Wis. Film Festival: Wisconsin Film Festival Automates Online Ticket Ordering for 2004 Partners with Madison Firms IMS and Planet Propaganda to Develop

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Mary Carbine, (608) 262-6578, mary@wifilmfest.org or Lori Wilson at Funnel Incorporated, (608) 251-5481, lori@funnelinc.com

MADISON, Wis. (February 26, 2004) – This year, Wisconsin Film Festival enthusiasts can order tickets online thanks to a secure e-commerce system created by local Internet development company IMS and communication company Planet Propaganda. The content-rich Web site, located at www.wifilmfest.org, will go live with the Festival schedule announcement on Wednesday, March 3. Online ordering will be enabled at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 4 when the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office opens and tickets go on sale.

“As the Wisconsin Film Festival continues to grow, entering its sixth year, we are very excited to offer online ticket sales which will make the whole process easier and more convenient for many movie goers,” explained Festival director Mary Carbine. “Online orders will also speed up our own processing time and save on internal resources. We’re very grateful to IMS and Planet Propaganda for helping make this a reality.”

The online ordering feature builds on last year’s wish list functionality. Users can search films by title, genre, country, series or screening time to build an itinerary from among the 150 films and events held during the four-day Festival. Preferred films or events can then be selected and added to a personalized wish list that can pinpoint scheduling conflicts, be e-mailed to other Fest-ing friends and now submitted electronically for secure online order transmittal.

Working with the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office, the Festival has hired and trained extra box office staff to process orders, send out confirmation e-mails and mail completed ticket orders. The process deliberately incorporates a more human touch than average e-commerce transactions to enable staff to scan for sold-out films, make recommendations and offer help to customers seeking additional assistance.

“There was a great collaboration between the partners to go beyond a basic off the shelf
e-commerce solution. Mary’s expertise with Festival protocol and ordering methods helped us find a solution that was easy to use, cost effective and unique for an event of this size,” said Travis Ott, Planet Propaganda brand manager.

As a community sponsor for the event over the last three years, IMS enjoys its connection with the popular Festival and is excited to be involved in shaping the e-commerce solution for the organization.

“The Wisconsin Film Festival is one of the events that makes Madison such a unique and wonderful place. We’re proud to help support it.” said IMS CEO Mark Clear.

In 2003, the Festival Web site attracted 61,635 visits of which 14,210 unique visitors averaged 4.3 visits and lingered more than 11 minutes. This was an increase from 2002 statistics capturing 49,000 visits and 13,389 unique visitors.

“Each year we’ve added features to the site that improve the experience for Festival users,” added Ott. “The site has really evolved in the four years we’ve been involved as the Festival’s marketing partner and it’s been rewarding to watch the event’s popularity grow along with it.”

The Wisconsin Film Festival will take place in Madison from April 1 – 4, 2004. Interested movie-goers can try out the new online ticket ordering system at www.wifilmfest.org. The full Festival schedule is announced March 3, and tickets go on sale March 4. The Wisconsin Film Festival is a public program of the UW-Madison Arts Institute.

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About the Wisconsin Film Fest:
A public program of the UW-Madison Arts Institute, the Wisconsin Film Festival is committed to independent film culture, quality programming, community involvement and a filmmaker-friendly environment. For Festival information visit: www.wifilmfest.org.

About IMS:
IMS (www.ims.net) is a leading Internet development company based in Madison, Wis., specializing in business solutions that use the Internet to improve process efficiency, reduce costs, and promote communication with client’s customers. IMS also offers a suite of hosted applications, including IMS SiteManager, a Web content management system.

About Planet Propaganda:
Planet Propaganda is a communication company that provides graphic design, advertising, active media and motion graphics for desire-based brands including Gary Fisher Bicycles, Bretford and Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches. For more information, visit www.planetpropaganda.com.