Sony partnered with TPG Rewards for the test program that proved successful for both Sony and Regal Theaters, the largest theater chain in the United States. The promotion was national in scope, but in certain test markets TPG gave consumers the option of receiving their tickets on their phones.

“Our clients see that more and more customers are using their phones to participate in promotions,” said John S. Galinos, president/CEO of TPG, New York. “We saw that mobile provided further efficiencies to our product.

“It was natural therefore for us to take one of our most popular and successful rewards and convert it to be used at more than 30,000 movie theater screens that we have a relationship with,” he said.    

The success of the Sony  test has allowed TPG to roll the program to all Regal theaters nationwide and add others to its client list.

For the Sony program, 36 percent of consumers in the test market opted to receive a mobile ticket verses print at home.  

“This statistic is quite telling and I believe it has given Sony and other studios that we work with the data they needed in order to consider using mobile ticketing in their other upcoming promotions,” Mr. Galinos said. 

Consumers can buy and receive their movie tickets directly onto their mobile phone via the TPG Rewards technology.

The service is targeted at movie theatres, which can use it to drive consumers into their box offices. TPG is launching its first M-Movie Cash program with a major CPG brand in the next few months. 

For consumers, the mobile phone is the remote control to their life, per Mr. Galinos.

“Being able to participate in a promotion and instantly receive a movie ticket reward via the handset is not only cool, but it makes participation a lot easier and a fun experience versus requiring a consumer to mail in their proofs of purchase and receive the ticket via mail,” Mr. Galinos said.  

“The studios and the brands are looking to create promotions that engage the consumer in new ways that are also easy and simple to execute,” he said. “Clients are also always looking to become more efficient with their promotional budgets and M-Movie Cash is designed to do all of that for our clients.”

Dan Butcher contributed reporting to this story.