Scene, the Scotiabank-Cineplex loyalty program, is expanding its partnership with Cara Foods into Western Canada with a comprehensive media campaign.
The deal, which now allows members to collect and redeem points at all Milestones Grill and Bar restaurants, has been in place in Ontario for nearly a year and has just been introduced in BC and Alberta this week. Scene points can also be used for Cara gift cards, and are good at all Cara restaurants, including Milestones locations, across Canada.
The campaign to promote the program runs to the end of February and includes transit shelter ads near Milestones locations in BC and Alberta, backlit posters in theatres and half-page print ads in Metro newspapers in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa and Toronto.
‘We decided to run ads on Fridays in the entertainment section [of Metro], which we thought was a really good fit for our brand,’ Shawn Bloom, general manager of Scene, tells MiC. ‘It’s when people are starting to make their plans for the weekend, so we wanted to be top of mind when they’re picking their movie. This is a great reminder that if they’re looking for a restaurant to dine at before or after their movies, being able to use their points at Milestones is just another reason to choose that over something else.’
There’s also a digital billboard promoting the program in Vancouver’s Robson Square, as well as pre-show ads at Cineplex theatres, banners on Scene.ca and social media support. The campaign is also promoted at the restaurants.
With the success of the pilot program in Ontario and now the expansion to Alberta and BC, there will be more growth as part of the program. Bloom says the company plans to spread the program to other restaurants and entertainment venues in the near future.
‘We’re hoping to extend Scene into other partnerships in the entertainment space,’ he says. ‘For us, dinner and a movie was a natural fit, so it really made sense as our first big partnership. We’re looking to add value to the program for members and give members opportunities to use their Scene cards outside of the movie theatres.’
