Your brand can offer FREE nationwide screenings
Escapes is a multi-year project designed to support and sustain cinema audiences in the UK. It will be delivered by entertainment specialists elevenfiftyfive and supported by the BFI.
“This is a call out to brands & media partners as Escapes launches offering free film screenings to grow audiences in uk venues.”
The BFI supported project Escapes, which will offer free film screenings in cinemas to almost a million people across the UK, is seeking media and brand partners to help reach and engage audiences through the project.
Escapes, a response to an open call to the BFI Open Cinema Fund, is a multi-year project designed to support and sustain cinema audiences in the UK. It will be delivered by entertainment specialist agency elevenfiftyfive and supported by the BFI, awarding National Lottery funding. Its goal is to grow cinema engagement across the UK and break down primary barriers to cinema-going amongst audiences, particularly those excluded by price.
“ This project is like no other before it and our approach is to build new audiences by creating a national conversation around the escapism of cinema, at scale”
Beginning in early 2024, Escapes will offer regular free screenings on the big screen, of films that meet a set criteria, which includes offering accessible screenings. Escapes will offer screenings in up to 400 cinemas, with an ambition to drive 840,000 new and existing cinema-goers to venues across the UK. Three quarters of admissions will come from outside London and the South East, supporting the BFI’s objective to provide audiences across the UK with a broader range of screen culture in cinemas.
The focus will be on attracting audiences who don’t currently engage with cinema, and the campaign aims to reach over 12 million people through marketing, publicity and partnerships. For partners, Escapes is an opportunity to connect to a nationwide celebration of the UK’s favourite leisure activity (cinema), and be part of a project offering audiences the chance to take a break and escape. Brand and media partners will sit alongside a new mainstream film brand, with highly targeted reach, supporting ten nationwide cinema events every year. Similarly, Escapes is a perfect vehicle for customer rewards.
Partners are sought to offer contra media value of £450,000 per year and a small investment of £150,000 per year (+ additional spend on cinema tickets and/or screen hires).
The project will align with the funding principles set out in the BFI National Lottery funding strategy: equity, diversity, inclusion, UK-wide reach, and environmental sustainability.
To learn more, visit escapetothecinema.co.uk.