How Elon University Revived Movie Nights Using Experiential Events
Elon University’s Student Union Board has a longstanding history of weekly movie events. Sarah Carss, the Board’s Co-Vice President and Late Night and Cinema Chair shared the campus and its students are very into movies. “There’s honestly a lot of excitement around what kinds of movies are going to be shown every year. People are very invested in it.” But post-Covid, the Board noticed a lull in attendance as people became accustomed to watching movies at home. To solve the issue, the Board started incorporating Swank’s Experiential Events into their weekly movie nights and found great success. Read on to learn how they did it.
The Challenge:
Post-Covid, the Student Union Board noticed a decline in excitement for their weekly movie nights. With the convenience of streaming platforms and a growing habit of just staying inside their dorms, students weren’t motivated to make their way to Elon’s weekly movie series. The Board needed to find a way to add a layer of excitement and engagement that would pull students away from their personal screens and back into the communal movie-watching experience.
The Solution:
Recognizing that bingo and trivia were already very popular activities on campus, Carr and others on her Board saw Swank’s Experiential Events as an interesting way to get people engaged with the movies. Using the trivia and bingo Swank provides, they could transform an ordinary movie night into an engaging, unforgettable experience.
The turn-key trivia and bingo games are movie, franchise or themed-specific to heighten anticipation for the movie. Carr says students are very invested in these games, and love discovering new fun facts they didn’t know before about the film. These games are the perfect way to set the tone for the rest of the event.
In terms of prizes, the Board gives away gift cards, movie-themed merchandise or products from local businesses to ensure a good turnout and participation. For their upcoming “Barbie” screening, the Board is giving away little houses.
To keep the programming fresh and relevant, Carr focuses on current trends and nostalgia. She recently leveraged the "Hunger Games renaissance" and even planned a unique drive-in experience for the "Barbie" movie where students would come dressed as Barbies and Kens, complete with a costume contest.
The Result:
Carr notes they’ve had really good attendance this year at their movie events. Each movie showing attracted at least 100 students, a noticeable increase from previous years. Carr attributed this success not just to the movies themselves, but to the engaging, interactive experience created by the Experiential Events. “People have shown a lot of interest,” shared Carr. “The pre-show activities get people to come early and really be invested in the movies.”