What's the Cinemark App About?

* This is written as a "Connect the App Challenge" project for my content development class at Texas Tech University (PR 3345)

What is Cinemark Theatres?

What: Based in Plano, TX, Cinemark Theatres has grown from a small chain to be the third-largest movie theater chain in North America, with a presence in several countries across the globe. 

(It is likely that you have seen or passed by a Cinemark theater, even if you haven't watched a movie inside one.)

How: Cinemark's mission statement is to provide unsurpassed safety, respect, care and concern for employees and customers. 

Why: The reason for Cinemark's mission statement is their stated, number 1 goal: "Total and complete customer satisfaction."

They want to be known as the best, and have been working towards that by treating people well. It seems like a pretty smart idea.

Target Audience: Cinemark's primary audience is made up of teenagers and young adults who are likely in school or recent graduates. This group is generally able to afford watching movies semi-regularly, often hangs out with groups of friends at the theater, and enjoys midnight releases and other special events.

-> Cinemark does have a secondary audience of parents who will bring their children to movies and enjoy a family-friendly environment. This group often looks for discounts on multiple tickets as well as coupons for buying large snacks to share, to make a family outing more affordable.  

Cinemark has an app?

Yes, Cinemark has a mobile app, and you can do a couple things on it.

• Find movie theater locations, and favorite them for easy access
• See which movies are playing, and their showtime at individual theaters
• Read reviews, ratings, synopses and watch trailers
• Edit your Cinemark account
• View your past purchases and gift cards
• Use CineMode to dim your screen and earn coupons

Calls to Action (in the app)

• Buy movie tickets
• Be courteous to fellow movie viewers
• Earn rewards
• Return to Cinemark so you can use your coupons

Calls to Action (for the app)

• The app is featured next to social media icons on the website

• A spot runs before movies, telling viewers to use CineMode during the movie 

Is the app even needed?

So, sometimes mobile apps seem redundant when they offer the exact same product as a website. The thing is, Cinemark's website is not particularly mobile friendly. 

It's not "unfriendly," but everything is the same as on a computer, so all the images and options are tiny and you have to zoom to read anything.

Beyond the convenience of being able to read content, the Cinemark app's main feature is the CineMode, which is probably the driving factor in the app's usage.

Do people like the App?

1. I talked to a Cinemark employee who said she has the app, but rarely uses it.

Because she spend so much time with the food in the concession stand, she doesn't have a strong desire to eat that food in her free time and doesn't feel a need to use CineMode.

However, she does recommend it for movie lovers who like to buy food each time they visit.

2. Myself, I might go to Cinemark  a couple times a year. 

While I love the idea of earning rewards and saving money, I end up not returning to Cinemark soon enough to use the coupons I earn. 

For that reason, when I run out of space on my phone, the Cinemark app is on my list of expendables

3. One of my good friends is an avid movie lover, even more than I am. 

She sees every movie coming out, whether good or bad, and almost always watches them at Cinemark.

She loves using the app and CineMode, and seems to always have a reward to redeem when she goes to see a movie. 

Recommendations

1. I would recommend that CineMode offer discounts on future ticket prices, instead of just food coupons. That is something I would absolutely take advantage of! 

I love seeing movies but my preferred movie theater [Alamo Drafthouse] is a bit on the pricey side, so if I can see the same movie at Cinemark for even less money than usual, I would be more likely to spend my dollars at Cinemark.

2. I would also say that CineMark put a link to a download page for the app in their social media description or "about" sections, next to the link to their website. 

That way, people using their phones to look at Cinemark's social media pages can have an easier line of access to the app (rather than going to the website and having to zoom and look for the download buttons).

Mini Content Plan

This is the exciting stuff. 

This is suggested content that Cinemark could use on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts to promote their app and CineMode.

*I created these images using Canva, my brain, and a lot more time than necessary, thanks to a computer crash.

Sunday

2:00 p.m. - Facebook, New Profile Image

4:30 p.m. - Instagram 

Use our app to fade out distractions and better enjoy your movie. Start earning rewards with #CineMode today!

Monday

1:30 p.m. - Twitter 

Fade out distractions so you can focus on your movie with #CineMode. Download the app today!

3:00 p.m. - Facebook

Use the #CineMode within our mobile app to fade out distractions and better focus on your movie. Download the app and start earning rewards today!

Tuesday

2:15 p.m. - Twitter

Here are some easy reasons why you should download our app and use #CineMode in our theaters!

3:00 p.m. - Facebook, New Cover Image

Wednesday

2:00 p.m. - Facebook

Why should you use our Cinemark app? This infographic explains all. Download the app today! #CineMode

5:00 p.m. - Instagram

This image explains why you should use our Cinemark app. Download the app and start earning discounts with #CineMode today!

Thursday

2:30 p.m. - Twitter

Have you been using our app's convenient features like checking gift cards and #CineMode? Try them out today!

Friday

12:00 p.m - Instagram

There are several convenient features on our app, including movie reviews and trailers, and a showcase of  your #CineMode rewards. Try it out for yourself!

1:30 p.m. - Facebook

There are several convenient features on our app, including movie trailers and ratings, an easy way to check your gift card balances, and a showcase of your #CineMode rewards. Download the app and try it out for yourself!

Off to tweet this post to my professor,
The Purple Writer

I could be a smart phone photographer.

It seems pretty easy to take a good photograph these days.

Especially with the fancy cameras inside our smart phones and the convenient filters on sites like Instagram.


Although sometimes the ease of filters can make posting photos more difficult.

It can be such a struggle to choose between Valencia, X-Pro II, or just going with maxed-out Lux.

It turns out several people were curious about the most popular filters so Noisey created this breakdown showing several top musicians and which filters they use.

So now we know.

Thanks Noisey.

But what does it really take to be a good photographer, beyond filters? 

Here are some tips from Tonja Hagy, a professional photographer and the marketing manager for LHUCA:

• Nothing sells a product better than a good photograph

• A picture really is worth a thousand words
• Don't be lazy

My photo, with a little bit of depth

• Set the scene and be aware of your fore-, mid-, and background

• Keep your photo simple
• Show depth in your photos
• Shoot from a low angle to bring the foreground closer to you
• Align your subject diagonally to add movement and energy, and to provide natural lines for eyes to follow

• Show the subject

My photo: an uncluttered fountain!

• Don't lose your subject in its environment or clutter
• Show what the world looks like from your subject's point of view
• Zoom with your feet; auto-zooming will pixelate the photo and emphasize any shakiness
• Either line up every element precisely or don't try to shoot a symmetrical photograph

My photo: lots of texture/patterns

• Set the mood with extra details

• Capture textures and shadows to get the best out of your subject
• Use repetitive patterns to create interest
• Use negative space (but not blank space) as an element
• Be sure that what you include reinforces your photograph

My photo: I lost the ground

• Be prepared

• Invest in small gadgets like tripods and lenses 
• Keep your phone charged and always carry an extra mobile battery
• Avoid taking pictures on sunny afternoons as most smart phones can't handle bright lights and will lose the details and textures

Most photography techniques can be easily translated into taking photos with your smart phone. 

There is always be more to learn, but as with most things, the best way to figure out how to take the best pictures is to go out and experiment.

There are also lots of resources on the internet giving advice and tips. One example is this blog which focuses solely on learning how to take the best pictures with smart phones. You can also go on YouTube and find lots of videos with photography tips.

With all these resources, your well-equipped smart phone, and a desire to document the world around you, there is no reason why you shouldn't become a fantastic smart phone photographer!

Heading out to experiment with photography,
The Purple Writer

Who is Ant-Man?

I'm going to see the Ant-Man movie tonight at the midnight 10:30 release tonight, and I'm pretty excited. 

Why am I excited? Well, I love comics (both Marvel and DC and indie), I love movies, and I've been loving the recent (and epic) Marvel movies. 

Also, Ant-Man is a pretty cool character; he's like the Marvel version of Atom, who you may know from the Arrow and The Flash shows on CW, if not from the DCcomics. 

They're both smart guys who use cool suits to change size and be awesome.

(image from Boxden)

But really, who is this guy, and why does he get an origin movie? 

Well, Ant-Man actually plays a pretty big role in the Marvel universe, being a founding member of The Avengers, creating Ultron, and appearing in numerous comics and storylines. 

Like most comic characters, the Ant-Man name/suit has been passed on through a few generations of heroes.

Ant-Man the first: 

Hank Pym is a genius with a bipolar disorder, who was chosen over all other geniuses and designated Earth's Scientist Supreme by the extra-dimensional being Eternity. He discovered Pym Particles which he could manipulate to alter the size of people and things, and began to fight evil alongside the other, original Avengers. As his mental condition kept changing, Pym changed sides and identities several times, so beyond Ant-Man, he was also Giant Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket, and the male Wasp (to honor his ex-wife who was the first Wasp).

Ant-Man the second:

Scott Lang was an electrical engineer who turned to burglary to support  his family. He stole Pym's suit to rescue a doctor who could help with his daughter's fatal heart condition. After saving his daughter's life, Lang was willing to turn in the suit and return to jail, but Pym let him keep the suit if he fought for good. During his career as a hero, Lang helped the Avengers, worked for the Fantastic Four when Mister Fantastic was believed dead, joined the Heroes for Hire team, and then eventually rejoined the Avengers.

Ant-Man the third:

The current Ant-Man in comics first appeared in 2006 and will probably be ignored in the Marvel movie universe. Eric O'Grady is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who was selected to test a prototype Ant-Man suit that Pym was developing, but ended up stealing it from the base and using it for his own purposes. Steve Rogers chose to add him to the team of Avengers, hoping to redeem the world's most unlikable super hero. 

The cool thing about this movie is that it will establish a consistent version of Ant-Man who will exist in the rest of the movies, and that should be much easier for the public to understand. The movie will include an older Dr. Pym who helps Scott Lang obtain the suit. Beyond that, it will be interesting to see what changes and what stays true to the [confusing] comics.

Obviously, some more interesting aspects of Ant-Man will need to be left behind, such as creating Ultron (as Ultron already exists in the Marvel movie universe).

Critics have been saying lots of good things, and Ant-Man has a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (while Jurassic World is at 71%). 

Brandon Davis, over at ComicBookDotCom, says the movie "stands on its own two exoskeleton feet as one of Marvel's most unique films to date." 

So... a guy in a size-changing suit who fights evil and talks to ants. What's not to love?

(Like, you really should buy a ticket and see it today. You may regret ignoring this advice.)

Off to watch Ant-Man,

The Purple Writer

It's been raining a lot.

As in, last year the majority of Texas was in a drought, and now Texas is flooding everywhere. Craziness.

I was in Fort Worth this past weekend, which was Memorial Day weekend, as it was my last long weekend of the summer. (Thankfully, I didn't get stormed on while traveling either way.)

Since I will be taking classes and working the rest of the summer, I won't have any wiggle room on either side of Saturday/Sunday, which makes half a day of travelling on either end a bit more than desired (for one night of being outside of Lubbock).

Regardless, I had fun this past weekend. I drove across Texas after work on Thursday, and got to see some of my favorite people over the weekend. Highlights of the week include having brunch at Gloria's with my sister (they have fantastic $1 mimosas during brunch time), and spending all of Monday with Stephen (hanging out with friends and then watching a couple movies with just us).

I enjoy living in Lubbock, being independent, and doing the whole classes and internship thing. But it can be pretty lonely when family and friends are all several hours away (and when my Lubbock friends leave for the summer but I'm stay behind so I can graduate on time, which is still a semester longer than the original plan).

Anyhow, it rained previously while I was in Lubbock, it rained in Fort Worth when I was there this weekend, and is now raining when I am back in Lubbock. The strange thing was that it flooded in both places. Now, Lubbock will sometimes flood when it barely drizzles, but DFW usually has pretty good drainage systems. It seems there was just too much water to handle this go around. There have been floods, accidents, and deaths; it is bad (as an update, in case you haven't looked outside or read/heard any news in the past week or two).

The intern window (that I sit next to) starting leaking during this storm. Two shirts and a giant roll of paper towels later, and the storm started clearing up.

It's great to have rain, but it would be nice if things evened out now. No more massive rain/hail/tornado systems making me want to skip driving to or from campus. That would be helpful.

So, yes, this is a short blog. I'm sure I have lots of interesting things to say, but nothing is coming to mind, so here you go.


Needing to buy a bigger umbrella,

The Purple Writer

Texas Tech English has a letterpress studio.

Although Texas Tech is more focused on its STEM programs (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), there are a wide variety of other great programs here. For instance, the English department.

Now, the English department does not get a lot of money to maintain itself, because its graduates generally don't go on to make millions of dollars in oil/gas/whatnot. There are a lot of changes and improvements which just can't be afforded, but it does the best that it can, and even has a really cool room which holds the letterpress studio, also known as the TTU Letterpress Lab.

Several English professors have donated quite a bit of their own time and money to bring about the existence of this letterpress studio. There are a few different beautiful presses, including a simple tabletop proof press, a tabletop platen, and a handpress.

In the fall, I had applied to join the Letterpress Lab apprenticeship program, in which I could have worked my way up from a "printer's devil" to an actual printer and be able to print things and work in the press on my own. However, it turns out that I was a semester or two too late, as the program was going through several changes and the apprenticeship is no longer an option. Graduate students get to take a letterpress class, which I'm pretty jealous of, although there are talks of having an undergraduate class in the future (probably after I graduate, of course).

Anyhow, several really cool documents have been printed by hand in the TTU Letterpress Lab. Some of the coolest are broadsides of poetry. These are one-sided, single-page prints which are usually quite unique and beautiful.

These are a couple of the ones I've collected.The three on the left are poems by poets which were brought in to speak for the English department: Mary Szybist, Jeffrey Harrison, and Robin Becker. (We studied books by Mary Szybist and Robin Becker for the capstone poetry course I took last Fall, and it was really great to be able to meet them, hear them read, get books signed, and then get these broadsides as an extra souvenir.)

Last week, the English department paired with the Tech Book History Club (which I'm technically a part of but I haven't been able to make it to more than one meeting all year) to hold an open house for the letterpress studio. This was a chance for people to come and experience the awesomeness of hand printing that normally wouldn't have that opportunity.

We got little blocks of linoleum to print with. We came up with designs that we wanted, and carved out the white space on the linoleum. Then we went into the letterpress studio and printed with our blocks, using a small, tabletop proof press.  Here you can see the prints that I designed and made.

The block was put down and secured in place, had ink rolled over its top several times, had paper placed on top, had extra filler paper placed on top of that, and then a roller was dragged across the top of the whole thing, to transfer the ink from the block onto the paper.

The whole process was pretty simple and fun. I'm going to keep looking for a way around the graduate-students only rule, but for now I have these two pretty little prints to look at.

Thinking happy thoughts while recovering from my post-finals sickness,

The Purple Writer

This past weekend was pretty great.

First off, I know I've been slacking with my blog again. However, finals are finally here so I can take a breath, have some fun, and write posts again.

It's really the month before finals that are hard, what with so many projects, papers, and presentations that generally add up to form the majority of the grades in all my classes. I only have one final that is worth more than about 10% of my overall grade, so I can relax, having secured my overall grades in my classes (unless I was to actually fail a final, which isn't a concern this semester, at least).

But that's boring. Let's get back to my cool weekend of geekiness.

As you may guess from that poster, I started the weekend early on Thursday, with the midnight premiere of Avengers: Age of Ultron. It was a fun movie. Not as good as the first Avengers, but it set up several of the upcoming Marvel movies, which was important. I won't give any spoilers, of course, because not everyone was able to find time to watch it this weekend, but I would definitely be willing to go see it again.

On Friday, I watched the third and fourth episode of the current GOT season (and finally painted the new side mirror for my car, so it wouldn't look super strange when attached).

While doing this, I did some deeper cleaning and straightening in my room. It gets to be a mess toward the end of the semester, and I'm going to start moving my stuff to my future residence in a couple weeks, so organization will definitely help with that.

I also made my second kahlua chocolate bundt cake! (Somehow it still turned out well after I left it in the oven for an extra half hour).





Saturday, I hung out with some cool, geeky people.
I got free comics (for Free Comic Book Day, of course), bought the Civil War graphic novel (issues #1-7), and enjoyed the atmosphere of general nerdiness that can be found at comic book stores (especially when there's a table outside raising money for the  Lubbock-Con).

I watched the animated Flashpoint Paradox movie, which was the starting point for DC's New 52 comics. How had I not heard that story before? Well, I'm not sure, but I've seen the movie now, so we're all good.

I finally bought a Beatles record (I've been wanting one for a while, but didn't want to pay shipping or risk a warped album), as well as an Imagine Dragons record. Barnes & Noble is carrying record albums, which is pretty awesome, but a bit expensive, of course.

Then, on Sunday, I hosted a Star Wars marathon!

We started with episode 3, because people didn't have enough time to watch all six episodes, and made Star Wars gingerbread and sugar cookies.

I don't want to give away all of our secrets, but it was pretty awesome, so maybe you can try to be invited to my Star Wars party next year, if you're lucky enough to be my friend and in Lubbock on the first weekend in May.






So, in summary, I have not fallen off the face of the planet, I had a fun weekend before finals (which you are welcome to be jealous of), and I'm planning to be a little more consistent now, but we'll see how that goes (again). I have a couple weeks between the end of this spring semester and the beginning of the first summer session, during which time I plan to be working and moving and reading comics and writing posts.

Off to prep for my mock press conference in PR Writing tomorrow,
The Purple Writer

I'm all about that avocado.

No, for real, I might even be a little obsessed.

Avocados are yummy, good for you, easy to make fun recipes with.

What's not to love about them?
(Unless you're allergic, in which case, I am very sorry.)




I bought a bag of avocados at Costco two weeks ago. Then I checked them last Sunday and all but one had ripened at the same time! Well, I love avocados, but that's quite a bit to eat in a few days if I didn't want them to go bad.

Therefore, I went to Pinterest to find recipes using avocados. There were some expected recipes, some interesting ones, and some that were completely ingenious. I realized that I had nowhere close to enough avocados to make all the recipes that I wanted to try, so I will just need to keep buying avocados in the future.

But here are some of the recipes that I tried, with pictures, of course!

Avocado, Bacon, and Cheese {ABC} Puffs

Now this just sounds fantastic, right? Combining creamy avocado with crispy bacon and delicious cheese? Unfortunately, I did not have any bacon, because if I bought the stuff I would just end up eating it, and I try to avoid that situation.

So, my puffs were just avocado and cheese, but they were still super yummy.

These morsels of savory goodness were super easy. I used one of my mini cupcake pans to hold the shape (and was therefore able to cook them in my toaster oven, which I use whenever possible).

I cut crescent roll triangles in half, and pressed them into the cupcake indents. Then I took cubed (or rectangled is more accurate, I suppose) avocado and cheese, and just layered them in. I picked up the overhanging bits of crescent roll and pinched them together at the top. 

Including the 10 minutes to cook at 375, this recipe probably took about 15 minutes altogether. Not too shabby if you're pressed for time or if hunger catches you by surprise.

Guacamole Grilled Cheese

Now, putting avocado on sandwiches shouldn't be a new concept for you. I particularly enjoy avocado slices on hamburgers  and clubs. But this slightly different recipe combines the richness of avocado with the classic grilled cheese sandwich.

Now, I didn't have all the ingredients the recipe called to be added to the mashed avocado. I had the fresh onion and garlic, as well as salt and pepper, of course, but not the tomato or cilantro or jalapenos (which I would never add anyhow). I compromised by adding a tiny bit of salsa.

Making the grilled cheese was pretty straightforward. Heated up a skillet, put butter on the side of bread touching the hot surface, layered on the cheese and avocado mush, put on another piece of bread, flipped the whole monster after a few minutes, and I was done! 

Now, I could have used my faithful toaster oven, but with how much of the guacamole I put on, there probably would have been an explosion or some other kind of mess. 

This is an easy, yummy, twist on a comfort food.

Although, if we're talking about simplistic, comfort food, why not just eat straight guacamole?

All you need are some chunks of avocado, some salsa, and a bag of chips.

Now, I know I'm kind've cheating by using store bought salsa, but if we're talking about saving time, as long as you have fresh avocado, it will still taste great.

Step 1. Mash up the avocado.

Step 2. Add salsa.

Step 3. Mix.

Step 4. Eat guacamole with chips.

Step 5. Be happy (and eat more guacamole with chips).

The brownish-green goop may not look so appetizing at first glance, but once you start eating it, there's no going back. It takes about 3-5 minutes to make a delicious (and mostly healthy) snack. Whether you have the guacamole just to color your favorite chips or use your chips to scoop up giant mouthfuls of guacamole, this is a perfect way to feed your stomach while pleasing your tastebuds.

If you're interested in some of the other avocado recipes I found, they will be in my "recipes to try" board on Pinterest. Go check them out. :)


Trying to decide what avocado combination to use next,

The Purple Writer