"Four years ago, a smartphone with a small colour screen and a modest internet connection represented the state of the art," commented Brian Tristam Williams, who looks after digital initiatives at Nu Metro. "Currently, we see many smart and feature phones, tablets and other mobile devices visiting us and we wanted to improve our offerings for the new market without disaffecting loyal owners of older devices."
The new mobile site (m.numetro.co.za) features a responsive design that accommodates different aspect ratios, screen sizes and orientations and larger buttons and icons for touch-screen devices. In addition, the site serves the burgeoning social networking and location-based markets, with seamless sharing to the major platforms, as well as location detection that can guide users to their nearest Cineplex instantly.
In partnership with iGroup, its web technology provider, the cinema chain has also launched a new Facebook application, which also invites a range of commenting and sharing options for users.
Commenting on the launch, iGroup CEO Marc Seymour said the company was pleased to be providing the technology behind South Africa's first fully-fledged movie ticketing app within Facebook. "The app works as a complete ticketing system and allows the users to complete the entire booking process within Facebook, without ever being taken out of the social networking site," said Seymour. "With the increased popularity and widespread use of social media in South Africa, we think it is important that brands start not only to engage consumers on this level, but to offer a shopping experience within the platform as well."
The app is integrated into the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/numetro and can be found at the top of the page on all non-mobile devices.
