Brand Experience Brief: Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas
Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas claims to be “a first-class movie destination.” This Brand Experience Brief shows how it lives up to that brand vision.
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transcript:
A chain of movie theaters called Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas claims to be “a first-class movie destination.” This brand experience brief shows how it lives up to that brand vision.
First a bit of background. There are 5 Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas in the U.S., all in Southern California upper class, cool neighborhoods including Westlake in Los Angeles and Del Mar Heights in San Diego, and the company says it has “an aggressive growth strategy for the upcoming years.”
From the moment you step into these cinemas, you know you’re not in movie theater Kansas anymore. There is a large dining area in the lobby including a full bar where you can hang out before and after the movie. I didn’t see too many people taking advantage of this area, but it does seem to hold the promise of a more enriching movie-going experience with friends than just sitting in a dark theater with no opportunity for interaction.
There are also a couple of comfortable lounge areas including large digital screens for hanging out and/or watching sports. You can order food and drinks from an extensive menu that includes edamame as an appetizer, a red quinoa salad that was fresh and tasty, garden truffle flatbread pizzas, sandwiches, and specialty cocktails like a cool cucumber martini. Cinepolis also mixes up creative movie-themed cocktails like the Bull Market Martini in honor of the movie, The Wolf of Wall Street. There are also delectable desserts, several varieties of popcorn, and all the usual movie theater fare.
Once inside the theater, large leather recliner-style seats with leg extensions and personal cocktail tables, and moveable arm rests make for a very comfortable experience. The theaters seat only around 60 people and the seats in groupings of 2 are far apart enough that you enjoy a sense of privacy.
Plus there are big wide aisles for the servers – yes, there are servers that can be summoned to take your order before or during the show with a press of a button. Our server was very friendly and service-oriented. All of the servers kneel in order to not block the screen and they serve your food as unobtrusively as possible. They use tablets that make payment a snap and the only thing that detracted from the experience was having to sign the receipt in the middle of the movie.
I need to mention that the bathrooms were well-designed and spotless, which goes to show the extent to which the brand offers a first-class experience.
At $19 a ticket including service charge, Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas is about $8-10 more than what you would pay at a regular theater, but it’s worth it, if only for the opportunity to be able reserve your exact seat online and not have to stand in line for tickets or show up early. But given how enjoyable the brand experience is and all the extras you get, you definitely want to get there early and stay late.