VOX Cinemas Launches PlsDontStealMyShow to Champion Cinema Etiquette

Dubai, UAE: Distractions are unavoidable in movie theatres, whether these are ringing mobile phones, side conversations or noisy eaters but VOX Cinemas has become the Emirates etiquette champion with the launch of its new campaign.

The largest and fastest growing cinema exhibitor in the region; VOX is operated and owned by Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas, the dedicated cinema arm of Majid Al Futtaim and the  leading shopping mall, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East and North Africa. 

In a bid to give patrons the most enjoyable and relaxing movie experience possible, VOX Cinemas moved cinema etiquette to the top of its agenda and commissioned a survey on what people really want from a cinema experience. Not surprisingly, the survey revealed that 83% of movie fans get annoyed by people talking on their mobile phones in the cinema.

Other common complaints included people putting their feet on chairs and loudly slurping drinks. Although these unsavoury cinema etiquette behaviours seem to ruin the cinema experience for several, 25% of movie goers admitted that they felt too uncomfortable pointing out distracting behaviour to fellow cinema-goers. 

In an effort to support its vision to create great moments for everyone every day, VOX Cinemas has been working behind the scenes to train its VOX staff teams, further involving them in making every movie experience a flawless one for customers. Cinema etiquette will now be part of the VOX Academy training workshops which also focus on customer service excellence, communication skills and business etiquette for all VOX Cinemas staff members. 

Rolling the campaign out to VOX Cinemas customers, the company revealed a short film across its cinemas using the hashtag #PlsDontStealMyShow. While the first short film focused on the distractions caused by mobile phone use in the cinema, subsequent films will focus on other behaviours known to distract and disturb other guests. Screened before every movie showing in all VOX Cinemas across the region, the film aims to raise awareness of the importance of cinema etiquette at the movies. 

Michelle Walsh, Marketing Director at Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas – VOX Cinemas, said: “Customer feedback plays a big role in our VOX Cinemas business as our offering is very experiential, from comfortable seating to restaurant style menus and the latest in digital technology we continuously strive to provide our customers with the best possible movie experience and addressing cinema etiquette is simply another step towards our promise.” 

As part of the #PlsDontStealMyShow campaign, VOX Cinemas recently invited customers to attend the first in a series of ‘Zero Interruption Screenings’ which will include exclusive pre-screenings of some of the latest movies coming to cinemas. To take a closer look at the first ‘Zero Interruption Screening’ please click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z-TMuCWO1o 

Michelle continued: “VOX Cinemas is reminding people of the importance of good cinema etiquette during movies and our #PlsDontStealMyShow short film and activations were created to do exactly that. By addressing the issue in a light-hearted manner we hope audiences enjoy the screenings and join the conversation around cinema etiquette using the hashtag.”