This is an Iterable User Engagement Teardown comparing AMC Theatres and Alamo Drafthouse's user engagement strategies in the first 3 weeks post-signup. After evaluating all emails and texts received, we identify what these companies do well and where there is room for improvement. Everything shown in the slides (and any recommendations) can be implemented with Iterable's Growth Marketing Platform. To view more User Engagement Teardowns, visit http://iterable.com/teardown

1. User Engagement Teardown
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2. User Engagement Teardown
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3. A Quick Word on Iterable
Iterable is a growth marketing and user
engagement platform.
• Segment users, build workflows, automate
touchpoints and test strategies at scale
without engineering support.
• Everything you see here (and more) can be
done with Iterable. You can see other
teardowns at: iterable.com/teardown
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4. What is a “User Engagement Teardown?”
We analyze an user engagement over a defined period post-signup.
• We offer constructive evaluation and feedback.
• We cover all types of B2C businesses: e-commerce, marketplaces,
media, politics, etc.
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5. Background on AMC and Alamo Drafthouse
AMC Theatres and Alamo Drafthouse are two leading
movie theater chains in the U.S.
• AMC Theatres, founded in 1920, is the largest
theater chain globally with over 661 U.S. theaters.
• Alamo Drafthouse, founded in 1997, has 25
locations in the U.S., most of which are in Texas.
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6. What We Did
Signed up and received messages over 3 weeks between Feb. — Mar. 2017
We escalated activity over time:
• Completed user profiles
• Downloaded mobile apps
• Abandoned tickets at checkout
• Booked tickets with each chain
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7. On to the User Engagement Timeline…

8. User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
We’ll show you what we (the user) did here…
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90

9. User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
We’ll show you what we (the user) did here…
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
…and the messages we received here.
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90

10. User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
We’ll show you what we (the user) did here…
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
…and the messages we received here.
Activities and message types are
color coded as shown in this key.
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90

11. Now let’s look at AMC Theatres and Alamo
Drafthouse’s user engagement.
First, AMC Theatres…

12. The AMC Theatres User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie

13. The AMC Theatres User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
One day after creating a new account, we
received a welcome email that encouraged us
to download the app, complete our profile and
upgrade to premiere status.

14. The AMC Theatres User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
We completed these recommended tasks by
downloading the app and completing our
profile the next day.

15. The AMC Theatres User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
Once we signed up for SMS in the mobile
settings, a welcome text explained we would
receive “6 msgs/mo.”

16. The AMC Theatres User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
AMC sent a regular stream of blasts to
encourage a ticket purchase. Although we did
not specify student status in our profile, the
email on day 10 included a coupon for students.

17. The AMC Theatres User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
These blasts, however, did not react to the
tickets we abandoned during online checkout.

18. The AMC Theatres User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
After booking movie tickets, we received
transactional receipts across email and SMS
within one minute of each other.

19. The AMC Theatres User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
Although we logged into the app several times, it was on
day 13 that we were asked for permission to send push
notifications. No pushes were sent during the research.

20. The AMC Theatres User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
Three more blast messages were sent,
which included hashtags like #shareAMC
and #cupgrade Coke promotions.

21. The AMC Theatres User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
Lastly, after watching a movie, no triggered
messages were sent to request a rating or
other form of customer feedback.

22. Now let’s look at Alamo Drafthouse’s user
engagement…

23. The Alamo Drafthouse User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie

24. The Alamo Drafthouse User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved 24
MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
Alamo did not trigger any welcome messages
after a new user creates an account or
downloads & launches the mobile app.

25. The Alamo Drafthouse User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
Instead, we received two blast emails, one
weekly newsletter and another offering a free
trial to an online cinema.

26. The Alamo Drafthouse User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved 26
MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
Like AMC, Alamo Drafthouse did not react to
shopping cart abandonment.

27. The Alamo Drafthouse User Engagement Timeline
Iterable, Inc. All Rights Reserved 27
MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
After booking movie tickets, Alamo
sent a transactional receipt via email.

28. The Alamo Drafthouse User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
The last 3 blast emails included two weekly
newsletters and a specific promotion to buy
tickets to a “Drafthouse Recommends title.”

29. The Alamo Drafthouse User Engagement Timeline
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MessagesUserActivity
Message TypeActivity Type
Blast
Transactional
Triggered
Desktop Mobile
SMS
Created new account
Completed profile info
Downloaded app
Signed up for SMS Abandoned tickets at
checkout
Days from
start: 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 211 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90
Booked movie tickets
Watched movie
Like AMC, Alamo also did not send a follow-up
message after we watched a movie.

30. Frequency Takeaways
During the 3 weeks, AMC Theatres and Alamo Drafthouse differed in the
frequency of messages per channel.
• AMC: 8 emails, 3 texts
• Alamo: 6 emails
Note: neither service sent push notifications during the course of our
analysis.
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31. Differing Priorities
Because Alamo Drafthouse actively engages moviegoers with quirky
previews and exclusive promotions at the theater, one would expect its
marketing to be more engaging than AMC’s.
However, it was clear that both theaters relied on batch and blast:
• AMC sent a single welcome email and then targeted teens & students
• Half of Alamo Drafthouse’s messages were its weekly newsletters
• Neither company followed up with customers after a movie screening
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32. Now let’s look at the message content…

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These are three standard AMC messages.
You’ll notice….

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Emphasis on account
information (number not
shown for privacy)

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Clear calls to action

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Multi-channel engagement with
QR codes and hashtags

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These are three standard Alamo Drafthouse messages.
You’ll notice….

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Emphasis on new movies

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Text-heavy narrative-style
messaging

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Links to additional movie
information, like trailers and reviews

41. Content Takeaways
Each company’s content reflects its approach to ticket promotion.
AMC Theatres:
• Entices the user with food & beverage promotions
• Encourages multi-channel engagement
Alamo Drafthouse:
• Puts the movies front and center
• Prefers to communicate with users with narrative-style emails
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42. Recommendations
Both companies could improve their:
• Segmentation: By sending personalized messages based on movie preferences
• Feedback loop: By asking customers for ratings and reviews after watching films
• Mobile engagement: By coordinating messaging across email, push and SMS to
increase app usage
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43. If you liked this teardown…
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teardowns: iterable.com/teardown
Join the discussion on Twitter @Iterable, using #UEteardown
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