Fandango

How do you compete in streaming without subscriptions or originals?

By offering a unique value proposition through a connected entertainment ecosystem. In this case, by turning three disconnected platforms: Fandango (Ticketing), Fandango at Home (Streaming) and Rotten Tomatoes (Reviews & Rating), into one ecosystem that extends the movie experience before, during, and after viewing.

Quick walkthrough of scenarios showing how the ecosystem creates new value

Role & Team

Lead UX Designer (Behavioral loop & Ad UX)

Team: 3 UX Designers, 1 UX Researcher

Problem & Insight

Zero visibility and no USP for Fandango at Home

Insight: Use Versant's product portfolio to create an inter-connected entertainment ecosystem that naturally funnels existing users to FAH and creates new value.

Outcome

5 High fidelity mockups for proposed high impact changes. Designs were validated by senior stakeholders in Versant (Parent Company), with "Cinematic Passport" coming out with the most buy in.

Outcome

5

High-fidelity proposals, each one an intervention in a different part of the loop

3 → 1

Disconnected platforms modelled as a single ecosystem, with a role each

Most buy-in

“Cinematic Passport,” of the five, from senior stakeholders at Versant

—

Concept-test participants, and what the feedback changed

Saatvik to confirm

Context

Turn a transactional movie store into an ad-supported streaming platform.

We were asked to reimagine Fandango’s new platform called "At Home", transition from a transactional movie platform into an ad-supported streaming platform.

Our challenge was to define what could make Fandango at Home uniquely valuable under AVOD (Ad-Supported Video on Demand) constraints, while retaining legacy digital collectors and attracting a new generation of streaming-first users.

Three hard constraints.

CONSTRAINT 01

Focus on AVOD

Ads are the business model. Ad experience needs to be optimized for watch time and conversion.

CONSTRAINT 02

No subscriptions

Monetization through subscriptions was explicitly off the table.

CONSTRAINT 03

No originals

The company cannot produce original content.

Findings

Users want ads last.
The business needs them first.

Users preferred ads in the final 30% of a film to preserve emotional continuity, while the business needed ads within the first 70% to maximize retention and monetization before viewers dropped off. Retention and revenue both bias toward earlier breaks

00%25%50%75%100%
What users want
Ads in last 30%
What business needs
Ads in first 70%

Some solutions that we explored for this problem

Predictability

A subtle 3–5s countdown surfaces just before a break. The interruption stops being a surprise, the cognitive cost drops.

30-sec cap

The maximum unskippable ad-length is set to 30 seconds by default to reduce user drop off and frustration.

Control
Tune how ads interrupt youYou can change them later.
WHEN
RHYTHM
2 breaks · ~30s each
Your Episode will look like
STARTEND

Content window offers users some control over their ad-experience. Users feel agency without spending decision budget.

Everyone knew Fandango. Everyone knew Rotten Tomatoes.almost nobody knew Fandango at Home.

Worse: nobody knew the three platforms belonged to the same parent, Versant. It became apparent that the company didn't have a content problem, they had a handoff problem.

Versant
Rotten Tomatoes

Ratings & Reviews

Decide

Fandango

Ticketing

Attend

Fandango at Home

Streaming

Re-Watch

No other business owns all three aspects of the entertainment ecosystem.

Strategy

Given the new insight, we decided to pivot.
The brief now was to design an interconnected entertainment ecosystem.

With the why settled, we locked the who, what, and how.

Audience

18–34 years

Streaming‑first viewers.

Surfaces

TV · Laptop

Mobile as a strategic extension.

Content Focus

Franchises

Invite continuation & cross‑platform return.

Ecosystem loop across Fandango, Fandango at Home and Rotten Tomatoes

Entertainment ecosystem engine

Conversion feeds Re-entry

Entry

A Rotten Tomatoes score, a Fandango ticket, a FaH film tile, each is a way in.

Engagement

Predictable ads, social signal, mood-aware discovery, unique features that make users stay.

Conversion

Watch, buy, save, share, rate, the action doesn't have to be a purchase.

The hook is "keep users inside the ecosystem". Each platform plays a different role in the same loop.

Final Design

1.Rotten tomatoes spotlights the platforms in the Ecosystem

Leverage Rotten Tomatoes’ high user reach to introduce Fandango and At Home through subtle, non-intrusive entry points. This expands cross-platform discovery without compromising user trust.

Before

94% · 92%

The user lands on Rotten Tomatoes to verify. The score answers “is it good?”

After

94% · 92%

Where to watch

The bridge appears as the intent peaks.

Google search surfacing Versant-owned platforms

The design calls out the platforms owned by versant more prominently to tap into the ecosystem.

Rotten Tomatoes with Get Tickets
Rotten Tomatoes
Release Window
If: In TheatersIf: Streaming
Get TicketsFandango
Watch FreeFandango At Home
Rotten Tomatoes with Watch Free

2.Raise perceived value of conversion while buying tickets.

Give every Fandango ticket an added value by showcasing rewards that unlock on Fandango at Home. This creates a unique purchase incentive while strengthening the connection between both platforms.

Fandango showtime picker on mobile

AMC Pacific Place · IMAX

3:305:157:008:4510:30—

Unlock FanRewards with this purchase

Cast Interviews · Ad-Free Movie · Friend Pass

Rewards are teased before checkout so that the promise forms while the user is still choosing.
Fandango checkout on mobile

Order summary

Tickets × 1$21.25
Fees$2.45
Total$23.70

FanRewards unlocks

  • Cast Interviews
  • 48h Ad-Free Movie
  • Friend Pass · Sneak Peek

+125 pts unlocked

The unlock list sits between the total and the CTA to raise the perceived value.
Ticket confirmed with FanRewards active
✓

+250 pts earned · Ticket confirmed

Cast Interviews

12 MIN

1 Movie Ad-Free

48H ACCESS

Friend Pass

GIFT 30 MIN

Sneak Peek

5 CURATED

Rewards are accessible at Fandango at Home, making this the next product's front door too.

The feature in action.

Rotten Tomatoes film detail with Get Tickets

Name rewards that a fan can picture

FanRewards unlocks

  • Cast Interviews
  • 48h Access · 1 Ad-Free Movie
  • Friend Pass
  • Sneak Peek

+125 pts unlocked

Value is stated at the exact moment the user weighs the ticket price against walking away.

3.Fandango at home turns the wait time into a Ritual

Turn the wait between booking and showtime into a personalized “Ritual Playlist,” serving highly relevant content based on what users are about to watch. This makes the ecosystem feel alive and deeply personalized, while cutting decision time of browsing by ~90%, tackling one of the biggest sources of friction in the space.

Fandango at Home hero with Start your Ritual

When users arrive on "At Home", the platform already knows what they bought and when it's showing, and has built them a playlist of related titles along with their rewards before they even ask.

The pre-movie ritual playlist

This is where users find part of their unlocked rewards. The playlist does three things: reinforces the ecosystem, reduces decision time, and gives users an immediate reason to engage with the platform.

Logic flow for this feature.

Ticket confirmed

Sinners · IMAX
Sat, 7:00 PM
AMC Pacific Place

+250 pts earned

Prepare for your screening

Sinners

4

DAYS

14

HOURS

22

MIN

Your pre-movie playlist

Director interview · 12 min
Related film · 48h free
Critics' picks
Score featurette

0/5 watched · +25 pts on complete

The ticket is confirmed and the user is shown a CTA to access rewards on "At Home"

FAH already knows the user's show timings. it's the highest-anticipation window the platform will ever get with this user.

"Start your Ritual" replaces an open-ended catalog with a single, personal next step.

Fandango at Home ritual experience on a laptop

4.Utilizing end credits to connect the ecosystem and increase engagement

Openness to a next step

Browse

Deciding · Guarded

Watch

Locked in · Unreachable

Credits

Satisfied · Receptive

Exit

Gone

End credits screen suggesting where Creed connects

Rate it

★★★★★

Where it connects

FranchiseDirectorMoodGenreCast

Explore all connections →

In theaters now

Sinners

2h 15m · Rated R · 94% · 92%

Feeds Rotten Tomatoes

Deepens Fandango at Home

Returns to Fandango

Creed detail page on Fandango at Home

5.Every platform stamps the same Passport

Cinematic Passport on mobile

@S_Hearts_Movies

Member since March 2024

● Silver Tier1,618 to Gold

1,372 pts

Climbing the ladder through engagement

At home

23

Films

Theaters

4

Visits

Reviews

15

Written

Engagement across all 3 platforms tracked in the same place

Total films

27

Home + theater

Watch hours

48h

Est. total

A history of the user's engagement for movies and streaming

Taste Profile

Sci-Fi34
Drama21
Thriller18
Comedy12

A dynamic taste profile that evolves with the user's engagement with the platforms

What I'd change

Every one of these was a position on the same spectrum the research opened with, and every one of them landed nearer the business than the viewer.

We softened the ads argument instead of settling it

What viewers asked forWhat the brief required

Viewers wanted breaks in the final 30% of a film. The business needed them inside the first 70%. We went with the business and cushioned it: a countdown, a 30-second cap, a control panel. That is a defensible call under an AVOD brief and it is still not an answer. What I never tested is whether a story-aware mid-break actually protects emotional continuity or just moves the interruption somewhere else.

The concept that won is the one I could prove least

Ships on its ownNeeds the whole ecosystem

Cinematic Passport got the most stakeholder buy-in, and it only works if all three platforms are already connected, which is the thing the project set out to argue for. The three smaller proposals could each ship alone and earn their keep. Given the time again I would have sequenced the pitch that way round.

We tested with the people we could reach

A sample of the targetWhoever was reachable

The strategy targets 18 to 34 streaming-first viewers. Our participants were largely fellow students, which is a slice of that range rather than a sample of it. The findings held up, but I would treat the ad-tolerance numbers as a direction and not a measurement.

Reflection

Two things I would carry into the next brief.

Design for the ecosystem, not just the feature

I learned to look beyond individual interactions and think about how Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, and Fandango at Home can work together to create a more connected entertainment journey.

Test the concepts earlier and more regularly

As a student team, we were able to put early concepts in front of peers and voluntary participants with relatively few confidentiality constraints. The resulting breadth of feedback allowed us to rapidly test, challenge, and iterate on our ideas.

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