The cinema and BNP, a feature-length film

As cinemas impatiently await the reopening of their theaters, some movie posters have been replaced in Lyon, Strasbourg, Cannes, Dijon or Paris by photos of local shopkeepers. This campaign, launched by BNP Paribas (in partnership with Hungry and foolish), is an opportunity to look back at the bank’s content strategy and its relationship with the 7th art.

Residents of Paris, Lyon, Dijon, Cannes and Strasbourg are currently discovering cinema posters that are original, to say the least, since they do not feature the latest films in theaters, but rather the profile of a wine waiter, a cheese maker, a record store owner, a hairdresser, a chef, etc. This initiative is signed by BNP and reflects its commitment to the cinema since 1917.

The bank has never broken its ties with the 7th art, and its latest initiative showing its retail clients on cinema screens is more than consistent with its almost century-old content strategy. The financial group has even strengthened this link over the years since 2012, when it launched a web radio station that offers reviews or playlists made up of film soundtracks.

Since then, the bank has never stopped creating new formats.  For example, its “Séance Ciné” application, which organizes movie outings with friends and family, or the “We Love Cinema” platform, launched in 2003. The latter, fully dedicated to the history and news of the silver screen, regularly offers film fans articles, reviews and features related to the cinema. The objective: to be recognized as a partner and supporter of the cinema, but above all to maintain a special relationship with its film-loving customers. And since cinema is not just about images, the platform provides audio content through the broadcasting of several podcast programs per month, available on the usual media.

Finally, to vary the formats, the platform analyzes trends throughout the year through broad thematic files such as “films that make you think” or the “portrait of the Coppola family, a film dynasty”. And to offer even more content, “We Love Cinema” offers its visitors interviews and decrypts. A rich, relevant and coherent content strategy based on its expertise in the 7th art.

Experiential content and viral campaign

In addition to having created a real media, this tool also offers movie lovers the opportunity to find the right movie to watch according to their mood and desire of the moment through an intelligent and original search engine: the Cinematcher. Experiential content that fits perfectly with the group’s involvement with the film heritage.

While the latest wink on the facades of 11 cinemas in France – massively relayed on social networks – has the merit of giving passers-by a slight smile, it also reminds them of the link the bank has with the cinema.  It’s a nice double coup for BNP Paribas, which pays tribute to its retail customers while once again displaying its link with the 7th art. Simple and effective.