Hello,

I've seen several old discussions asking for information about companies that hire people to install cardboard standees at theaters but they are very vague about company names and don't give links to any company sites.

Right now I do installs for MarketForce (https://www.certifiedfieldassociate.com/) but I would like to see if there are other companies in my area also hiring for this type of work. At a recent install I saw that the theater had boxed-up standees in their storage area with stickers saying "Hold for IMPACT install" but my Googling has failed me as far as finding out who IMPACT is or how I might apply for work with them.

Does anyone know of any other companies and have some contact info for them?

Thanks!
Mike

This is what people who worked for them have to say.

[www.glassdoor.com]

Acosta also pops up as Impact merchandising. I may not be the same thing, But they do have some other jobs being offered, so here's that link.

[www.glassdoor.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2016 02:09PM by cindy55.

I did a search for IMPACT install" movie standees and this came up. Hope it helps [www.visionfieldservices.com]

Hi Mike,
I am a certified field associate for MarketForce as well but have yet to take an assignment because I'm not sure how to set up the display once I arrive at the theatre. MarketForce does not offer any training or observational visits to learn either so we are suppose to just figure it out onsite? Thanks for any advice or tips you can offer.

Thanks for the tip - I'll check that out.!

Hey there,

I was kind of nervous the first time I did an install, too, because they really don't give much guidance at all about how it's supposed to go. It turned out to be really easy. The theater managers know what you're there to do even if you're a little unsure yourself. I've only done installs at four different theaters but all of them were pretty much the same so I think my experience is probably fairly universal.

Here are tips that would have helped me:

1. Read all of the materials MarketForce supplies before and after accepting an assignment, especially the instructions for the standee you're going to build (if they're available). They're a good way to judge how difficult the job will really be. Also, the more familiar you are with them the quicker the install will go. The instructions will also tell you the final dimensions of the standee and if there are any special conditions (e.g., one of the standees I built was supposed to give access to the back so people could go behind it to take pictures through a gap). Knowing this type of info in advance helps you and the theater figure out where to put the thing when it's built. Don't forget to bring printed copies of your letter of authorization and the Install Report. You can print and bring the standee directions, but there should be a printed copy delivered with the standee, too - I've never needed to print my own.

2. Check the tracking info on MarketForce's website so you know when your standee has been delivered.

3. When you arrive at the theater find a manager. I either find one at an information desk or I go to the ticket counter and the employee there calls one. Explain to the manager which standee you're there to build. The manager will let you know if it's a good time and if there's room for the new standee or if the standee will have to be completed at a later date (in which case you say thanks and politely take your leave). If the manager okays the install then, with the manager's help, choose a location to put it. Some of the theaters I've been to have one large lobby area where they put standees; some have them all along the hallways. Also with the manager's help choose a location to build the standee. Most of the time you'll need a fairly large area to assemble them - you'll probably need to be able to lay the entire thing down flat - so try not to get stuck in a corner or narrow hall. Also try not to be too far from the final location because these things tend to be large and awkward when assembled.

4. The theater will probably have a closet somewhere with all of the standees waiting to be built in it. The manager (or a designated employee) should show you where they're kept. The standees come in large, fairly flat boxes that can weigh anywhere from 20 - 50 pounds so be prepared to lug it to your assembly spot.

5. Once you're set up in your assembly location the employees generally leave you alone other than maybe asking what you're building. Theater patrons also stop by sometimes to ask what you're building, and I've had several people ask other questions about how to become an installer and what the theater does with the standees when they're no longer needed. Be polite to everyone.

6. When you're finished clean up the assembly area - all scraps of paper and bits of cardboard should be disposed of and the box should be removed. What you do with the box can vary from theater to theater - one theater I work with usually wants to take the boxes to their own dumpster. One theater has an open cardboard dumpster behind the building so I usually fold the box up, take it with me, and drive around the building to drop it in myself. Once or twice I've just brought the box home with me and recycled it myself.

7. After the assembly find a manager again, have them print their name and sign the Install Report, and head home. Shortly after leaving the theater, regardless of whether the standee was installed, go back to MarketForce's website and fill out the online install report. The information in the online report exactly matches the printed one - including the manager's name, so make sure you can read the printed name. File the paper report in case it's needed at some later point (none of mine ever have been) and wait for the money to show up!

One last note - get to know the theaters that you do installs at. Get a sense for when they run special events and when they're fairly slow. For example, one of the theaters I go to does All-Shows-$5 every Tuesday so they tend to be busy on Tuesdays and the managers usually won't do installs that day. I try not to schedule myself for an install at that theater on Tuesdays and we're both happier.

Hope this helps and makes it a little less intimidating - if you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to help you out! Also, follow MarketForce on Facebook - they're usually pretty responsive to questions there and also sometimes post info on upcoming projects.

Mike

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2016 04:05AM by Silverlock.

I have been installing standees for a few years and this is what I discovered. I do work for for Vision Display (formally Deluxe Display) and Market Force. Those two companies and the installers that work with Disney are the only ones that I know of that do installs. The Disney installer works for Disney and does other merchandising not just theater installs. Vision Display who I have worked for four years doesn't really do to many installs anymore. They use to do big studios but it was cheaper for the studios to do the jobs with Market Force. Market Force is really the only company that does installs and they pay far less then Vision Display did. Also only some studios pay to have installs put together and only at certain theaters. It depends a lot on advertising budget of the movie. I hope that helps.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/11/2016 08:24PM by jrberger.

I've been doing installs for Market Force for a while. If you look over your directions the night before your install you will find it to go a lot smoother. They are really not that difficult but the bigger ones take some time to do. And once a while the directions are not that well. I download the directions onto my smartphone so I can blow them up to get a better look at them. Also when you get to the theater you just tell them who you are and what install you will be doing and ask them where would you like me to set it up and they will have a designated space for you to do that. Also it wouldn't hurt to put a little bag together that includes strong tape, a screw driver and some twine. Hope this helps. I find them to be challenging and fun to do.

As Silverlock notes, do look those instructions over first. It seems this year-at least before I parted ways-that moderate difficulty shops were paying easy rates and giving sub-two hour times when they were closer to actually rating as difficult and 4+ hours to complete.

I guess the bulk of standees are moderately difficult and that's where certified chose to cut fees.

Six hours for a couch for TMNT for $12 and even Ice Age was most of three hours for that same fee and 2-3x what the paperwork suggested for completion time.

For me to be torqued was something, because I could do those installs that required a partner quicker than the listed times by myself.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2016 11:19PM by AlfredB1979.

I have done quite a few installs for MarketForce, both with and without a partner. I find a lot of the fees MarketForce lists for their installs to be insulting. I usually don't do an install for anything less than double (and sometimes more than that) what they list in the paperwork. Suicide Squad was $110+ depending on how far the theater was from me. I am looking for other companies as well because I would rather have work that paid a fair price to begin with. Thanks posting other options, folks!

You don't have to settle for the "fixed rate" when doing these installs. We had a friend who would work 2-3 hours on an install, then call the company and tell them they were half way done (or however far they were completed) and say "Do you want me to continue and will you authorize the increased pay?" They always said, "Yes." Some companies want you to bring a partner who will work with you for free, but this friend always got around that fact somehow. There is no reason a company should expect you to bring a partner to any job and expect them to work for free. We quit doing the complicated standees when the pay went below $100. Complicated ones can take 6 hours.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2016 07:54PM by mnspub.

Haven't had a 6 hour build so far, but I have had some that went over 4. They do pay fairly well at that point, even if you beat up your hands.