Today’s picture is from a late 1990’s policy trailer for AMC’s MovieWatcher. For those who don’t remember MovieWatcher, the program was similar to present day rewards programs (AMC Stubs, Regal Crown Club, etc), but much more streamlined/basic than modern day equivalents.
Back in the 90’s and early 00’s, patrons submitted a form with their contact information to the box office and were issued a plastic membership card; initially the card was white, but a black color scheme (pictured above) was adopted in the mid 90’s. Once their personal information was entered in the system, members could have the card swiped with ticket purchases and earn rewards (free small popcorn, free small drink, free movie ticket) through a tiered point system. Additionally, Wednesdays were designated “Movie Watcher Wednesday”, with every member receiving a free small popcorn. When members hit a specific point milestone or attended a Wednesday screening, a coupon printed with their ticket, and they simply redeemed the slip for the corresponding reward. While lacking the upsizing, upgraded (paid) memberships, discounts, and elaborate point systems, of modern rewards programs, MovieWatcher was extremely popular in its’ day.
Beyond the simplified mechanics of MovieWatcher, I also recall the program being conducted in a somewhat casual fashion, internally, at AMC. Viewed as more of an added perk for regulars, than marketing tool or data harvester, there was rarely any serious push to engage patrons in the program. However, in the Spring of 2011, MovieWatcher was replaced by Stubs and corporate began to take a keener interest in the value of their rewards program; closely monitoring data and implementing aggressive sign-up quotas for theatres (hence, the barrage of sales pitches one experiences today).
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