usheru, the company specialised in connecting entertainment companies and movies to audiences with data-led solutions, is delighted to appoint John Donnelly to its board of directors effective this January 2021.
John has worked in the cinema sector for over 30 years and was responsible for building and operating the first multiplex cinemas in the UK, Ireland and Poland. He also served as Managing Director for Odeon’s expansion in Eastern Europe and Germany before leading up the acquisition, integration and construction of over 80 cinemas across continental Europe, as Operations Director for the Odeon group. Prior to the sale of Odeon to AMC, John, as the group’s Strategic Director, led the group’s key transformational programmes. In 2018, he joined Dolby Laboratories as Business Development Director and was responsible for the expansion of Dolby cinema in the EMEAR region, completing several high profile deals for Dolby in Russia and the Middle East.
Oliver Fegan, CEO usheru stated “We are delighted that John has decided to join usheru. The company is entering a stage of growth with tremendous potential in the film industry as a result of using data to go direct to audiences and drive them to view films on a variety of platforms both theatrical and streaming, in a smarter and more efficient way. John’s experience and industry knowledge will be key to driving the success of usheru.”
John Donnelly added “Oliver and the team have done an amazing job to get the company to where it is today. The film and cinema industry is going through unprecedented times and there are and will be enormous opportunities to help entertainment companies connect with and grow audiences in new and more innovative ways. I am really looking forward to supporting and working with the great usheru team in this dynamic and exciting ecosystem”.
About usheru
usheru is a venture capital-backed movie marketing and analytics company focused on connecting entertainment projects to audiences through smart, long-term and meaningful relationships. Its own team of experts helps and supports a wide range of partners within the movie distribution, promotion and exhibition industries.
Above all, usheru is passionate about bringing audiences to film and about building authentic partnerships with national film bodies, distributors, studios, cinemas and producers which are able to put in value their content, maximise their reach and increase sales. usheru’s services and long-term approach to movie promotion allows companies to go direct-to-consumer by collecting first-party data and to use data analytics to obtain key insights on consumer behaviour.
For Distributors, Producers & Promotional Bodies
In 2020, the company released its brand new HOME FOR FILM product for a variety of clients, including Altitude Films, German Films, Wild Atlantic Pictures and Studio Canal UK. The product serves as one home for showcasing all titles, direct audiences to view, rent or to buy tickets for a film wherever they are, whilst gathering data on consumer behaviour. By using this solution powered by usheru, their key clients could quickly adapt to the COVID 19 lockdown and changes within the industry, improving their marketing strategy globally.
For Cinemas
usheru also connects directly to cinemas’ box office point of sale, in order to use the power of distributor marketing to directly sell tickets to each cinema venue to consumers, with the full ticket price going to the cinema. A real ticketing solution for direct-to-consumer and first party data.
The API
This product provides the companies with data on where their films are showing, both in cinemas and/or on streaming. A great solution to house within your own website or platform, to enable consumers to discover where to view your films. Using the API within an existing website connects the dots between campaigns and exhibition or streaming, which is key to gaining key insights into audience behaviour.