Brand spotlight: How local movie house The Projector aims to push on

As one of Singapore’s small, independent arts businesses, local independent cinema The Projector has always been thinking outside of the box to keep business dynamic and thriving. In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, founder Karen Tan (pictured) shared how the brand had to rejig its previous marketing efforts and rethink community engagement, especially as an event-based and nightlife establishment that did not leave the pandemic unscathed.  

While the pandemic has made it hard for companies to hold events as they once were, the interview with Tan revealed that events still remain an ever-important avenue for the company as well. The Projector mainly operates within the film scene, growing the cinema’s community and extending opportunities to the local art and creative scene remains integral to the brand’s overall mission as well.

As life in Singapore now heads back to normalcy, the independent cinema is ready to roll out events that it has planned for its 2022 calendar. Some of the events that The Projector shared about with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE include the return of DJ Ginette Chittick’s Daydream Nation party on 23 April, and upcoming events such as a HipHop KTV with rapper LionCityBoy, which will follow on 13 May as a new event for the business. It also looks forward to resuming its popular Film Quiz nights on 27 April, with host comedian Sam See.  

Additionally, The Projector will launch its latest company offering: the “Projector X: Electric Cinema”, a new cinema space at Projector, making it the third cinema space the company offers. The cinema will be partnering with 24OWLs, a historical and industrial building that hosts creative events, to launch the new electric cinema, which will transform the disused Pasir Panjang Power Station into a screening hall for the first time ever.

This follows the launch of a second space at Riverside point last year, “Projector X: Riverside” (pictured below). For its Riverside location, the company transformed what was previously a Thai disco, inviting creatives and artists around Singapore to “create something revitalising and quirky on a shoestring budget.” Tan added that the project was one of many ways the company was able to stay motivated during the pandemic, which allowed The Projector to maintain its fresh creativity in uncertain times.

Cautious optimism as Singapore reopens

When it was announced by the government that local nightlife and event establishments could resume their operations on 19 April, Tan described the day as a rather frantic one. Immediately, the company saw its nightlife partners turning their wheels, readying themselves to book dates, even before it could get a sense of what the new regulations would mean for business.  

Tan says in spite of the new rules, The Projector remains “cautiously optimistic” on reopening, citing finding new manpower to work extended hours as being a particular challenge. However, Tan said the company is looking to scale up its events gradually and is exploring new partnerships to develop new experiences for the Projector community. The company also hopes that a resurgence in venue hire will help mitigate its previous capacity issues, which saw the cinema be able to operate at only 50% capacity, before safe distancing measures were lifted on 26 April.

The pandemic hit Singapore’s nightlife and entertainment business particularly hard, and The Projector was no exception. Tan described the last two years as having been one big ride: “When we were forced to close in 2020, it was devastating for us, as well as for other small and independent businesses. Financially, we found ourselves down the barrel of the proverbial gun.”

We knew we had to pivot quickly to survive, so we embarked on a massive merchandising push, (our) Intermission bar also did food deliveries, and we also developed and launched our own streaming platform, The Projector Plus, in four months. 

Tan told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the company asked a team to execute the building of a technical streaming platform, which she cited as helping keep the business “nimble,” versus other big industry players.  While the ambition wasn't to take on the streaming giants with an already established platform, the team did hope to keep audiences engaged with The Projector Plus. 

While The Projector said it could not disclose the monetary investment behind its Projector Plus platform, the team shared that it has “definitely covered its costs.” As opposed to streaming giants such as Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon, with their continuous offerings, The Projector opted for a more streamlined approach. Keeping in line with the brand’s key strategy, it made more sense for the company to have a TVOD  ‘pay as you go’ model, where audiences could enjoy the carefully curated content by The Projector.

She added, “For the subscription model to work, vast volume and scale of both content and audience is critical, and achieving that requires substantial resources. Our audience appreciates us for our curation, that’s our strength.”

The Projector is also the official platform for virtual film festivals, such as the Singapore International Film Festival and Perspectives Film Festival. This has provided the company an opportunity to utilise platform for showcasing more niche content - independent films such as Honeyland and Straight Up - films that might not make commercial sense in a physical theatre, that comes with high fixed costs like rent, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE understands.

Additionally, Tan said that The Projector “probably launched 20 different initiatives in the last two years.” Activations included virtual quiz nights, virtual talkback sessions and even fun, short film competitions, that would allow The Projector to continue having touchpoints with its audience, as an alternative to the all too familiar physical experiences.

Focusing on the 'why' 

With the pandemic being an all-too unpredictable factor for businesses to mitigate, focusing on the brand’s mission was key for The Projector, especially with restrictions to navigate around. On how The Projector kept its head facing forward, Tan said the team had to reflect on the “why.”  

“For the team, and our community, The Projector is not your average cinema, it is a platform for championing the alternative and independent film, art, and culture, a space for inclusion, diversity and discourse, where one can be yourself. This underscores everything we do.”

Given the way tech has transformed the marketing, media and business space, one can only wonder how The Projector might tap into these new opportunities, especially with tech being a key space for holding conversations on culture, art, inclusivity, and diversity.

When asked about what tech initiatives The Projector is keen on harnessing, Tan told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that it has been exploringcrypto, NFTs and web3 – amidst the “avalanche of exponentially growing information and tossing around ideas.” In spite of this, Tan conveyed her excitement for the new developments, especially the potential of tokenisation in enabling communities. She cited Web3 in particular as a means of ownership and empowerment, especially for creatives, across film, art and culture. Tan hopes to leverage these opportunities to explore and potentially redefine “what it means to be part of The Projector”, particularly beyond memberships, given its strong and passionate community.

It resonates strongly with The Projector’s ethos of being ‘not your average cinema’, but a platform that supports creatives and artists from all walks of life.

This article was written by Gianna Siddiqui.