Monopoly Lifesized is a new giant take on the classic family board game Credit: Hasbro
Hasbro is a treasure trove when it comes to recognisable IPs, with a portfolio of brands that includes the likes of Transformers, NERF, Power Rangers and many, many more. Among all of these IPs, there can’t be many brands more recognisable under the Hasbro umbrella than Monopoly, which has been transformed into a unique offering, turning the game lifesized and adding a twist.
Debuting first in London, UK, and then in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monopoly Lifesized is described as “an immersive, on-your-feet version of the world's favourite family board game”, combining the classic with a series of interactive challenges and live actors.
The immersive experience takes place on a giant 15m x 15m (50ft x 50ft) board, accommodating up to 24 players in four teams of six. In the game, over the course of 75-minutes, players are tasked with challenges such as staging a heist in Mayfair, solving a murder mystery, or competing against the clock to build some of London's most famous landmarks. Each property square has its own themed room, which players enter to complete a challenge in order to earn the space on the board.
The London experience is set over three floors, with the main experience occupying one storey. The remaining two storeys feature a Hasbro-themed shop, a Monopoly-themed restaurant and bar called The Tophat, and a private Mayfair VIP bar. The Riyadh attraction also opened alongside a Monopoly-themed Top Hat restaurant.
So the question is, with plans to launch more Monopoly-themed experiences around the world, where will the Iron, the Scotty Dog, the Top Hat or any of the other iconic Monopoly pieces land next?
London-based production company Path Entertainment Group is behind the attraction, working under license from Hasbro to create the compelling Monopoly experience. Also working with the likes of Lionsgate and the Copyrights Group, Path CEO David Hutchinson speaks to Planet Attractions about Hasbro, Monopoly Lifesized, the history of his company and more.
“Path Entertainment Group was set up four years ago. It was launched by three partners, of which I'm one of the founders and also CEO.
We started Path because of the growing immersive entertainment sector. My background is in theatre, so I've worked a lot with brands and traditional live theatre shows.
What got me very excited was the ability to work with a brand to create a different, more holistic experience.
You can imagine venues, managing the whole end-to-end journey for the user, but also the bar and restaurant and all the other verticals that usually when you're doing a stage show you have no control over.
We were initially approached by Hasbro, who are now one of our biggest licensing partners, about Monopoly. They were exploring theatrical opportunities and we suggested that it could be really interesting for LBE.
With Covid and retailers moving online and shopping habits changing, it meant that there was a lot of opportunity for us in major high streets - locations that wouldn't have been available before the pandemic.
We saw audiences wanting to consume things differently, brand owners wanting to grow in the LBE space, and the availability of this high street space.
As a result of these factors, we came up with a formula of what the company stands for in terms of its product. We always want to have a gaming element to what we do. We always want to give agency to the audience. We're not looking at giving predetermined routes or telling the audience what path they have to follow. It's much more a case of them - whether it's rolling a dice, escaping a room, or figuring out a challenge - seeing how their decisions impact the way they progress through the experience.
That's where we've tried to position ourselves in this market, where there's so many great producers and companies, as our unique point of difference, which is bringing gaming together with theatre and competitive socialising.”
“Fundamentally it's a gigantic version of the board game you know. But for every single move that you would take in the board game, there's an added element.
Aesthetically, the first thing you'd notice when you go on the board is that for every property, there's a corresponding door to a room where there is a small challenge that you play in order to buy the property. So you don't get to just land and immediately buy. You must complete the challenge, which correlates to the history or theme of the property square location.
We also have a full-scale jail cell with equipment and props and scenery. You don't just get to roll a double six to escape, you have to physically make your way out of the jail. Pass Go is a big wind tunnel that shoots money up and the value that you Pass Go on is dependent on how much you can collect in a very short space of time, and the Community Chest is a huge box which you can go in and dig around to find a certain challenge that can add or subtract assets from your portfolio.
The banking is all done electronically, so you have a running tick that gives you your ongoing asset score. Everything is automated. You land on a property, you pay rent, you build a house, someone lands on your property.
Through the experience, you're guided by actors who are your tokens. So, there is a Scottie Dog, there's a Battleship, there's an Iron and more who are dressed and act accordingly.
What also makes this a unique take on an iconic board game, is that it's competitive but also team-based. You work in small groups as a team, but you play against other groups. So, it’s still competitive, but it isn't one-on-one like it is with families all over the country at Christmas. There's a bit more camaraderie. That's quite nice too, which is why a lot of our participants love coming with friends and family and social groups because you work together as much as you compete.”
“The concept was put together by myself and one of our creative producers, Tom Beynon. The first question we asked ourselves, which we ask ourselves on every project, is what value are we adding to the IP by doing a ticketed experience? If the answer is not much, then we shouldn't do it. That's just monetising an existing IP and not adding much value. If we're adding something that presents an opportunity to embrace that brand while introducing unique elements and play patterns, then we are doing something special.
We went through lots of ideas and iterations. We obviously worked very closely with Hasbro and their team, both in the UK and the US, and did a lot of game testing that started in a big open room with a few props, and slowly, over many rounds of creative, developed into the experience you see today.
Covid was a forced period of development, which allowed us to flesh out the experience. It took approximately a year to develop the idea to a point that we were ready to go into production.
We started by asking what it is we wanted to achieve, and how we could create a game that would offer fans a Monopoly experience that they can't do anywhere else in the world? And then we asked how we deliver that within the framework of the brand and what it stands for. We also ask who it stands for - making sure it's inclusive, making sure that family groups can come - but equally, it's something that corporate groups and businesses can take part in. We try to make sure it's accessible for as broad an audience as possible and that it's exciting for them.”
“We've got two sites operating in London, UK, and in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, right now, and are in discussions for Monopoly Lifesized locations all over the world.
We're focused on North America - that's where the board game originated, so plays a key part in our rollout strategy.
We love this IP and we love this experience, and it’s important to us that we roll out in the right places with the right partners, and that takes time. It's a slow burn, but hopefully there will be news coming out soon about our third site, which should be exciting.”
“Most of the brands we hope to develop into successful attractions have agency in multiple markets across Europe, the GCC, North and South America and Asia-Pacific.
We're really looking for brands that have not just had an impact in some of the developed markets in LBE, but also the developing markets.
The markets where Path Entertainment produce and operate are predominantly the UK, Australia, and North America where we're growing our team. But in other territories we are focused on licensing our tried and tested experiences, replicating the sites that we own and operate ourselves with best-in-class partners around the world.
In Saudi and the entire GCC region, there is a real move toward service provision and tourism-based industry. This lends itself to what we do, which is to drive tourism and trade as well as experience and cultural capital through these areas of the world.
We’re looking for global opportunities with best-in-class partners. Within the international community there are different localisation opportunities. For Monopoly there’s a localised game board in most major markets in the world. As such, we want to make sure we customise Monopoly Lifesized to reflect local Monopoly game-boards, with not just bespoke boards, but also bespoke games.”
“In addition to our work with Hasbro, we also work with Lionsgate, and their partner Twister Pictures, with whom we have a Saw experience in London. We also recently announced a Paddington Bear experience with the Copyrights Group and Lionsgate, their agent for LBE.
I think all IP holders have the same opportunity and challenge. They have a brand that they want to bring to a wider audience. That's where we come in as their partner. But it’s important to ensure that any experience we develop absolutely upholds the IP standards and what the brand stands for.
I give huge credit to both those IP owners because they've given us rope to be able to go out there and say ‘we want to go in this direction, go on that journey with us’. There will be directions we take that you don't like and we'll steer back to a different course. But fundamentally this only adds audience and value if it's doing something that you're not already doing with the brand.
Established brands often mean so much to so many different people. Certainly with Monopoly, people have their own shared experience of it with families and they've got their own stories to tell. Everyone asks the very genuine question, ‘is it just a larger version of the board?’ But it’s so much more than that. What's so exciting about Monopoly Lifesized is that when it first opened, the public were saying, ‘oh, it's that Monopoly thing’. Now people are saying ‘Monopoly Lifesized’. It’s becoming a brand in its own right, which is exactly what we want to do. We want to create something that’s based on the IP, but becomes its own distinct brand.”
“We often ask the audience about their experience. What we really love is that people come into the experience with certain expectations and come out with a variety of different stories from their time in the game.
Generally speaking we get really lovely feedback. Our youngest audiences are around nine-years-old and it resonates with them as well as the older generations. We get big corporate groups coming in who take over entire boards or even the entire experience for team-building days. Since the pandemic, everyone is looking for opportunities to be together enjoying moments and creating memories. This offers them that.”
“So very obviously brand awareness and a generational buy into the brand as well. Multiple generations have experience and affinity with the iconography and the content of Monopoly.
Much of our marketing is user generated. We do our own marketing, but people come in and they want to capture the iconic brand moments. They want to have a picture in the jail or take a photo with Mr. Monopoly for example.
You also get the benefit of an IP owner that has significant weight in the market, both in the medium we work in, which is live entertainment, but also in all the other verticals they work across, such as consumer products and film. With Lionsgate for example, a new Saw film is coming out this autumn. We're looking at how we buddy up with that, how do we be a part of that? The studios are very open to maximising the cross promotion between their different activities.
When it comes to rolling out internationally, the IP owners are very collaborative and know really good partners all over the world. Our aspiration is to move beyond our home territory of London, like we have with Saudi Arabia.”
“The Saw: Escape Experience London in Tower Hill has been going since October 2022 and is just getting through summer into its peak season. So we're coming up with some really exciting special horror-related announcements in the next few weeks about what's going to be really special about this Halloween, which is exciting.
Paddington, which is obviously a completely different IP with the Copyrights Group, that's a big sensory experience, completely engulfing you in the world of Paddington and meeting the bear - it's a very active brand. There's a new movie coming out called Paddington in Peru. It's just incredible what the Copyrights Group has done with that in terms of bringing the brand to a new generation. The experience is opening later this year and we're in the heavy production period just now.
We really lean on the relationships we have with Hasbro, Lionsgate and the Copyrights Group. There are a couple of other projects we're discussing with them because I think once you build that trust and respect, and you understand how you work and who does what, that’s a massive investment from both sides. I think everyone feels that if it's been a good relationship, which it has been for us, then that's when it's worth continuing to invest in.
We really like these partners, so we're asking what else have you got? What else can we do together?”
“Exactly. They are really open to developing unique experiences with us, which I love.
Of those other projects we're exploring with them just now, the concepts are quite radically different from Monopoly Lifesized. It's nice going in a completely different direction with them.
With Lionsgate and Saw, it's a traditional escape room. It's very different from Monopoly. The escape room is driven by a lot of story and backstory and the idea of redemption. Creating that whole world and concept has been really fun.
Hasbro, Lionsgate and StudioCanal are really open to finding the right light for their IPs. There's no cookie-cutter approach to things. Each experience has room to live and breathe in its own space.”
“The visitor numbers to LBE’s are significant. Because of my background, my best comparison is the growth of the theatre audience. LBE is moving at a quicker pace than a lot of other mediums in the live space.
A lot of the big IP owners are also now dedicating more resources internally to LBE. Hasbro and Lionsgate have been ahead of the curve for a while because they have great teams that know what they’re doing. There are some companies where you run around so many different departments trying to figure out who is in charge of it and you realise nobody is. That's changing. Even in the time I've been at this, four or five years, the days of being knocked between different departments are over. There's now someone who's in charge of LBE because it's a priority.
IP owners are realising that it's more efficient for them to partner with best-in-class producers and operators to create an experience that both builds brand awareness and drives revenue.
Think of the budgets that some of the film studios put into promotional activations when they're launching a new film. Psychology is now shifting. They're saying we don't need to spend all that money for something that comes in and is there solely to serve the purpose of putting a brand in the zeitgeist. You can now work with a partner and have something running for five, maybe even ten years, making that brand awareness erupt.
Town centres and city centres also benefit from LBE. There is a lot of empty retail and commercial space. It’s not as bad as it was in 2021/2022, but people come into town centres for different reasons now. A lot of people are working from home and it's brands, experiences and LBE that give people a reason to take the trip, because you can work and shop from home now.
When it comes to central business district planning, we’re at a stage where LBE is going to be a big part of the rejuvenation post-Covid. Which makes this now a focus not just for producers and IP owners, but also for real estate companies seeking ways to repurpose empty inventory.”
“The culture has shifted away from being satisfied by only traditional theatre.
The idea of sitting for two-and-a-half hours, with your phone off and listening and watching is absolutely incredible for the right piece of work. But people now want to come away with content. They want to create content and create moments and memories. How we socialise digitally is based on having a certain level of aesthetic and memory capital at the end of an experience. This is what immersive experiences and the LBE industry offers.
The value of your night is not just on the ticket price or on your pure enjoyment. It's also about what you're taking away from that experience.
When people come into Monopoly Lifesized, there's always a dwell time for about 10-15 minutes after where people are taking photos and they're getting moments and creating content.
Human behaviour is about collecting those memories and people want to actively engage with other people whilst enjoying an experience.. This isn’t something you can sit at home and consume. You have to be in a space with people. That's why I feel like I’ll still have a job in ten years. Because, of course, we all see how quickly things are moving with technology and AI, but there is a special feeling you get from sitting in a concert, being in an immersive experience, in a theatre, that you cannot recreate in a living room. That's why I think live entertainment will always have a unique value from the cultural capital it gives people.”
Monopoly Lifesized is a new giant take on the classic family board game Credit: Hasbro
Hasbro is a treasure trove when it comes to recognisable IPs, with a portfolio of brands that includes the likes of Transformers, NERF, Power Rangers and many, many more. Among all of these IPs, there can’t be many brands more recognisable under the Hasbro umbrella than Monopoly, which has been transformed into a unique offering, turning the game lifesized and adding a twist.
Debuting first in London, UK, and then in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monopoly Lifesized is described as “an immersive, on-your-feet version of the world's favourite family board game”, combining the classic with a series of interactive challenges and live actors.
The immersive experience takes place on a giant 15m x 15m (50ft x 50ft) board, accommodating up to 24 players in four teams of six. In the game, over the course of 75-minutes, players are tasked with challenges such as staging a heist in Mayfair, solving a murder mystery, or competing against the clock to build some of London's most famous landmarks. Each property square has its own themed room, which players enter to complete a challenge in order to earn the space on the board.
The London experience is set over three floors, with the main experience occupying one storey. The remaining two storeys feature a Hasbro-themed shop, a Monopoly-themed restaurant and bar called The Tophat, and a private Mayfair VIP bar. The Riyadh attraction also opened alongside a Monopoly-themed Top Hat restaurant.
So the question is, with plans to launch more Monopoly-themed experiences around the world, where will the Iron, the Scotty Dog, the Top Hat or any of the other iconic Monopoly pieces land next?
London-based production company Path Entertainment Group is behind the attraction, working under license from Hasbro to create the compelling Monopoly experience. Also working with the likes of Lionsgate and the Copyrights Group, Path CEO David Hutchinson speaks to Planet Attractions about Hasbro, Monopoly Lifesized, the history of his company and more.
“Path Entertainment Group was set up four years ago. It was launched by three partners, of which I'm one of the founders and also CEO.
We started Path because of the growing immersive entertainment sector. My background is in theatre, so I've worked a lot with brands and traditional live theatre shows.
What got me very excited was the ability to work with a brand to create a different, more holistic experience.
You can imagine venues, managing the whole end-to-end journey for the user, but also the bar and restaurant and all the other verticals that usually when you're doing a stage show you have no control over.
We were initially approached by Hasbro, who are now one of our biggest licensing partners, about Monopoly. They were exploring theatrical opportunities and we suggested that it could be really interesting for LBE.
With Covid and retailers moving online and shopping habits changing, it meant that there was a lot of opportunity for us in major high streets - locations that wouldn't have been available before the pandemic.
We saw audiences wanting to consume things differently, brand owners wanting to grow in the LBE space, and the availability of this high street space.
As a result of these factors, we came up with a formula of what the company stands for in terms of its product. We always want to have a gaming element to what we do. We always want to give agency to the audience. We're not looking at giving predetermined routes or telling the audience what path they have to follow. It's much more a case of them - whether it's rolling a dice, escaping a room, or figuring out a challenge - seeing how their decisions impact the way they progress through the experience.
That's where we've tried to position ourselves in this market, where there's so many great producers and companies, as our unique point of difference, which is bringing gaming together with theatre and competitive socialising.”
“Fundamentally it's a gigantic version of the board game you know. But for every single move that you would take in the board game, there's an added element.
Aesthetically, the first thing you'd notice when you go on the board is that for every property, there's a corresponding door to a room where there is a small challenge that you play in order to buy the property. So you don't get to just land and immediately buy. You must complete the challenge, which correlates to the history or theme of the property square location.
We also have a full-scale jail cell with equipment and props and scenery. You don't just get to roll a double six to escape, you have to physically make your way out of the jail. Pass Go is a big wind tunnel that shoots money up and the value that you Pass Go on is dependent on how much you can collect in a very short space of time, and the Community Chest is a huge box which you can go in and dig around to find a certain challenge that can add or subtract assets from your portfolio.
The banking is all done electronically, so you have a running tick that gives you your ongoing asset score. Everything is automated. You land on a property, you pay rent, you build a house, someone lands on your property.
Through the experience, you're guided by actors who are your tokens. So, there is a Scottie Dog, there's a Battleship, there's an Iron and more who are dressed and act accordingly.
What also makes this a unique take on an iconic board game, is that it's competitive but also team-based. You work in small groups as a team, but you play against other groups. So, it’s still competitive, but it isn't one-on-one like it is with families all over the country at Christmas. There's a bit more camaraderie. That's quite nice too, which is why a lot of our participants love coming with friends and family and social groups because you work together as much as you compete.”
“The concept was put together by myself and one of our creative producers, Tom Beynon. The first question we asked ourselves, which we ask ourselves on every project, is what value are we adding to the IP by doing a ticketed experience? If the answer is not much, then we shouldn't do it. That's just monetising an existing IP and not adding much value. If we're adding something that presents an opportunity to embrace that brand while introducing unique elements and play patterns, then we are doing something special.
We went through lots of ideas and iterations. We obviously worked very closely with Hasbro and their team, both in the UK and the US, and did a lot of game testing that started in a big open room with a few props, and slowly, over many rounds of creative, developed into the experience you see today.
Covid was a forced period of development, which allowed us to flesh out the experience. It took approximately a year to develop the idea to a point that we were ready to go into production.
We started by asking what it is we wanted to achieve, and how we could create a game that would offer fans a Monopoly experience that they can't do anywhere else in the world? And then we asked how we deliver that within the framework of the brand and what it stands for. We also ask who it stands for - making sure it's inclusive, making sure that family groups can come - but equally, it's something that corporate groups and businesses can take part in. We try to make sure it's accessible for as broad an audience as possible and that it's exciting for them.”
“We've got two sites operating in London, UK, and in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, right now, and are in discussions for Monopoly Lifesized locations all over the world.
We're focused on North America - that's where the board game originated, so plays a key part in our rollout strategy.
We love this IP and we love this experience, and it’s important to us that we roll out in the right places with the right partners, and that takes time. It's a slow burn, but hopefully there will be news coming out soon about our third site, which should be exciting.”
“Most of the brands we hope to develop into successful attractions have agency in multiple markets across Europe, the GCC, North and South America and Asia-Pacific.
We're really looking for brands that have not just had an impact in some of the developed markets in LBE, but also the developing markets.
The markets where Path Entertainment produce and operate are predominantly the UK, Australia, and North America where we're growing our team. But in other territories we are focused on licensing our tried and tested experiences, replicating the sites that we own and operate ourselves with best-in-class partners around the world.
In Saudi and the entire GCC region, there is a real move toward service provision and tourism-based industry. This lends itself to what we do, which is to drive tourism and trade as well as experience and cultural capital through these areas of the world.
We’re looking for global opportunities with best-in-class partners. Within the international community there are different localisation opportunities. For Monopoly there’s a localised game board in most major markets in the world. As such, we want to make sure we customise Monopoly Lifesized to reflect local Monopoly game-boards, with not just bespoke boards, but also bespoke games.”
“In addition to our work with Hasbro, we also work with Lionsgate, and their partner Twister Pictures, with whom we have a Saw experience in London. We also recently announced a Paddington Bear experience with the Copyrights Group and Lionsgate, their agent for LBE.
I think all IP holders have the same opportunity and challenge. They have a brand that they want to bring to a wider audience. That's where we come in as their partner. But it’s important to ensure that any experience we develop absolutely upholds the IP standards and what the brand stands for.
I give huge credit to both those IP owners because they've given us rope to be able to go out there and say ‘we want to go in this direction, go on that journey with us’. There will be directions we take that you don't like and we'll steer back to a different course. But fundamentally this only adds audience and value if it's doing something that you're not already doing with the brand.
Established brands often mean so much to so many different people. Certainly with Monopoly, people have their own shared experience of it with families and they've got their own stories to tell. Everyone asks the very genuine question, ‘is it just a larger version of the board?’ But it’s so much more than that. What's so exciting about Monopoly Lifesized is that when it first opened, the public were saying, ‘oh, it's that Monopoly thing’. Now people are saying ‘Monopoly Lifesized’. It’s becoming a brand in its own right, which is exactly what we want to do. We want to create something that’s based on the IP, but becomes its own distinct brand.”
“We often ask the audience about their experience. What we really love is that people come into the experience with certain expectations and come out with a variety of different stories from their time in the game.
Generally speaking we get really lovely feedback. Our youngest audiences are around nine-years-old and it resonates with them as well as the older generations. We get big corporate groups coming in who take over entire boards or even the entire experience for team-building days. Since the pandemic, everyone is looking for opportunities to be together enjoying moments and creating memories. This offers them that.”
“So very obviously brand awareness and a generational buy into the brand as well. Multiple generations have experience and affinity with the iconography and the content of Monopoly.
Much of our marketing is user generated. We do our own marketing, but people come in and they want to capture the iconic brand moments. They want to have a picture in the jail or take a photo with Mr. Monopoly for example.
You also get the benefit of an IP owner that has significant weight in the market, both in the medium we work in, which is live entertainment, but also in all the other verticals they work across, such as consumer products and film. With Lionsgate for example, a new Saw film is coming out this autumn. We're looking at how we buddy up with that, how do we be a part of that? The studios are very open to maximising the cross promotion between their different activities.
When it comes to rolling out internationally, the IP owners are very collaborative and know really good partners all over the world. Our aspiration is to move beyond our home territory of London, like we have with Saudi Arabia.”
“The Saw: Escape Experience London in Tower Hill has been going since October 2022 and is just getting through summer into its peak season. So we're coming up with some really exciting special horror-related announcements in the next few weeks about what's going to be really special about this Halloween, which is exciting.
Paddington, which is obviously a completely different IP with the Copyrights Group, that's a big sensory experience, completely engulfing you in the world of Paddington and meeting the bear - it's a very active brand. There's a new movie coming out called Paddington in Peru. It's just incredible what the Copyrights Group has done with that in terms of bringing the brand to a new generation. The experience is opening later this year and we're in the heavy production period just now.
We really lean on the relationships we have with Hasbro, Lionsgate and the Copyrights Group. There are a couple of other projects we're discussing with them because I think once you build that trust and respect, and you understand how you work and who does what, that’s a massive investment from both sides. I think everyone feels that if it's been a good relationship, which it has been for us, then that's when it's worth continuing to invest in.
We really like these partners, so we're asking what else have you got? What else can we do together?”
“Exactly. They are really open to developing unique experiences with us, which I love.
Of those other projects we're exploring with them just now, the concepts are quite radically different from Monopoly Lifesized. It's nice going in a completely different direction with them.
With Lionsgate and Saw, it's a traditional escape room. It's very different from Monopoly. The escape room is driven by a lot of story and backstory and the idea of redemption. Creating that whole world and concept has been really fun.
Hasbro, Lionsgate and StudioCanal are really open to finding the right light for their IPs. There's no cookie-cutter approach to things. Each experience has room to live and breathe in its own space.”
“The visitor numbers to LBE’s are significant. Because of my background, my best comparison is the growth of the theatre audience. LBE is moving at a quicker pace than a lot of other mediums in the live space.
A lot of the big IP owners are also now dedicating more resources internally to LBE. Hasbro and Lionsgate have been ahead of the curve for a while because they have great teams that know what they’re doing. There are some companies where you run around so many different departments trying to figure out who is in charge of it and you realise nobody is. That's changing. Even in the time I've been at this, four or five years, the days of being knocked between different departments are over. There's now someone who's in charge of LBE because it's a priority.
IP owners are realising that it's more efficient for them to partner with best-in-class producers and operators to create an experience that both builds brand awareness and drives revenue.
Think of the budgets that some of the film studios put into promotional activations when they're launching a new film. Psychology is now shifting. They're saying we don't need to spend all that money for something that comes in and is there solely to serve the purpose of putting a brand in the zeitgeist. You can now work with a partner and have something running for five, maybe even ten years, making that brand awareness erupt.
Town centres and city centres also benefit from LBE. There is a lot of empty retail and commercial space. It’s not as bad as it was in 2021/2022, but people come into town centres for different reasons now. A lot of people are working from home and it's brands, experiences and LBE that give people a reason to take the trip, because you can work and shop from home now.
When it comes to central business district planning, we’re at a stage where LBE is going to be a big part of the rejuvenation post-Covid. Which makes this now a focus not just for producers and IP owners, but also for real estate companies seeking ways to repurpose empty inventory.”
“The culture has shifted away from being satisfied by only traditional theatre.
The idea of sitting for two-and-a-half hours, with your phone off and listening and watching is absolutely incredible for the right piece of work. But people now want to come away with content. They want to create content and create moments and memories. How we socialise digitally is based on having a certain level of aesthetic and memory capital at the end of an experience. This is what immersive experiences and the LBE industry offers.
The value of your night is not just on the ticket price or on your pure enjoyment. It's also about what you're taking away from that experience.
When people come into Monopoly Lifesized, there's always a dwell time for about 10-15 minutes after where people are taking photos and they're getting moments and creating content.
Human behaviour is about collecting those memories and people want to actively engage with other people whilst enjoying an experience.. This isn’t something you can sit at home and consume. You have to be in a space with people. That's why I feel like I’ll still have a job in ten years. Because, of course, we all see how quickly things are moving with technology and AI, but there is a special feeling you get from sitting in a concert, being in an immersive experience, in a theatre, that you cannot recreate in a living room. That's why I think live entertainment will always have a unique value from the cultural capital it gives people.”
