Evaluation of the "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" Prime Premiere Event From the Perspective of an Event Professional

On Wednesday, January 31, 2024, I had the opportunity to attend a preview event for the new Amazon Prime Video series"Mr. & Mrs. Smith", starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine at my local AMC Theatre in Spokane, WA.

I often write film reviews as part of my work as a cultural scholar and media critic (and am happy to share my thoughts on the first two episodes of the series with those who are interested via message), but here I want to focus on something else in relation to the above: the event itself.

As an event and marketing communication professional and educator, part of the draw for me in attending this premiere was the new marketing approach being employed with the event, and upcoming events like this, by Amazon Prime Video (Prime). Prime is scheduling events like this moving forward for their Prime members in select cities (68 large to mid-size cities across the United States were listed in the invitation). The invitation I received via email for this event invited me and one guest to “a special early screening exclusively for Prime members.” (The show became available on streaming February 2, 2024 – two days later.) I had to RSVP for my tickets (first come, first served) for the free event, and the invitation promised concessions and giveaways.

The invitation indicated that doors would open at 6:30 p.m. and the show would begin at 7:00 p.m., but a reminder email the day before indicated doors would open at 6:15 p.m., so my partner and I left with the new time in mind, as the event was listed as “sold out” if you looked it up on the theatre website, and the seats were not reserved.

There was no signage upon arrival for the event, but the attendant as you entered the theatre was informed of what was going on and friendly, and he directed us down the hallway to the proper theatre and told us we would have our tickets scanned there and pick up concessions in front of the actual theatre. The individual working the door was perhaps not as thrilled to be there, but they did their job adequately. Our tickets were scanned, with a little difficulty, and we were given cups and advised to go back to the Concessions area to fill up our drinks from the self-service machines, then come back and grab a medium bag of popcorn from the bags lined up on a cart for people to take.

We entered the theatre and found some patrons inside, but not many. People continued to trickle in, but the theatre was nowhere near sold out. I told my partner I believed the “sold out” status was probably simply reflective of Amazon having bought out the theatre for the event. However, arriving 45 minutes early was much, much too early as a result. We sat there for a long time, even with grabbing the concessions and making bathrooms runs. On the screen in front of us during this time, we had some occasional trivia relating to the show in some way and a prompt to take or upload a photo to add to a background and hashtag about the premiere (which would not work for us).

The screening itself started on time and began immediately after a short, recorded voice message about no photos or recordings of the advanced screening. The two episodes played back-to-back with no break or transition (title sequence) between them. When they were over, upon exiting, the popcorn cart was sitting in the exit area with bags of popcorn. Many people wandered by wondering if that was meant to indicate they could take leftover bags, but there was no one in that area to ask. As we exited the theatre doors, we were handed tiny computer camera covers with the "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" logo on them.

So, that was the event, here are some comments on the event and what I would change as an event professional (one with an entertainment background):

·        I think the idea of in-theatre premieres that are exclusive to Prime members is an interesting one with real potential. This can be a good way to generate advance hype and make your customers who pay for your service, and are lucky enough to live in a designated city, feel like they are getting a unique benefit. (Incidentally, Prime added commercials to their content at the same time this launched.) I don’t love that the cities getting this benefit seem consistent, leaving out many areas of the country, but do understand that there is, no doubt, logistical reasons behind the choices of where to do the screenings (such as theatres they have partnerships with, Amazon hub locations, etc.).

·        The potential here may be diluted if they get too carried away and start previewing every new original Prime release, and they have quite a few already on the docket, which leads me to believe they may be taking that approach. I believe this would be a mistake as it would reduce the novelty.

·        Especially if they start having an event for every premiere, I am concerned that the events may not remain free (and it may not be truly free as it is, as many may need to pay for parking like we did), and that, too, I think is a vital part of the appeal – the feeling of it being a BENEFIT OR EXTRA for Prime customers.

·        How much control of the concessions set-up Amazon had at AMC is questionable, but as the hosts they should be following through and checking on this aspect, so I will mention that the concessions were a really nice touch (my partner said to be sure to mention he really appreciated the popcorn and drink!) but getting them was a bit awkward. As an event professional and former theatre manager, I would have dedicated one line at Concessions for people to pick things up at. It was a Wednesday night and not busy, and other guests could have been directed over to that line as needed as well. This would have made for a clearer process and all concessions to be picked up in one spot. (This also would have encouraged the purchase of additional concessions, a benefit to partner AMC.)

·        It would also behoove Amazon to have a representative at the events. There are many events, but if nothing else, they could hire someone to be a local representative and do gigs of this nature part-time or have a designated individual from the the theatre they work with. (I’m available! 😊) It would have been nice to have a host present, and this person could have made sure all theatre staff were properly briefed, there was signage up, etc., as well.

·        However, the biggest benefit to having a person to host may be in the lead-up to the movie itself. This felt very flat and un-engaging. My partner was nearly bored to tears waiting. Some ways to make this more interactive and engaging:

o   Rather than the photo app that did not work, I would suggest a photo area with the info on hashtags and such. (It would be really awesome if people involved in whatever was screening – stars, directors, writers, etc. – made occasional surprise appearances at random screenings too, providing more photo opportunities and Q&A sessions.)

o   Have the suggested host MC some trivia and give away some prizes connected to the show. Our giveaway was not impressive, and talking to others as we left, most people would have preferred the chance to win something a bit bigger (shirts, bags, etc.) than be handed an item that most of us have built into our computers.

o   Playing music from the show was a nice touch, but this too could be done with more of a live feel, interspersing songs with the trivia and prizes.

o   The host could then give a bit of an introduction, extending that feeling of being invited to this SPECIAL EVENT

·        If you are premiering a TV show and showing multiple episodes, then I would suggest taking a very short break between episodes, just like most people would at home. Let them get more food (if there is leftover food, let them know!), run to the restroom, take a chance to hype them up for the next episode…

·        Finally, as mentioned earlier, the giveaway was not really well received for this particular premiere. I’d be curious to see what is handed out at future ones. I will say that you do not need a big-ticket item, but it is worth thinking about not only what might fit thematically with your show, but what people might actually use or want, and they missed the mark on the first go-around.

Now, I want to make clear that there are always constraints, be that staffing, budget, or a million other little things, that even as an event professional I can only venture an educated guess about, but these are my thoughts. I can never go to an event and not assess it with my background, so I have decided that sharing some of my insights might be something worth putting out. This event felt like an especially relevant one for me to comment on given my background in events, theatre managemen, and popular culture studies, but I hope to post about more events in the future.