As far as I can tell by researching Regal from an outsider’s perspective, they have little in the way of internal publications. Of course since I don’t work for the company I may be incorrect. As is common procedure, they release stock reports for stockholders. Those contain some information regarding the company’s gains, plans, etc. As I have said in previous posts, I don’t think a blog would necessarily be appropriate for a company like Regal. While they spend plenty of time and effort on their theaters, the general public isn’t overly concerned with the goings on of a movie theater chain, though an internal blog could be a different story.
Since I’ve witnessed many people asking theater employees about a current or upcoming film, it may be beneficial to give some information about them in an organized manner. Allowing free screenings would probably be too much, but some official information, links to videos with the actors and director, could help. This would give credibility to what the guy selling popcorn at the concession stand thinks about “The Muppets.” As of now it’s completely riddled with bias and half-truths they gained on their own. If they had some official information released to them they could point to an anecdote by the director or give a more optimistic and truthful response.
In reality this type of blog or newsletter could be open to the public as well. It could build anticipation for a certain film, which would bring people to the theaters. However, it may not be worth paying for the rights to the brands and titles when studios are already spending a fortune on advertising. It would be more appropriate for funds to go directly into the theaters. The current external newsletter used by Regal, “the show time newsletter,” provides the times movies are playing that week and an occasional promotion. It doesn’t offer much more information.
While Regal uses popular characters from current films on their website to promote those movies, they do not have a celebrity spokesperson. I have seen other theater chains use an on-screen personality for the segments they air before the movies begin. Bow-Tie Theaters, for example, use a man who talks about upcoming movies and name drops the theater group every few seconds. Regal has a narrator for this. It wouldn’t hurt to have a known celebrity for this task. But again, that’s spending money that may not be necessary. Celebrities alienate certain people depending on their personalities. Regal seems to always go with the option of letting their product (movie theaters) speak for themselves.
If I were to pick someone appropriate to be a celebrity spokesman, they would have to be credible in the film industry. There was once a limited time video shown at Regal where Martin Scorsese enters a real life moment and begins directing the people. The point was they don’t interrupt your life, so don’t interrupt their movies. I noticed it was met with positive responses from most. Someone like Scorsese would fit well in a role for the theater chain. But he would probably only do it for a small fortune.