an eye on the likes and dislikes of the audience. If the audience is mostly using social media to communicate with their friends, you can use Instagram to give them a message of encouragement or share some special offers on Facebook.

Content creation doesn't stop at creating a brand or a persona for your business. After completing your blog posts, you should start planning a strategy to reach out to your target audience. It is important that you use some personalized marketing tactics to reach out to your target audience and build a personal bond with them. Remember that people love to share stories of their triumphs and you can use these stories to create a viral marketing system by posting on your blog and sharing it on your social media sites. You can also hire a professional internet marketing company that will guide you through this process. With a personalized marketing plan, you can easily achieve your goals of creating a loyal audience for your brand or product.

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Creating Content For Social Media Marketing - Global Banking And Finance Review