Most moviegoers are familiar with with promotional packaging. Occasionally, a bag of popcorn will sport an image from an upcoming movie, serving as a reminder that it's coming soon, and should be viewed.

Companies like Cinema Scene, however, are taking it to the next level, creating personalized combo packs, plastic popcorn bins, soda cups, and more. Marie Allen, the Marketing Account director for Cinema Scene headed up the display at ShowEast, which was a vibrant display of major motion pictures being promoted on various available surfaces.

Also available from companies like Cinema Scene are products personalized for theaters, displaying a name and logo on the products distributed at the concession stand.

As the competition heats up between companies offering promotional printing and concession container items, companies like St. Louis's, PCI (Packaging Concepts, INC.) have come out of the woodwork offering an extra punch to their product.

PCI, for example, has created the first heat resistant, leakproof popcorn bag, double papered and laminated with a special adhesive to prevent oil seeps and messes from butter-rich movie theater popcorn.

This competitive edge has upped the quality of the containers that consumers likely give little thought to while at the theater. Perhaps the automatic expectation of quality reflects the success of the rapidly moving packaging divisions in the theater business.