American Express, MovieFone Enter Marketing Alliance

American Express and MovieFone Inc., the movie listing guide and ticketing service, formed a long-term marketing partnership to promote telephone and Internet ticketing for movies.

American Express will become a national sponsor of MovieFone and its online sister service, MovieLink.com, and the companies will work together on and jointly fund new marketing programs designed to reward moviegoers when they use the American Express Card to buy tickets through these services. Financial arrangements were not disclosed.

MovieFone will promote American Express to its over 110 million annual users, both on the MovieFone (777-FILM) telephone service, available in 32 cities (i.e. “Hello and welcome to MovieFone, brought to you by American Express…”) and on MovieLink.com.

MovieFone will also include American Express prominently in its national advertising campaign. American Express will promote the use of MovieFone services through advertising and promotion to its cardmembers and the general public. The companies said they plan to announce in several weeks the specifics of initiatives designed to reward moviegoers nationwide for using the card.

MovieFone services cover more than 14,000 movie screens in 32 cities around the nation, which account for 60 percent of the nation’s movie attendance.