Universal Pictures is an American film production and distribution company owned by Comcast through its subsidiary, NBCUniversal. Some of its most famous films include Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and Despicable Me, while some of its most well-known franchises include Jurassic Park, Fast & Furious, and Back to the Future. Universal Pictures films are released in theatres worldwide and for home release on DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming platforms like Movies Anywhere.

Universal Pictures was facing a need for increased sales, in-depth purchasing insights, and first-party data on consumer demographics and preferences. They partnered with 3 tier logic to launch the points-based tiered Universal All-Access Rewards loyalty program for customers in the United States.

Consumers can earn points via product purchasing and other activities, which are then redeemed for rewards. Program members are segmented into tiers based on the number of purchases validated; higher tiers give them access to additional rewards. This helps increase purchase frequency, encourage brand loyalty, and engage customers at various points on their path to purchase.

Program Objectives

• Influence initial purchases

• Build brand awareness and loyalty

• Increase purchasing frequency

• Encourage brand engagement

• Collect customer data

Strategy

3 tier logic used PLATFORM³ to configure a consumer portal for Universal Pictures’s Universal All-Access Rewards loyalty program, leveraging the following modules:

• Web Portal (Responsive)

• Rewards Portal

• CRM Database

• Purchase Receipt Validation

• Pin Code Generation and Validation

• Contests and Promotions

• Points and Gamification

• Social Content Sharing

• Dynamic Messaging

• A/B Testing

• Data Capture & Analytics

Under the promotion, consumers purchase eligible Universal Pictures movies, either in physical or digital format, in order to earn points and redeem them for rewards. They can also purchase and redeem eligible Universal Pictures movie tickets for points as well. This allows Universal Pictures to build awareness, increase engagement, and capture first-party data on both home entertainment viewers and theater-goers, expanding their reach and diversifying the portal’s capabilities.

Purchase Validation & Program Tiers

To start, consumers can register on the consumer portal before or after making a qualifying purchase. Through the Purchase Receipt Validation technology on PLATFORM³, customers can validate their purchases by registering and uploading a picture of their receipt to the consumer portal. Or, through PLATFORM³’s Pin Code Generation and Validation technology, customers can validate their purchase by registering and submitting the PIN code found inside the product’s packaging. Customers can also connect their Movies Anywhere account to earn points for digital movie purchases. Lastly, customers can upload a picture of their movie ticket, exclusive to tickets purchased from Regal Cinemas, to earn points.

Once their purchases have been validated, consumers are rewarded with points. Every new release is worth 1,000 points, every classic movie is worth 500 points, and every movie ticket is worth 200 points (two tickets maximum per eligible movie). Consumers also earn 50 bonus points for linking their Movies Anywhere account.

Once consumers connect their Movies Anywhere account, all of their movie purchases from online video streaming platforms such as Apple TV and Amazon Prime allows consumers to accumulate points in real-time without needing to log back in or take additional steps. This integration also allows users to watch bonus content for the Universal Pictures movies they purchased directly on the website’s My Movie Features page. Over half of Universal Pictures All-Access Rewards movie purchases are validated through Movies Anywhere, as opposed to receipt and PIN code validation.

The Universal All-Access Rewards program is segmented into four tiers: Extras, Screenwriters, Directors, and Movie Stars. 

• Extras are members who have registered and verified their email address. 

• Screenwriters are members who have validated one purchase. 

• Directors have validated a total of three purchases. 

• Movie Stars have validated at least six purchases. 

If members do not purchase the minimum number of titles needed for their current tier within the calendar year, starting from the date they initially earned their status, they are moved down to the appropriate tier, depending on how many purchases they made. The on-site Progress Bar reminds members which tier they belong to and how many incremental purchases are needed to progress to the next tier. This encourages consumers to continue on their user journey by making and validating purchases to earn points and redeem rewards.

Points & Rewards

With PLATFORM³’s Points and Gamification module, the Universal All-Access Rewards program allows consumers to earn points in many ways. In addition to validating their purchases, they can watch movie trailers, previews, and behind-the-scenes videos. They can also take quizzes and polls about different Universal Pictures franchises, such as DreamWorks and The Purge. Consumers can participate in a daily spin-and-win at the cost of 50 points to earn additional points or win prizes, such as digital movies or physical rewards. They can also earn points by liking Universal Studios and Movies Anywhere’s Facebook pages, referring friends to the program, or uploading a photo of their physical movie collection or a screenshot of their digital movie collection. Universal Pictures can collect first-party data to identify which methods for earning points are most popular with users.

Lastly, program members can also fill out a survey to earn points. The survey asks them questions about how many movies they’ve purchased, rented, or streamed over a specific period of time, how they learn about new movies, and what their preferred movie genres are. Universal Pictures can use the survey results to segment and target users through Dynamic Messaging and A/B Testing. For example, if they find that users of a certain age demographic like horror movies, they can send them special offers on new horror releases or show them pop-ups for upcoming horror movies.

The points they earn by participating in the program can be redeemed for physical and digital rewards. Physical rewards include theatrical posters, t-shirts, and swag. Digital rewards include digital movies, desktop and mobile wallpapers, and video conferencing backgrounds. Some rewards are exclusive to members of higher tiers, such as a signed movie script that is only available for Movie Stars. Physical rewards are processed directly in the consumer portal, meaning users can pay for shipping without having to navigate to another site.

Product Line Pages

DreamWorks fans can find a list of eligible DreamWorks movies that earn points, such as movies from the Shrek or Madagascar franchises, on the DreamWorks Fan Zone page. Users can also view other ways to earn points on the Dreamworks Fan Zone page or redeem DreamWorks rewards. For example, they can earn points by getting a personalized Cameo video from Boss Baby or watching a tutorial on how to make a ukulele from Spirit Untamed. They can then redeem their points for rewards like a How To Train Your Dragon t-shirt or a Trolls World Tour video conferencing background.

Product line pages like the Dreamworks Fan Zone page help Universal Pictures segment their offerings by franchise, product type, and so on. It also helps them target specific groups of consumers and capture valuable insights into their site behavior and user journey.

Social Feed & Notifications

Program members are continuously encouraged to earn and redeem points by the Notification Center and My All-Access page. The Notifications Center reminds consumers of new movie releases and offers suggestions for ways to earn additional points. The My All-Access page consists of two real-time social feeds: the All-Access Feed, which shows customers how other users are earning points, and the Rewards Feed, which shows customers how other users are redeeming points to claim rewards. For example, the All-Access Feed tells a user that another member has watched a movie preview to earn points, and links them directly to the preview so they can earn points as well. The Rewards Feed, on the other hand, tells a user that another member redeemed points for a digital movie, and links them directly to the reward so they can redeem it themselves.

Universal Pictures can use the Notifications Center and My All-Access social feeds to track members’ user journeys across the site and capture first-party data about their consumer behavior. For example, they can see if a user clicked a notification to watch a movie trailer, or navigated directly from the Rewards Feed to redeem a digital movie.

Data Capture & Analytics

PLATFORM³’s Data Capture & Analytics module gives Universal Pictures the ability to track the program’s real-time progress and growth, and collect valuable insights about their consumers. They capture important first-party data about their consumers’ purchasing habits and activity through their receipt and PIN code uploads, digital movie purchases, and movie ticket uploads. They also collect meaningful insights into their movie preferences and purchasing behaviors through survey, quiz, and poll responses. They gain information by looking at what videos they watched, how often they participated in spin-and-wins, which rewards they redeemed, and so on. Finally, they capture meaningful data about members’ user journeys across the consumer portal. For example, they can see if a user clicked on a banner image to watch a movie trailer, then bought the movie on Movies Anywhere, or if they redeemed a physical reward after clicking on a real-time update from their Rewards Feed.

A/B Testing also gives Universal Pictures additional data and insights into their consumers’ user journeys, as it helps them gain a better understanding of how to engage with and segment program members, and encourage them along their path to purchase. To start, A/B Testing takes a small segment of users and divides them in half. One half will see a specific pop-up, image, banner, email subject line, or copy. The other half will see something different, like an alternate image or a different subject line. Whichever version leads to the desired results (e.g. more clicks, more opens) over a specified period of time is then sent to the remaining users. This helps Universal Pictures determine what kinds of content and information performs better with certain segments of consumers. For example, determining which version of a pop-up performed better with which age groups. It also helps them understand how to better target and engage with users for future email campaigns, marketing efforts, and so on.

Universal Pictures is able to use this data to make well-informed strategic business decisions and determine how to better segment, serve, and engage with their customers. It also helps them design future promotions and build on the Universal All-Access Rewards Program to continue driving sales, increasing brand engagement, and nurturing customer loyalty.