Just the ticket: Filmweb optimises membership renewal with Apsis One
Filmweb is Norway’s leading film portal, delivering B2B services and B2C products within the cinema industry. They chose Apsis One for the management of Kinoklubb, the loyalty scheme for cinema goers across the country.
Features like custom events and automation allow Filmweb to minimise membership churn and ensure renewal rates are optimised.
“Using custom events is a whole new way of communicating with our members, as we can track which and how many movies they’ve watched in a given period,” says Elisabeth Brinch, Head of Filmweb Kinoklubb.
We put a lot of thought into our design and layout, and Apsis One makes it easy to create visually strong and structured newsletters.
Gamification to inspire loyalty
There are two key benefits to this personalised approach. First, it allows Filmweb to identify the members who have already watched a particular film.
Elisabeth Brinch: “This helps us avoid sending reminder emails to members who have already seen a movie, which can otherwise be perceived as annoying.”
And second, it means they can build VIP tiers based on how many movies members have watched, rewarding their most loyal customers. This has been launched as a “gamification” feature, to motivate members to see more movies.
Segmentation means personalisation
An important segmentation for Filmweb is between active and former members. Among their campaigns are mailings to former members, focusing on upcoming movies with a welcome back offer.
“The first flows we started when we implemented Apsis were the ones targeting churning members,” says Elisabeth Brinch. “They get a transactional email on the day they churn, but our flows reach former and churning members at several additional stages.”
Emails to former members with a discount offer are effective, especially when they’re connected to a major new movie. But in the long run, the most important activities are the ongoing flows to secure renewals and reactivations.
Elisabeth Brinch: “Winback flows give us the opportunity to follow members’ status closely, communicating personally and precisely with them. We were positively surprised by how many members qualified for our VIP tiers and how actively they used their extra benefits.”
VIPs and exclusive events
The 66,000 members of Kinoklubb get a 50% discount on selected movies – approximately one each month – to watch at their local cinema.
Experience shows that people are more likely to renew their membership if they’ve used their discount code at least twice. By tracking the use of codes, Filmweb can approach and activate members on a personal level.
Creating VIP segments encourages medium and heavy users to be even more active, and inviting people to special events in their area enhances the feeling of being part of something exclusive.
“After we started the winback flows in May 2024, we were able to save or reactivate 2.5% of the total churn that year,” says Elisabeth Brinch. “Halfway through 2025, we’ve saved 3.2%. These are hundreds of members that we otherwise would have lost.”
Looking to the future
How does the future look for Filmweb, and how can Apsis One help them achieve their goals as they expand into other Nordic countries?
VIP segments are a key area to explore, Elisabeth Brinch says. “To encourage even more members to reach the two VIP tiers, we want to create a flow that reaches members who are close to reaching a new level and tell them that they only need one more movie to reach the next level, for example.”
Localised benefits based on postcode segmentation will make it even more attractive for members to reach a VIP tier.
Based on discount codes used at sign-up, Filmweb also wants to look into discovering different target groups within the member base.
“We have a lot of partners and affiliates who promote Kinoklubb to their customers, employees, students, subscribers, etc,” says Elisabeth Brinch. “With tailor-made communication, we’ll be able to reach them even more precisely with offers and information.”