.png)
Every day we witness news of new IP-based attractions and experiences entering the market. Brand new, nostalgic and multi-generational IPs are flourishing in consumer demand and potential for rich revenue returns.
We spoke to our Creative Director, Andy, and Creative Strategy Director, Kelly, on our latest podcast on the benefits that new IPs bring to the industry, and, what we may see develop in the future.
Continue reading...
1 - Your digital world becomes reality
Whether the IP is a game, book, film or any other digital content, bringing them into location based entertainment is providing an immediate visceral and physical connection with guests.
We've seen the economy change, even before COVID-19 pandemic, where consumers were buying experiences as gifts at Christmas or birthdays. The pandemic supercharged the desire and desperation in people to make the very most of every moment with their family and friends.
That trend has continued to this day, with IP-based attractions becoming the home for guests to enjoy the content they love.
Nothing quite beats that moment of physically being there face to face. And I think that's something that can be a challenge to do commercially. It can take a huge amount of CAPEX, a big licensing agreement, and, a lot of hard work and creativity to bring that together. But the moment where people step into the world together where everybody absolutely is connected in that moment, present with you 100%.
2 - Your audiences are in-demand
In traditional marketing terms, you buy, build or borrow an audience. Of course, it takes a long time to build an audience, so 'buying' or 'borrowing' an audience through IP deals is a great way to solve the operator's problems.
New IPs entering the market need to understand that they bring an audience, but also the audience promise; an understanding of what the IP world is and why it is loved by so many of your current audience.
Of course, this approach also provides a faster route to success than simply an attraction operator building their own audience, but with that comes collaboration and compromise.
3 - The attraction inspires new content
Some of the best and most exciting attractions and experiences recently have been the stories where the worlds haven't been fully realised in films or books. This has allowed designers and teams such as Katapult, to flesh out those worlds and visualise them for the first time.
If you can imagine a theme park having a horror attraction that was based on a popular franchise, such as Saw, it is already asking less of the guests to understand the experience, as guests will know of the movie franchise already.
Guests know what's going to happen and the proposition of the experience. But to create a really exciting and holistic 360 experience, new content needs to be created. This is the job of the designers, to push those world rules and say 'what's beyond that?'. In turn, this creates a inspiration to take back into the studio for future iterations of the story.
4 - Your IP can revitalise existing attractions
Themed attractions are continually looking for ways to revitalise their existing attractions, with some even retrofitting new IPs into previously successful areas.
But what matters just as much, is how your IP-based attraction or experience can be updated and futureproofed. Take Peppa Pig, for example, where the hiatus in creating new TV and streaming content, hasn't stopped operators from being successful - such as Paulton's Park and Merlin Entertainments.
Now, with the introduction of new content on YouTube especially for Peppa Pig, we could see attractions use these as reference points. This could be as small updates to the content on TV screens, to the introduction of additional F&B areas inspired by an episode. Whatever the change, it needs to be relevant and resonant to the content seen by the guest on screen at home.
5 - Guests want wish fulfillment
IPs are there for a reason because we all either read them, watch them or buy them - whatever world they occupy. And because of the very nature of them, as guests we want to then take it a step further and go to those worlds.
Guests want to step into them for real. So it's not just about watching and reading Harry Potter and having all the merchandise, it's actually about; "I've held a wand and I've been there and I've experienced the whole thing".
Where IPs have great stories to tell, guests imagine themselves in the iconic scenes and moments. Giving them the opportunity to reinact their imagination, helps enforce their passion and afinity they have towards the IP.
