Industry News

Fandango targets soaring Latin American movie sector

Fandango, the movie ticketing giant, is aiming for expansion in Latin American through enhancements to its offering in the fast-growing region.

The Los-Angeles headquartered company is rolling out a new global brand strategy that includes the release of new ticketing destinations at its subsidiaries Ingresso.com in Brazil and Fandango Latin America, formerly Cinepapaya, in seven countries in Spanish-speaking Latin America.

The acquisition of Ingresso in November 2015 was Fandango’s first international move, while it purchased Cinepapaya last December.

Now it is hoped new and improved websites and apps will drive growth in Brazil through Ingresso, as well as Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia.

“We’re beginning an exciting new chapter for Fandango in Latin America, as we debut completely new digital destinations for moviegoers across the region, under one unifying brand identity,” said Paul Yanover, Fandango president, in a statement.

“We’ve experienced tremendous momentum over the past year growing our exhibition footprint, increasing ticketing and building these exciting new products that will better serve our customers and partners for years to come.”

Ingresso.com will be launching a new website and mobile apps for Android and iOS in April. The platforms will offer enhanced search, discovery and browser capabilities and a new streamlined checkout process.

The company said “the sleek new design, modern logo and colours reflect Fandango’s global brand identity, which is being introduced across Latin America”.

“Like Fandango in the US, Ingresso.com is looking to serve moviegoers wherever they are thinking about and looking for movie information,” the company said.

To help encourage more Brazilians to the cinema, Ingresso said it is also launching a new promotion code business that will help brands and studios connect with consumers through movie ticket rewards, promotions and loyalty programmes.

Fandango Latin America, formerly Cinepapaya, is debuting its new digital platforms in Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia, and will be supported by a consumer marketing campaign.

In addition to rolling out new ticketing conveniences, the company will offer “original and exclusive content” for movie discovery, including a Spanish-language version its ‘Weekend Ticket’ product.

Fandango said Cinepapaya grew its screen count by 92 per cent in 2016 and has already more than doubled its ticketing business in the first quarter of 2017 (year-over-year).