MoviePass tries charming customers by hiring dogs
MoviePass has had a rough—or “ruff,” according to them—year. Now, the company is trying to get back in customers’ good graces by hiring dogs.
Are you convinced of giving it another chance yet?
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Let’s recap what has been happening with MoviePass.
The subscription service launched in 2011 but began gaining steam in 2014. Users pay a monthly fee for a card that allows them to check in and purchase movie tickets. Initially, the plans were offered at $35 for 2D films or $45 for Real3D and IMAX.
The company gained mainstream recognition in August 2017 when they announced a discounted plan for $9.95 per month, allowing for one movie per day each month excluding 3D, IMAX and other special engagements. The subscriber count quickly began rising, hitting 2 million in February 2018, but it soon became apparent they were struggling to keep up with demand.
In April 2018, they removed the unlimited plan, restricting users to one movie per week for the same $9.95 rate. They also started rolling out restrictions for how many times the same user could watch a movie. Additionally, the company began requesting that some users send proof of purchase by taking a picture of their ticket stub before allowing them to check in and watch another movie.
MoviePass reinstated the unlimited plan, but it still reported a $40 million loss in May leading to business moves such as selling merch. That didn’t help because, the company’s system crashed in July due to running out of money.
At the time, it was unable to process their user check-ins due to lack of funds according to parent company Helios and Matheson and had to borrow $5 million to pay its merchant and fulfillment processors.
Turning things around with dogs
Now, MoviePass is trying to get back in moviegoers’ good graces and get back some customoers. However, they’re doing it in a cute—but really weird—way: By hiring dogs. Well, kind of.
As The Verge reports, subscribers received a curious e-mail from the company this week. The newsletter included a picture of a dog wearing MoviePass merch and a confusing message.
“Woof! I’m Chloe, the Director of Barketing at MoviePass. I’d like to explain why from time to time you may have had a “ruff” experience with us but it turns out that I’m a dog and I can’t talk,” the e-mail reads.
“What I do know is that I see these humans working like crazy to make MoviePass better and better for you as fast as possible. They are so grateful for your membership and support while they work it out,” it continues. “We’re listening. We’re learning. We’re changing.”
So… yeah. Maybe Chloe and the rest of her canine team will actually be able to save MoviePass. If not, she’s still doing a good job in marketing—oops, we mean “barketing”—, right?
Check out a picture of Chloe here before you answer that question.
