#supportcinema ad
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Executive Summary
The #SupportCinema campaign began with a simple but urgent question: How can design help preserve the irreplaceable experience of watching films in theaters at a time when streaming platforms dominate? Inspired by my own passion for film and the challenges theaters faced during and shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, I set out to create a cause-driven poster that advocates for the unique value and experience of watching a movie in a theater.
Research showed that while streaming offers unmatched convenience, it cannot replicate the immersion, scale, or communal atmosphere of theaters. This insight reframed the challenge, moving it away from positioning theaters as merely another option or a better option and toward celebrating what makes them valuable and irreplaceable. The solution, a minimalist design featuring a smartphone with Netflix-style text reading “This isn’t how to experience a movie,” was deliberately provocative. Contrasting the scale difference of streaming with the grandeur of the big screen, it reminds audiences of the emotional and sensory richness that only theaters can provide.
Through this campaign, design becomes more than an aesthetic exercise. It becomes a cultural intervention that connects research, strategy, and storytelling to encourage audiences to support and re-engage with cinema.
Design process
Design
process
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Phase 1: Discovery & Research
I began this project by researching the state of the film industry during the pandemic, analyzing news articles and industry reports that detailed the financial decline of theaters and the unparalleled growth of streaming services. This widening gap underscored the urgency of the challenge. The data revealed a clear tension: audiences were prioritizing accessibility, but in doing so, they risked losing the immersive and communal qualities that make the theater experience unique.
Phase 2: Defining the Opportunity
Through this research, I reframed the problem. The issue was not simply about theaters competing with streaming platforms, but about reminding audiences of what streaming cannot deliver. The opportunity became an emotional one: to celebrate the communal, larger-than-life qualities of theaters and position them as irreplaceable.
The challenge was captured in a single question:
How might I remind audiences that streaming cannot replicate the sensory and social magic of the theater?
This reframing grounded the project in advocacy rather than competition. It maintained a focus on designing an emotional argument to support theaters rather than a defensive one that harms streaming.
Phase 3: Ideation & Concept Development
I explored multiple directions, from nostalgic campaigns that highlighted the golden age of cinema to data-driven infographics showing the industry’s economic importance. Ultimately, I chose a more direct and provocative path. The concept of a smartphone displaying Netflix-style text reading “This isn’t how to experience a movie” distilled the message into a single, powerful critique of streaming. By choosing simplicity and cultural relevance, the design immediately resonated with the everyday habits of viewers while simultaneously contrasting them with what was being lost.
The goal of this concept was not to condemn streaming. But simply to point out the experiential differences that streaming can never replace.
Phase 4: Visual Design & Prototyping
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Using Photoshop and Illustrator, I refined the concept into a bold, minimalist poster. Clean typography and limited colors emphasized the clarity of the message. By centering the smartphone, the poster put the issue quite literally in viewers’ hands, while the stark tagline positioned cinema as the antidote to a diminished streaming experience. The balance of restraint and directness was deliberate. I wanted the poster to be easily seen and powerful enough to spark reflection in a matter of seconds.
Phase 5: beyond the poster
Although the final deliverable was a poster, I considered how the campaign could extend into a broader ecosystem. The #SupportCinema initiative could evolve into a multi-channel experience, spanning social media campaigns, community events, and partnerships with local theaters.
Thinking about the work through this lens reframed the poster as more than a stand-alone artifact. It became a strategic entry point into a system of experiences designed to reconnect audiences with theaters.
Expected Outcomes
While only a concept, this project served as an example of how, when leaning into research, one can actively promote a cause, big or small. And have measurable outcomes.
Increased Awareness
By contrasting the small scale of streaming devices with the immersive scale of theaters, the campaign creates a tangible reminder of what audiences are missing.
Community Engagement
The #SupportCinema hashtag transforms the campaign from a poster into a collective movement. Studies show that advocacy hashtags increase engagement rates by 23–40% compared to general messaging. Large-scale social media movements, such as #BlackLivesMatter, demonstrate the cultural momentum that hashtags can generate [1].
Support for Theaters
Calls to action embedded in the campaign can direct audiences to purchase tickets or make a donation to their local theaters. Research shows that 85% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase after participating in experiential brand activations, and 91% report a stronger emotional connection to the brand as a result. Deloitte’s media research further confirms that 68% of consumers still want to watch movies in theaters when given the option, despite the growth of streaming. These findings demonstrate that demand for the theater experience remains strong and can be activated through effective campaigns [2] [3].
Higher Retention & Completion Rates
Multiple studies confirm that the clarity and timing of financial aid strongly influence enrollment and persistence. Students are more likely to stay enrolled when aid processes are transparent and disbursements are predictable and consistent [4].
For example, Georgia State's proactive completion grant initiative increased graduation rates for at-risk students from 30% to 80% [5].
closing
The #SupportCinema campaign showcases how design can address cultural and industry crises with research-backed, emotionally resonant storytelling. Discovery and research exposed the widening gap between convenience and experience, while reframing clarified that the opportunity was not to compete with streaming, but to celebrate cinema’s irreplaceable qualities. Ideation and prototyping distilled this message into a bold, minimalist artifact, and service design thinking showed how the poster could scale into a multi-channel advocacy movement.
Research
Advances in Social Work - Advocacy Hashtag Effectiveness
Performit Live - How Popular Immersive Brand Experiences Drive Purchases
Deloitte - Deloitte Digital Media Trends Survey
Expected Outcomes
almost done
While only a concept, this project served as an example of how, when leaning into research, one can actively promote a cause, big or small. And have measurable outcomes.
Increased Awareness
By contrasting the small scale of streaming devices with the immersive scale of theaters, the campaign creates a tangible reminder of what audiences are missing.
Community Engagement
The #SupportCinema hashtag transforms the campaign from a poster into a collective movement. Studies show that advocacy hashtags increase engagement rates by 23–40% compared to general messaging. Large-scale social media movements, such as #BlackLivesMatter, demonstrate the cultural momentum that hashtags can generate [1].
Support for Theaters
Calls to action embedded in the campaign can direct audiences to purchase tickets or make a donation to their local theaters. Research shows that 85% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase after participating in experiential brand activations, and 91% report a stronger emotional connection to the brand as a result. Deloitte’s media research further confirms that 68% of consumers still want to watch movies in theaters when given the option, despite the growth of streaming. These findings demonstrate that demand for the theater experience remains strong and can be activated through effective campaigns [2] [3].
Higher Retention & Completion Rates
Multiple studies confirm that the clarity and timing of financial aid strongly influence enrollment and persistence. Students are more likely to stay enrolled when aid processes are transparent and disbursements are predictable and consistent [4].
For example, Georgia State's proactive completion grant initiative increased graduation rates for at-risk students from 30% to 80% [5].
closing
back to the top
The #SupportCinema campaign showcases how design can address cultural and industry crises with research-backed, emotionally resonant storytelling. Discovery and research exposed the widening gap between convenience and experience, while reframing clarified that the opportunity was not to compete with streaming, but to celebrate cinema’s irreplaceable qualities. Ideation and prototyping distilled this message into a bold, minimalist artifact, and service design thinking showed how the poster could scale into a multi-channel advocacy movement.
Research
Advances in Social Work - Advocacy Hashtag Effectiveness
Performit Live - How Popular Immersive Brand Experiences Drive Purchases
Deloitte - Deloitte Digital Media Trends Survey
#supportcinema ad
read more below
work
Executive Summary
The #SupportCinema campaign began with a simple but urgent question: How can design help preserve the irreplaceable experience of watching films in theaters at a time when streaming platforms dominate? Inspired by my own passion for film and the challenges theaters faced during and shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, I set out to create a cause-driven poster that advocates for the unique value and experience of watching a movie in a theater.
Research showed that while streaming offers unmatched convenience, it cannot replicate the immersion, scale, or communal atmosphere of theaters. This insight reframed the challenge, moving it away from positioning theaters as merely another option or a better option and toward celebrating what makes them valuable and irreplaceable. The solution, a minimalist design featuring a smartphone with Netflix-style text reading “This isn’t how to experience a movie,” was deliberately provocative. Contrasting the scale difference of streaming with the grandeur of the big screen, it reminds audiences of the emotional and sensory richness that only theaters can provide.
Through this campaign, design becomes more than an aesthetic exercise. It becomes a cultural intervention that connects research, strategy, and storytelling to encourage audiences to support and re-engage with cinema.
Design
process
Phase 1: Discovery & Research
I began this project by researching the state of the film industry during the pandemic, analyzing news articles and industry reports that detailed the financial decline of theaters and the unparalleled growth of streaming services. This widening gap underscored the urgency of the challenge. The data revealed a clear tension: audiences were prioritizing accessibility, but in doing so, they risked losing the immersive and communal qualities that make the theater experience unique.
Phase 2: Defining the Opportunity
Through this research, I reframed the problem. The issue was not simply about theaters competing with streaming platforms, but about reminding audiences of what streaming cannot deliver. The opportunity became an emotional one: to celebrate the communal, larger-than-life qualities of theaters and position them as irreplaceable.
The challenge was captured in a single question:
How might I remind audiences that streaming cannot replicate the sensory and social magic of the theater?
This reframing grounded the project in advocacy rather than competition. It maintained a focus on designing an emotional argument to support theaters rather than a defensive one that harms streaming.
Phase 3: Ideation & Concept Development
I explored multiple directions, from nostalgic campaigns that highlighted the golden age of cinema to data-driven infographics showing the industry’s economic importance. Ultimately, I chose a more direct and provocative path. The concept of a smartphone displaying Netflix-style text reading “This isn’t how to experience a movie” distilled the message into a single, powerful critique of streaming. By choosing simplicity and cultural relevance, the design immediately resonated with the everyday habits of viewers while simultaneously contrasting them with what was being lost.
The goal of this concept was not to condemn streaming. But simply to point out the experiential differences that streaming can never replace.
Phase 4: Visual Design & Prototyping
Using Photoshop and Illustrator, I refined the concept into a bold, minimalist poster. Clean typography and limited colors emphasized the clarity of the message. By centering the smartphone, the poster put the issue quite literally in viewers’ hands, while the stark tagline positioned cinema as the antidote to a diminished streaming experience. The balance of restraint and directness was deliberate. I wanted the poster to be easily seen and powerful enough to spark reflection in a matter of seconds.
Phase 5: beyond the poster
Although the final deliverable was a poster, I considered how the campaign could extend into a broader ecosystem. The #SupportCinema initiative could evolve into a multi-channel experience, spanning social media campaigns, community events, and partnerships with local theaters.
Thinking about the work through this lens reframed the poster as more than a stand-alone artifact. It became a strategic entry point into a system of experiences designed to reconnect audiences with theaters.