Some of the exterior wraps are off at Gap on Grand Park Avenue, in Federal Realty's new Pike & Rose development in White Flint.
Meanwhile, two other tenants have opened this past weekend at the property. iPic Theaters opened Friday, without extending any preview invitation to this blogger, and thereby reaching less total audience. Doesn't seem too smart, given the extensive outreach competitors ArcLight Cinemas and Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema have engaged in prior to opening. The majority of iPic's PR seems to be focused on legacy media like broadcast TV, print newspapers, FM radio and glossy magazines - which probably would strike those who get most of their news via smartphone these days as a bit behind the times. iPic does have a couple of cool promotional spectacles going on at the actual property, though. One was a man on stilts walking around Pike & Rose, and the other was a projection of the Hollywood sign on a blank construction barrier wall.
Women's apparel boutique
Francesca's opened Saturday.
With these openings, parking was jammed in the garage off of Grand Park Avenue Saturday. Room to maneuver along the drive aisles inside the garage proved to be quite tight, now that more people are visiting. Parking is indeed free for 2 hours, and no validation is necessary for that. Longer validations for free parking are available from tenants like Del Frisco's Grille and iPic. If confronted with a similar squeeze in the garage, your best bet is to skip Grand Park Avenue, and head to the garage entrance west of it along Old Georgetown Road, just past Del Frisco's Grille's patio.
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Stilt walker near
Del Frisco's Grille |
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| AMP sign is lit |
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| "Goodnight from Hollywood" |
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Any parking spaces reserved for electric vehicles?
ReplyDeleteRobert if you had been following iPic's social media you would KNOW that they offered FREE mock service all last week.
ReplyDeleteIt included up to 4 free tickets, 4 free drinks, and 4 free meals to anyone who wanted to go check out the property.
You're the one who choose to ignore this. iPic blows Arclight out of the water.
Get a clue and off your high horse. You are NOT special.
10:34 Never said I was special. Just that social media campaigns and bloggers are just as vital to PR today as old media, particularly if you are trying to reach a younger audience. While it's great that they had free offers last week, they did not give notice directly about it. Perhaps you don't follow many people on Facebook and Twitter, but I do, and Facebook in particular decides what comes up in your feed - and iPic did not. Furthermore, it does not sound like the sort of informative previews with company executives the other theaters had, where they were offering a lot of details about the technical specs, architecture, food service, etc. that help to write a complete report. Once again, your comment gives you away - nobody out there but you is saying, "Oh, boy, that was a great PR strategy to not invite local bloggers! I'm glad they didn't do a preview, because I didn't want Robert to have a detailed report about why I should spend money at iPic vs. its competitors! Thank goodness!"
DeleteOther than blankets and pillows, any specifics on why iPic is better?
ReplyDeleteWhat's the deal with the blankets anyway? Do they keep the theater at cold temperatures?
ReplyDeleteThe premium plus section has leather seats with a full recline. They also have waiters who can bring food / drink orders to your table in that section.
ReplyDeleteArclight just has one section that is comparable to iPic's premium section. It is kid friendly and an upgrade over most any other theater in the area.
iPic is for a date night out, but fair warning it is not kid friendly. The prices, food / drinks are all catered to adults.
lol, because your Blogger site has better mobile content than the Washington Post????
ReplyDeleteget real Dyer
11:00 "Lol," yes it does have more Bethesda content than the Washington Post, 7 days a week. That's a fact.
DeleteRobert has better Bethesda content that the Washington Post.
ReplyDeleteThe Post occasionally drops into Bethesda for a restaurant review, but doesn't cover Bethesda on a 7 day a week basis like Robert.
Thankfully, we don't have to wait for the Post or wait months for Bethesda Magazine to print to get restaurant news.
Way to completely miss my point buddy.
ReplyDeleteDyer indicated that legacy media like the Washington post don't reach users of smartphones....which is just unbelievably incorrect.
More people view the Washington Post on their smartphones in one day than view this website in any form in a year.
11:28 Not everyone reads the Post. Ask 10 people on the street who their councilmember or State Senator is, and get ready for their answers.
DeleteThe Post is huge, but my guess is Robert is primarily reaching folks in Bethesda. They are nearest and most likely to go to the theater.
ReplyDeleteIf I just want to get a popcorn and soda, should I settle for Regal?
ReplyDeleteEven through smartphones, the Post provides very little Bethesda coverage. They are after bigger fish, so that leaves local coverage of things like iPic to blogs like this one.
ReplyDeleteAgain, because you all don't seem to be understanding it....the idea that this business should have put you and the Washington Post on equal footing because people look at your website on their smartphones is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteYou have more Bethesda content than the Washington Post. No one will argue with that. But the Washington Post did cover this and I guarantee that is 10,000 times as valuable to the movie theater as a post from you would have been.
Not to mention your approach to being snubbed is unprofessional sounding and self aggrandizing
12:01 I think you missed the point, too. Of course they would have something in the Post, and it would reach x number of readers. Just as a theater would in 1974. But this is 2014, and you have to work with social media and blogs to reach the maximum - and younger - audience. Maybe they want an older demographic, I don't know. I wouldn't comment at all, except to let readers know why there isn't an in-depth preview of iPic such as those I was able to produce on ArcLight and Landmark Bethesda Row. It's standard PR today, particularly for high-end businesses, to have media previews and include local bloggers who - duh - write about entertainment and nightlife. Instead of cyberbullying, why don't you join us in 2014? Welcome to the world.
DeleteMy take is that iPic should have done better out reach to local news sites, like Robert's.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the Post has a lot of readers, but Robert has a specific affluent reader who live in Bethesda.
Robert is just stating what happened.
ArcLight does social and local news better, but iPic had a guy on stilts.
I'm happy to hear that there is some free parking for 2 hours.
ReplyDeleteOne of the downfalls of Rockville Town Square was a complicated system of having to validate to get any free parking.
Ah, I love the irony of the man pushing for more highways and the preservation of strip shopping centers telling someone to "join us in 2014."
ReplyDeleteYou're a trip, Dyer. I'll give you that. You keep things interesting, if not always 100 percent accurate.
1:14: Your alternate universe is a "trip," too. In 2014, 85-90% of commuters are still using automobiles. 25% of them on the American Legion Bridge are going to or from the Dulles area. Hence, we need a new bridge across the Potomac - unless you can bring us some of those jet packs from your dimension, George Jetson. I also invite you to visit the Osborne Shopping Center, currently under construction in Prince George's County - a strip mall being built in 2014. Just because MoCo sold out its residents to developers doesn't change the reality that people need convenient shopping and parking options. Not everyone can afford to live in a $14M condo in Bethesda.
DeleteBad time to be opening a theater. Can you say "Ebola vector"?
ReplyDeleteI'm really surprised that Robert isn't pushing Ebola hysteria, as a good Republican should. The GOP probably will revoke his party card.
ReplyDeleteIn fairness to iPic, they may be planning a media event when they have the kinks worked out.
ReplyDeleteAs of Sunday, they didn't have the self-serve ticket pickup working yet, and reports indicate that most theaters had the waitstaff ready, but not the "in armrest" iPads for placing orders.
If I were the theater manager, I'd hold off until the facility could put it's best image forward. "Close" to the end experience is good, but if the final result is even better, why highlight the short-term shortcomings?
I was there Sunday evening and can report that we were turned away because the projectors had stopped working. Apparently there was a systemic issue. Also we we told the phones weren't yet working
ReplyDeleteA line had starting to form for people to get refunds on their tickets.
Sounds like they're having more problems than ArcLight. I wonder if folks just drove 10 minutes down the street to ArcLight when iPic lost power?
ReplyDeleteVery competitive environment for luxury theaters right now. I'm surprised they didn't have Robert in like ArcLight.
The world would be better off with out you Dyer ... We have AK. He is our god.
ReplyDelete8:57pm has a way with words. A cheerful fellow, isn't he?
ReplyDelete@10:47 - perhaps the blankets are for "privacy". Wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say-no-more, say-no-more.
ReplyDeleteThe world is definitely a better place with Rob Dyer in it. What part of "Join me so that the children throughout our great county will be afforded sound reinforcement for a successful future" is not valuable?
ReplyDeleteYou can follow a "yes" man, but will then be in jeopardy of what such a man eventually says "yes" to;
You can join a “coaster” who takes you on a slow ride to Nowhere as there is no galvanized plan but the selfish goal of enjoying the ride for as long as it lasts.
Or you can hope for the kind of person you rarely ever find in politics -- a genuinely concerned citizen that wants to leave his beloved hometown in better shape than he has found it in, for the future, and for future generations.
I've read/observed as much as a person with a life can during these past few months re: County Council candidates. This guy is neither suck-up nor sell-out, and his vision is worth rallying. It's not about him or the Party. It's about welcoming us to a Montgomery County he has foreseen possible in 2034. I’m all about making something great even better and not being afraid of huge obstacles. 11th Hour Best Regards, to the best man for the job. Thanks for being an inspiration, and for never giving up.
Give up Dyer. Do it. Just GIVE UP!
ReplyDeleteHow do we silence Dyer? We must not allow him to report ANY more.
ReplyDeleteWho is with me? Who will help me muzzle this beast?!
"The majority of iPic's PR seems to be focused on legacy media like broadcast TV, print newspapers, FM radio and glossy magazines"
ReplyDeleteIn other words, "I didn't get invited to their debut gala to scarf down free munchies and booze."