Kino im Planetarium - program with stars and under the stars
In Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin, directly on Prenzlauer Allee in the sprawling Ernst-Thälmann-Park, is the Zeiss Planetarium, which was...
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Pilot project
The foundation for the work of the cinema doctor
It was probably one of the most ambitious projects of Neustart Kino AG Kino, BkF, HDF Kino GbR within the framework of Neustart Kino. During the project period from the end of 2022 to June 30, 2023, the 13 participating pilot cinemas were visited by the cinema doctor team in order to identify the cinema's potential individually through structured discussions as part of a peer review process, to further develop strengths, but also to discover weaknesses and to offer creative solutions.
The Covid-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the entire cinema industry. The loss of revenue during the lockdown, the lack of premium goods for cinemas, the loss of audience confidence in closed venues - all of this has put the business model to the test in recent years.
The restart could therefore not be achieved through financial support alone, even if this represented the existential basis. In addition to the importance of program curation and local marketing, the companies need support with professionalization, employee training and the development of new business models in order to recover on the one hand, to transform on the other and, last but not least, to be able to prepare for future crises. The Kinodoktor initiative - Quality Management for Cinemas wants to make a decisive contribution to the professionalization and optimization of cinemas and the industry.
Within the pilot project, a sustainable quality management system for cinemas was established, which enables the cinemas visited to assert themselves as socio-cultural places. The main topics for this were developed in a workshop at the Leipzig Film Art Fair 2022 in cooperation with the network of rural cinemas .
The next big task for the cinema doctor is to develop concepts on how the model could be transferred into regular operation from 2025 onwards - and to convince people with these.
This challenge will be tackled boldly from April 2024 - also thanks to funding from the FFA.
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Three steps to success
Development, pilot phase, empowerment
The main topics of the audits are: customer satisfaction / quality of stay /// marketing / (digital) customer loyalty /// program structure / profile /// staff recruitment and retention /// business administration / profitability /// audience development and target group analysis /// raising the profile of the cinema's own brand as well as communication and organizational structures. Particular emphasis is also placed on sustainability in the cinema and on minimum ecological standards.
Development of a questionnaire based on selected elements of DIN EN ISO 9001 for quality management - adapted to cinema operations. Objective and generally valid criteria were developed that take into account the uniqueness of each company.
The pilot phase with peer review procedures/audits in 13 cinemas across Germany and a subsequent analysis of the challenges and opportunities as well as a comprehensive evaluation with SWOT analysis and concrete suggestions ended on June 30th. The transition to regular operation should now be made possible.
Of the 11 participants in the cinema doctor training course, 7 have already been certified as auditors for the future continuation of the project. The idea of the peer review process in collegial dialogue with different competence teams underpins the project.
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Competences
A successful conversation in the cinema can only take place if the colleagues conducting the audit are competent. Since ideally two auditors accompany the process, the cinema companies benefit from the experience gained in various areas. The teams were certified as being competent in all cases.
Project controlling
Every project should also include project controlling. For the "Kinodoktor Quality Management for Cinemas" project, we also carried out a total of two surveys following the on-site visits. The time T1 was 7-14 days after the audit. T2, on the other hand, is the time after the report was sent - around 6-8 weeks after the audit.
The purpose was not only to ensure measurable effectiveness of the project but also to collect structured feedback. This enabled the project group led by Valeska Hanel to evaluate the feedback and also assess the future viability of such a project.
The results have clearly exceeded the expectations of the project group. In some cases, the feedback was even 100% clear. Here is a pre-selection of the survey results.
Measures
The aim of the audit is to support cinemas in becoming more professional, to develop strengths and to tackle challenges in a concrete way. The cinema doctors suggest measures to this end. All of the cinemas visited have decided to accept some or many of the suggestions and put them into practice.
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Recommendations
The satisfaction of most of the cinemas visited is also reflected in the conviction that they will recommend the Kinodoktor to other cinemas. This is particularly important to show that the project will continue to attract interested cinemas in the future.
Regular operation
All cinemas would like to see the pilot phase transferred into regular operation. The project team is particularly pleased about this and is working to make this possible.
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The entire diagnostic data can be downloaded as a PDF.
Impressions of the cinema tour
The initiators
The three cinema associations AG Kino - Gilde, BkF and HdF Kino represent over 95% of German cinemas. They joined forces for the pilot project Neustart Kino AG Kino, BkF, HDF Kino GbR, with the common goal of helping cinemas in Germany to cope with the consequences of Corona, to prepare them for the current challenges and to create strong networks in order to build resilience for the future. Both with a view to competitiveness and with a view to their role as a socio-cultural place.
Project Team
The team of experts for the pilot project consisted of project managers Valeska Hanel and Martin Turowski, both with many years of experience in various cinemas. The evaluation of the project as well as the areas of quality management and business administration were supported by quality manager and business economist Daniel Charigault.
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