PW-MAR20-35-42-Theming.qxp_Feature 30/03/2020 18:08 Page 40
Special Feature
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Tom Zaller, Imagine Exhibitions
Tom Zaller, president and
CEO says: “I am thrilled to have seen a trend in recent years towards more immersive theming in attractions. In the exhibition space, some of the recent pop- ups and IP-driven titles are demonstrating the versatility of exhibitions to tell good stories in a three-dimensional way, something that I have been committed to doing for the last two decades. Story is always at the core of what we do at
Imagine Exhibitions, as it is inherently engaging, and humans have been enthralled by stories since the dawn of time. With the rise of social media, visitors are now becoming their own storytellers—and so we find that visitors seek experiences where they are inside and a part of the story being told. Venues are
looking for the same—more than 50% of venues who book travelling exhibitions are seeking interactivity.” Looking towards the future, Tom concludes: “I believe that
consumers will continue to seek out narrative-driven, shareable experiences. In an increasingly stressed-out world, people are hungry for an escape from the everyday and they overwhelmingly report that they would rather choose to spend money on an experience than buy a material item. Themed attractions provide the ideal platform to deliver on these consumer expectations. But, to attract attention in a distracted world, our industry must continue to innovate in order to offer experiences that place the guest at the centre of the story.”
New ways to amaze
Philipp van Stratum; CEO, founder and creative director of P&P Projects joins the debate. Nowadays, it seems like everybody is keen on the word immersive. The trend was first introduced and set by the well-
known theme parks. At this moment more and more family entertainment centers are willing to create immersive environments. We believe that visitors and guests nowadays expect to
be immersed into an entirely different world once they enter a theme park or family entertainment center. They literally want to step into the world they know so well from famous movies, tv series, cartoons and games. Adding to that, more and more restaurants and retail locations are evolving into themed environments to immerse their visitors and guests. The creation of a total experience is not limited to scenery anymore. Nowadays you must use every trick in the book and invent new ones to amaze people. Beside the inquiries P&P Projects gets from major theme
parks we also start receiving many enquiries for retail experiences, and tailormade shopping experiences for which we have to design and build special themed environments. This could for example be a machine that provides visitors with a unique shopping experience when they buy their souvenirs or any product for the matter. This is not a new trend, but in our business, we see it takes quite a while before it really takes off. When we work on our projects, we try to get all senses involved to create the ultimate experience.
Transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary When we start talking with our clients we always talk about the word ‘immersive’ and what is means to the client. Here we see that the word ‘immersive’ regarding the level of theming can have a lot of different meanings. To some it means that the attractions are themed with their favorite IP’s, to others it means that we must create a complete world. Creating an immersive experience and making use of
theming, av lighting, FX, etc. comes at a cost. This means that we always approach it from the operator’s point of view to see when there is a return on investment, what the costs are for making use of a certain IP and which investment comes with the IP license. All these factors bring certain challenges. Adding to that, it is important to consider that the
customers wants and expects an experience he cannot already experience in is own home by means of gaming
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P&P Projects MARCH 2020
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