Photo: Cleveland, Disney Animation: Immersive Experience

More and more businesses, including Netflix and Mattel, are using their intellectual property to turn their fan bases into little theme parks.

While the idea of location- and IP-based experiences isn’t exactly new, it seemed to truly take off during the epidemic as more and more brands and entertainment organisations sought out novel ways to engage with fans—even those that were already skilled at experiential storytelling.

Let’s look at the big names who are dominating the immersive experience market and how they are doing it, and maybe learn one or two pointers on how we can implement it in your own events.

1. Disney
Recently in Cleveland, Disney Animation: Immersive Experience made its debut. It highlights the animators and iconic animated films from the past 100 years, including Snow White and Encanto. The exhibition has 60 projectors, bubble machines, and animated interactive flooring.

2. Hasbro
Instead of just one-off activations or pop-ups, more brands are choosing to invest in long-term or permanent experiences, like Hasbro City in Mexico City, which will be the toy company’s first indoor theme park. This is because these experiences not only allow them to increase fan engagement but also allow them to profit from well-known franchises and products.
As an alternative to more conventional forms of entertainment like movie theatres, concert halls, sports arenas, and the most current sensation, Instagram museums, these experiences are also available.

3. Netflix
A Stranger Things experience was recently developed by Netflix and Fever and is currently being offered in Montebello (located east of downtown Los Angeles), Atlanta, and Paris.

4. Universal
Even amusement parks are expanding. In a 110,000 square foot area that is a part of a new 20-acre expansion of Las Vegas’ immersive Area15 entertainment zone, Universal Parks and Resorts intends to construct a year-round horror experience.

Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, and the Wolf Man are among the iconic horror movie characters that will be brought to life in this concept, along with “contemporary horror and suspense storylines through collaborations with such high-profile filmmakers as Jason Blum, James Wan, and Jordan Peele.”

This will be the first time that Universal has created a permanent horror experience beyond its theme parks.

It’s crucial to keep in mind that these businesses also produce successful movies, exhibitions, live performances, and other entertainment in addition to goods and attractions.

Therefore, it’s crucial from a commercial and creative perspective that all these offers are in line, both to realize a corporate overall goal and to guarantee a constant brand posture with consumers.

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