Fandango, the NBCUniversal-owned movie ticket retailer in the United States, has partnered with Facebook to make the purchase of tickets a lot simpler for filmgoers.
On Friday, Sept. 16, Facebook and Fandango announced that users of the former would be able to purchase movie tickets directly from the film's official Facebook page.
So come this weekend, Facebook users in the United States will be able to purchase tickets to films such as Warner Bros.' Storks, The Magnificent Seven starring Denzel Washington and the Kevin Hart concert directly from their respective official Facebook pages.
Paul Yanover, Fandango's president, shared with the New York Times that the primary reason behind the partnership with Facebook is to lure more people who do not venture out to see films — particularly millennials.
The collaboration with Facebook is part of Fandago's long-term strategy to integrate the service into more social media platforms, which would aid it in targeting a younger audience.
Yanover is also of the opinion that the partnership with the social networking site will make it simpler for users to organize group outings as well as invite other people to catch a film. This aspect, he feels, is more important to a filmgoer than what Fandango previously estimated.
The ease of purchasing movie tickets via Facebook as well as inviting one's friends to catch the same film could potentially give a fillip to the number of people, especially Gen Y, who are going out to catch a movie.
"It's not just about purchasing ease, it's also about bringing along groups of people. Hey, we're going to see this movie. Why don't you come along? Great. Boom. Done," touted Yanover.
Fandango has also cashed in on the launch of iOS 10 and is now enabling people to purchase movie tickets via a text message. People need not leave the text window either. Those on iOS 10 can simply tap the Fandango applet when they are on Messages. The posters for a movie showing on a theater will pop up. Tapping on the poster will show the theaters nearby, including the screening times and options for purchasing.
Fandango also has plans of including an interface for movie ticket purchases into what is probably millennials' favorite app — Snapchat.
With Fandango marketing its ticketing services more aggressively, it will be interesting to see if the younger demographic is indeed lured by the service.
Photo: Mike Mozart | Flickr
