Redbox, which was purchased from McDonald’s Corporation by Coinstar in2009, is quickly become a leader in DVD movie rentals. The company operates over 20,000 self-serve kiosks across the country located in fast food restaurants, pharmacies, grocery stores and convenience stores. To kick off the summer, Redbox is offering a free movie rental to everyone that joins their Facebook Fan page by June 21st.
The company is hoping that this campaign will generate a lot of net new customers that ultimately become long-term users. As a recent convert to Redbox, I think this is an excellent opportunity for the company create buzz and increase their customer base. For months, my wife and I considered picking up a Redbox movie on our way out of our local grocery story but never pulled the trigger because we thought it would be too much of a hassle to use the kiosk and then return the movie within 24 hrs (NOTE: it took a free rental for us to take that first step). I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Redbox has done a fantastic job creating a simple and easy to use process that results in a positive customer experience both offline and online. With so many locations in our area and the ability to return the movie to any Redbox kiosk, it has never been a problem to watch and return the movie on time. Recently, we took the next step and created an online account which has enhanced our experience. As part of our online account we receive updates weekly with news of the latest movies available, promotions and links to Redbox’s blog to read reviews of the latest movies in the theater. In addition, we can reserve and pay for rentals online (highly recommended).
From a marketing perspective, they are doing great job of communicating in a way that adds value. Their emails are one of the few (from a company) that I read on a regular base and their blog is well written and maintained. Much of this is due to the fact that they only send out one email a week as a means of updating us to which new movies are available in our area and the latest movie reviews.
While Netflix has received more press for their ability to allow users to stream as many movies as they would like directly through their PC, Xbox, PS3 or Wii for $8.99 a month, based on my math Redbox appears to be the more economical choice. Below is an overview of the alternative options to renting from Redbox:
- DVD Purchase ($14.99 – $24.99 for a new release) – This will always be the preference of the hardcore movie fan that wants to add another DVD to their collection and have the option to watch the movie any time the mood hits them but costs 15 to 25 times more than renting from Redbox.
- Rental via Cable Provider ($4.99 per movie for a new release) – This has the highest convenience factor of any of the options (including Redbox) as you don’t have to leave your living room however it is nearly 5 times the cost of renting from Redbox.
- Rental via Mail/Streaming ($8.99 – $19.99 a month for unlimited rentals) – Companies such as Netflix and Blockbuster offer varying monthly movie rental packages. For this to be a value, you would have to watch about 9 – 20 movies a month (depending on your monthly rate) to equate to the $1 per rental of Redbox.
For the average movie fan, there is most likely about one or two movies a month that are released on DVD that peak their interest. With that being said, assuming you returned the movies on time, it would only cost $1 – 2 a month to rent from Redbox and even then you wouldn’t feel guilty renting a few extra potential duds for a couple of extra dollars.
So what are you waiting for – go join Redbox’s Facebook Fan page and get your free rental today!
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