Best Practices

After hosting hundreds of movie events for financial advisors across the country, we’ve learned exactly what it takes to execute a successful campaign. This page is designed to help you achieve great results too — by following our proven Movie Event Best Practices.

Please read these carefully to plan a movie event that's set up to succeed. While it may not always be possible to follow every guideline perfectly, sticking as close as possible to this formula will lead to more consistent outcomes.

Our Best Practices are designed to help you get the most from your turn-key movie event campaigns with Steep.

You can review the full list below, but here’s a shortlist of the most important items:

• Days of the Week: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays

• Start Time: Between 6:00 PM–6:30 PM

• Order Timing: 35 days before your event

• Event Frequency: One event per campaign

• Ideal Attendance: 50–75 guests

• Room Setup: Leave front 2 rows empty and present from the walkway

• Location: Venue should be within your marketing zone (ideally central)

We need your movie event order 35 days before your event date.

Here’s why:

• 7 days to build and prepare your campaign

• 14 days for your ads to run before the event

• Additional time to prepare your DCP (Digital Cinema Package) and ship it to the theater

Submissions made earlier than 35 days are encouraged and help ensure everything runs on schedule.

In hosting numerous events nationwide, we know what works — and what doesn’t. To take the guesswork out of it, we’ve put together the following proven best practices to help your campaign perform at its best.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are the highest-performing days for movie events.

Start your event at 6:00 PM or 6:30 PM.
This time allows guests to attend after work while keeping the evening brief and engaging.

Each movie event campaign includes only one event date per campaign — unlike dinner seminars, which may include two nights.

When selecting a campaign size, we recommend targeting around 80% of your seating capacity. This ensures you have flexibility for attendance variation without overbooking or overcrowding.

For the best experience and visibility:

• Stand in the small hallway between the front seats and the main seating area.

• Leave the first two rows empty to maintain a comfortable viewing and presentation experience.

• Aim for 50–75 attendees in the theater at one time.

• Larger packages are available for higher-capacity events if needed.

• Automated Email Confirmations: We’ll send a minimum of three automated reminder emails to your registrants: immediately after registration, the day before, and the day of your event.
  For early registrants, we’ll also send additional reminders at 10 days and 5 days before the event.

• Real-Time Registration Notifications: You’ll receive email notifications as registrations occur.
  View your TrailMap active campaigns section anytime for full registration details — including names, emails, phone numbers and number of attendees.

• Automated Text Confirmations: Registrants receive two text confirmations — one immediately upon registration and another on the event day. These messages provide event details and a Google Maps link for venue directions.

• Important: Because we'll be reminder sending emails and texts on your behalf, advisors should not send their own emails or texts to prospects. Receiving similar information from multiple sources will be confusing and reduce attendance.

In addition to the automated reminders, we strongly recommend the following:

• Call each registrant within 24 hours of registration to confirm attendance (the sooner, the better).

• If you would like our team to make confirmation calls for you, this can be added as an optional add-on during your order. To add it later, email support@steep.marketing.

• Ensure your venue is within your active marketing zone (centralized for maximum reach).

Avoid scheduling events near major holidays, popular local sports events, or political dates. Ask your Success Coach or our Support Team for this year's recommended event date calendar

Campaigns that conform to best practices have a consistent track record of success. By following this proven formula, you’re on the fast track to great results.