The AMC Theatres Social Media Care team helped make “Hidden Figures” dreams come true for hundreds of young girls.
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Company: AMC Theatres
Entry submitted by: Elizabeth Solomon (Manager, Social Media Care)
Community/Social Channels: www.twitter.com/amctheatres ; www.twitter.com/amchelps ; www.facebook.com/amctheatres ; www.instagram.com/amctheatres ; Snapchat: amctheatres
Lithy category: Surprise & Delight
The campaign
The AMC Theatres Social Media Care team helped make “Hidden Figures” dreams come true for hundreds of young girls.
The goal, strategy and tactics
Latonja Richardson’s daughter, Taylor, attended a White House screening of Hidden Figures this past December, and was inspired to raise money for 100 girls to see the movie for free. Taylor identified with the “hidden figures” of the movie, wanting to be an astronaut herself (she even has the nickname Astronaut Star Bright), so she set up a GoFundMe campaign with her mother’s help to try to raise $2,600. She was even interviewed by the local Jacksonville, Fla. newspaper about her goal. When Latonja posted the article link to the AMC Theatres Facebook page, she didn’t expect anyone to respond. However, the AMC Theatres social media care team quickly saw Latonja’s post through our Lithium SMM set up, and saw an opportunity to help this mother/daughter duo.
Not only did we send Latonja and Taylor movie passes to help cover the cost of tickets; we also worked with our Film Programming department and the local Jacksonville AMC Theatre to get the screening planned for them. Latonja said her daughter was in tears when she found out we were on board.
While we coordinated the big day, Latonja and Taylor worked tirelessly to raise money through the GoFundMe campaign. As the donations flooded in, we expanded the number of screenings so they could invite more girls to see the movie and become just as inspired as Taylor was. Each screening was filled almost instantly. The efforts sparked free screenings nationwide by various groups and organizations, and Taylor and her mother raised over $19,000 for their own efforts. Along with the free movie, attendees received a free copy of the book “Hidden Figures” and other goodies. All together, nearly 1,000 girls were able to attend Taylor’s free screenings, far surpassing her goal of 100 free screenings.
Since the screenings, Taylor’s efforts have been covered by several national news and entertainment sources, such as BBC, Circa, Forbes, Upworthy and People.
The Results
AMC Theatres saw both positive customer response and positive brand impact from this execution. As a company, we pride ourselves on being charitable and giving back to our communities, and the Social Media Care team exemplifies that through surprise & delight whenever possible.
While Taylor’s GoFundMe campaign received 649 unique donations, and social media coverage of Taylor and her movie screenings saw more than 40,000 engagements, video coverage of her efforts topped 500,000 views on Facebook alone. The impact was there – and AMC got to share in the spotlight.
Latonja has also become a true brand loyalist for AMC Theatres. After the original screening, she sent our team the following: “I wanted to say thank you so much for allowing us to have our first screening of Hidden Figures at your theater Saturday! Not only was the staff helpful but professional and friendly. The customer service was the best!”
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