Pinnacle says Yohan. “People were clinging to the headrests and the armrests. I loved it!”
New Jersey-based Pinnacle Entertainment Group is a
When considering the ever-looser boundary between a classic auditorium
consultancy outfit which also understands the need to
and a lobby-based entertainment space, Yohan is acutely aware of that
hand-hold new clients when building out a cinema
potential. His company has created a ‘synchronous mode’ where more than
lobby environment. CEO George McAuliffe likes to get
one (and perhaps many) viewers or players can enjoy a shared experience: “We
involved early in a project, in what he calls the “space-
figured out that a lot of people were going to venues to enjoy an experience as
claiming” stage, sitting by an owner’s side as the look
a group, so we decided to develop a social mode, where users can enjoy an
and feel of an entertainment space is developed.
experience together. That means it is synchronised between all the chairs in a
Having recently celebrated its 25th anniversary,
room with the same sounds and images playing at every station. People can
Pinnacle’s core expertise is in the development of family
communicate with each other using their microphone and headset. They can
entertainment centres (FECs), a sector that is currently
talk and express emotion while the experience is being played.”
enjoying burgeoning growth again stateside. Formerly
Yohan believes that prices shouldn’t top €5 to €10 for a 15-minute VR
of Edison Entertainment, McAuliffe set up his own
experience, which he says is “…not much if they remember it for the rest of their
consultancy and, managing to land Disney as his first
lives.” He also sees the business sense in exhibitors exploiting their square
account, was charged with lending direction to the
footage, acknowledging that operators are “ready to try new solutions to
build-out of indoor theme parks, DisneyQuest and
monetise their space.” With screening durations shorter than conventional
ESPN Zone. The company now has upwards of 250
movies, and with several customers enjoying an experience within an hour,
clients, with bowling alleys and arcade developments
price-per-minute revenues could be higher than those in a regular auditorium.
defining much of their output. With a growing number
Martek
of cinema exhibitor clients joining his portfolio too, McAuliffe sees a clear picture emerging. The family component of entertainment centres
Although identifying the right equipment or entertainment modules for a
is possibly more applicable today than it’s ever been.
lobby or ancillary space are critical to the overall experience, there is also
McAuliffe is astounded that so many games are being
undoubtedly a science applied to the respective architecture and floorplans.
played by three generations at once, with laser tag still
UK-based Martek has been providing exquisitely-designed, contemporary
one of the leading attractions. He admits that he
lobbies for such high-profile clients as Odeon and Cineworld since the 1990s,
recently travelled to a venue where “people with white
and now boasts some 65–70 operators on its roster. Although mainly attending
hair like mine” were picking up their infra-red beam
to UK customers, its reach includes projects in Europe and the Middle East.
shooters and entering into battle. Additionally, bowling
Marketing director Kirsty Carnell tells CT that the focus of the company’s work is in the planning of the areas “…in which a customer will exchange money
is proving consistently strong in the US, while also accelerating in Europe.
with the operator to buy goods.” Although this predominantly means
McAuliffe believes there’s a phenomenon at play in
concessions areas, Martek also advises new exhibitor clients to source third
the world of cinema exhibition, what he calls “the old
party partners for F&B opportunities, such as branded coffee outlets like Costa.
model versus the new.” In the US, cinemas typically
The company’s years of expertise mean that it is savvy to the pitfalls of not
had a few games in the lobby “over there in the corner
engaging fully with customers when they enter the space. “What doesn’t work
somewhere” which many considered an afterthought.
and what we’ve seen not work,” says Carnell, “is where an operator confuses a
He feels the purpose was to attract pocket spending
customer in what they’re selling by either offering too much in terms of F&B or
from customers on their way in and out of the site, but
not having clear messaging.” She continues to emphasize that cinemagoers
that this was incidental to the theatre experience itself.
don’t want to queue for long and do want to make purchasing decisions
“So, that’s kind of the old model which worked well for
quickly. A lobby itself should be “a really attractive space” to encourage
many and continues to,” McAuliffe tells CT. “But we’re
customers to spend time both before and after a scheduled film showing.
seeing it on a much larger scale now where there’s a
Although Martek has had fewer calls to build specific VR or gaming areas
new model in play. That’s where they’re plugging in
at UK sites, Carnell realises “the lobby is more of an entertainment destination
significant arcades that have the power to attract
now, and that is felt in the UK through technology and the way lobbies are
people on their own.”
presented.” She particularly notes a rapid increase in demand for LED screens
The cinema business model is challenging, suggests
and eye-catching, moving content as punters approach concessions areas.
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