RWS Global, the world’s largest producer of groundbreaking live entertainment, has formed a new Products & Services division. This will act as a one-stop shop for everything related to creating a live experience, including AV, seasonal décor, guest acts, retail and merchandising, fitness and wellbeing, IP management, and more.
As a result, RWS Global clients will benefit from a joined-up approach, utilising the expertise from across its subsidiaries efficiently for a more cost-effective and cohesive result.
To learn more about this integrated, turnkey approach and how it will help RWS Global clients create truly memorable experiences that keep guests coming back for more, we speak to Kevin Kreczko, executive vice president of business development | Products & Services, Natasha Caller, vice president of Products & Services, and Jack Ryan, director of guest acts.
RWS Global continues to expand
Headquartered in New York, London, Sydney and Cincinnati with dedicated studios in NYC and the UK, RWS Global serves major brands and corporations, cruise lines, theatres, parks, live venues, resorts and more. Offering end-to-end services from ideation to operations, the company provides more than one million live moments daily, employing over 8,000 individuals worldwide.
Beginning with an update on what’s new for RWS Global since we spoke in 2023, Kreczko says:
“We have many exciting projects on the horizon, from shows and immersive experiences to a new programme that we are launching with Cunard, reinventing how people experience entertainment at sea. Our cruise sector keeps growing, not only from our live experience side but also from the integration of our design department.”
The company has also brought media capabilities in-house: “We’re doing all full media design in-house now, and that integration has saved our partners money.
“Our land experiences are growing too, including seasonal attractions. Our busiest Halloween season is coming up, our largest holiday season on record, and we just kicked off our summer programming. We bring moments of surprise and delight around every corner for theme park clients throughout the summer.”
“Our design department is also expanding in the Middle East. We have some inspiring projects happening right now, and our Asia market is booming, too. Our work with strong IPs is continuing—we opened the Hasbro City property in Mexico, and we’re continuing to develop some cool IP projects, whether resort-related, theme park-related, or location-based experiences, so that’s been exciting growth.”
The firm, explains Kreczko, has seen significant synergies in combining its different areas of expertise, from environmental design and how that plays with its seasonal attractions to its permanent design and world-building and how its performers contribute to that world.
RWS Global Products & Services
Seeing these synergies emerge was the catalyst for the formation of the new Products & Services division, he adds:
“The goal of this new division is to continue every step of that live experience for the guests. So, we’re looking at how we take that show production model, those worlds we’re designing, those immersive experiences that we’re creating and bring them to life in a new and energised way while offering cost savings to our partners.”
Retail and merchandising is one aspect:
“Everything we’re designing is about driving ROI, which is unique for entertainment and experiential companies. Often, the first thing that gets cut from the budget is entertainment. Well, now we’re creating entertainment that makes money. So, this is a big differentiator. We’re looking at what that retail and merchandising component should be – what do guests want to take home?
“Guests want to be a part of that world; they want what I call the memory maker, which helps develop those emotional souvenirs.”
The retail and merchandise element covers anything to do with retail and bespoke merchandise, explains Caller:
“The team does everything. It’s a full-service offer. They’ll design merchandise, come up with the concepts, do the creative work with our base of manufacturers worldwide, sample it, manufacture it, and ship it.”
That team will also design the environment in which it is sold, with the company also offering store design, store installations, and visual merchandising:
“Essentially, we become your retail department.”
A joined-up approach
The new division also encompasses fitness and wellbeing:
“We’re working on fitness and wellbeing programming with some IP partnerships to elevate that model,” says Kreczko. “This fits well with products and services because it complements many of our offerings on the resort properties that we work with, like Iberostar, and our cruise ship clients, like Marella.
“We’re already on the property providing activities, show products, and facilitating guest interaction, and we can cross-utilise that labour to create elevated fitness and wellbeing experiences. We’re putting more of a theatrical model on it. Again, it’s about ROI and integration.”
The products and services division also includes AV, meaning the RWS Global team can easily build show control systems into what they are designing and building from the start, he adds:
“One of the things we always say is we dream vividly but responsibly because we want to create things that we can make real. So, when we have our AV geniuses in the room, and we’re talking about the next best ride we’re developing or the next haunted house, we can create those show control systems hand in hand. In contrast, many design teams have to go out to AV companies to figure out how to integrate what they’re doing.
“That ties in with our whole collaboration environment and how we’re going above and beyond the boundaries to create new things.”
RWS Global Products & Services division offers talent and guest acts
The other element of Products & Services is guest acts and entertainment.
“We’re one of the world’s largest guest act and entertainment providers. That’s everything from comedians and jugglers to circus performers to public speakers to music and live musicians,” says Kreczko. “So, we’re offering that solution for our clients, who might just want that weekend gig to help drive revenue. We are here to support their initiatives throughout the seasons.”
“With our guest acts and talent booking, we can provide a ready-to-go show that’s a perfect fit for your venue,” adds Ryan. “Not everyone wants or needs production or AV support. Sometimes, they just want a live performance for their venue. That might be a band, a comedian, a singer, or maybe even a celebrity.
“We will happily collaborate with any other management agency or booking office worldwide and exclusively represent a host of entertainers and performers. But we don’t just book acts; we can also develop shows for cruise ships, theatres, holiday parks, worldwide tours, and more.”
If a project requires a guest act, RWS Global’s product and services division can supply the talent or provide everything from technical support to event management, media enhancements, bespoke merchandise, and much more.
Seasonal décor and IP
Bringing seasonal décor and IP partnerships under the umbrella of products and services means that RWS Global can provide them with exclusive distributor rights at a lower rate.
“I like to say we celebrate Christmas all year round with our partners, Santa’s Village. We are the Christmas experts when it comes to holiday decor and have grown that portfolio into every season,” says Kreczko.
The company has seen a trend in the theme park world for consumer events based on seasonality, helping drive revenue throughout the year:
“We’ve taken that model with some of our other partners and are encouraging other industries to do the same. For instance, the cruise and resort sectors are now considering seasonal activations to create repeatability.”
“It’s a strength that we’re cross-pollinating with different guest-centric market segments.”
The common thread that underpins all the elements offered within RWS Global’s Products & Services division is the guest experience:
“Our mission is to inspire people worldwide and create the first touchpoint of experiences that allow them to imagine and play in worlds that we dream up and create,” says Kreczko.
Each of the products and services can also be provided as a standalone offer for clients, explains Ryan:
“Together with our other departments and divisions, we have everything covered. We are all things entertainment and guest experience. However, not everyone requires every service that we provide. Sometimes, a client might only need help with one aspect of their operation. When that falls within AV, retail or guest acts, our products and services division comes into play. We have industry-leading specialists in these areas who can undertake various projects and help our clients realise their visions.”
Kreczko adds: “While we offer turnkey solutions, they are very much about the client’s goals and missions.”
Products & Services: a unique offer from RWS Global
Speaking about what makes this structure, and the company itself, unique, Kreczko says: “I don’t think there’s a full-service, experiential provider like us, one offering everything in-house. How we integrate all these services and have all those individuals and the right minds in the room from day one is unique. To have your concept artists, designer, show director, choreographer, show control systems manager, and technical director all working together from the start is a unique process.
“That’s one powerful thing we’re bringing to the table, and it’s challenged us internally to come out with some cool new ideas.”
Caller adds her perspective as a previous RWS Global client:
“My background is in buying; that’s my whole career. And it used to frustrate me when people would come and do these generic sales pitches. What made RWS Global stand out was that they had done their homework on the business; everything was bespoke to what my company needed at the time.
“That’s pretty unique. As a buyer, often, you feel like you need to fit in with the supplier. But with RWS Global, I felt they were there to understand and meet our needs.”
Making clients’ lives easier
The idea of the Products & Services division, Caller explains, is to unburden clients. For instance, if they are producing a new show on a cruise ship, RWS Global can supply the talent, design the merchandise, bring in its AV team, supply the equipment, install it and do all of the delivery:
“Our clients come to us because of that real full-service offer, the fact that we can do whatever our clients need. We have strong relationships with our clients, so they might ask us to design some merchandise, but we might come on a store visit and say, ‘You have a bit of an issue with customer flow. Or you’ve got a bit of a training gap in some of your team. Do you want us to join us to help with that?’”
“We’re very proactive. We have a talented team with a broad set of skills—we have product development, logistics, and design experts. That means that when everybody’s working on this project, everyone has a voice. Collaboration is essential at RWS Global because of the breadth of the business; we’ve got creativity and innovation in many different areas which run through the company.
“The benefit to our clients is that they can tap into this incredibly talented, passionate, innovative group of people who can gather around, put their heads together, and solve their problems for you. It’s an extension to your own team.”
The benefits of working with RWS Global Products & Services
Bringing together experts from different specialisms has several benefits, from cost savings to sparking new ideas. For example, Kreczko explains that it is helping the teams stay on top of the latest industry trends as they create new experiences:
“AI is a hot topic, and we’re exploring exciting ways to integrate it. We worked with Simon Malls last year for Christmas, where we did a whole holiday programme that created AI-generated shopping lists for people while they were meeting and greeting our performers. So, we’re looking at how to stay on top of those technology trends. And with the world-building we’re doing, we’re designing those elements, and our AV team is finding those solutions. The integration has been quite seamless for us.”
Another advantage is the company’s globalisation:
“That means we can take a 24/7 approach to supporting all our clients. We can cover so much ground worldwide, which also helps us with cultural diversity. When working with different cultures and regions, we have cultural sensitivity because we’ve worked with many of these individuals. We understand where they’re coming from, their main objectives, and how they celebrate in their culture. That is a big strength.”
Operating efficiencies
Cost savings is another huge benefit of this new integrated Products & Services division:
“We are finding a lot of cost savings in the initial design and in how we’re building the infrastructure because we’re solving problems early on in the process,” says Kreczko. “Nothing’s going into full fabrication without us going through the details of how it works.
“We’re finding operating efficiencies, too. We always say in our company, don’t design something unless you can operate it. This integrated approach has helped us solve some of those operational challenges that individuals may come to us with.”
“The very first show we did was an ice skating show. Fast-forward a decade, and we added a full-service seasonal experiential division of the company, which has now grown quite a bit to focus on the holiday market with Christmas and Halloween, as well as things like food and wine festivals, summer festivals, pride festivals, music festivals, etc. It’s grown into a full seasonal operation.
“One of the things that I wanted to do was reinvent how people purchased these decor items and find cost savings. We work very transparently. When we are the initial design and installation provider, we fabricate those catalogue pieces at cost. So, we’re centrally providing those cost savings directly to our consumers.
“I don’t know any other core supplier that does that.”
Retail experiences
When it comes to efficiency, Caller adds:
“We’ve had projects before where we’ve just done merchandise, or we’ve just done a store experience, but something special happens when we are involved in the whole process.”
Retail is not just about having the right product on the shelf:
“There are so many decisions a consumer makes before deciding whether to pick something up off the shelf. My big passion is consumer psychology, so I love bringing that to the table and creating an environment that makes people want to buy something. And now we’re seamlessly able to include technology with the AV team.”
Technology is becoming a valuable part of retail, she adds.
“Some fascinating things are coming through about how to integrate tech in retail. So, now we can produce this entire package. We can design great merchandise; it’s not logo slapped, it’s not custom branded, and it is truly bespoke. We can create a wonderful store experience through lighting, screens, sounds and scents, and in-store training; we can do a whole suite of services. And that is unique. We’ve got a few clients taking this full-service package now, so we’re seeing these efficiencies play out.”
Making the magic happen with RWS Global’s Products & Services
The new structure means that RWS Global can offer the real technical experts that their clients need within the framework of a truly creative business:
“We’re an innovative company, particularly on the retail and AV sides,” says Caller. “Those two fields are incredibly specialist. It’s very easy to get into technical levels of detail. But we’re really good at bringing the creative and fun to it. We get all of the technical aspects correct, but we still have the broader thread of creativity and innovation running through the business.”
“I’m excited about where we’re going next with it; it’s an inspiring business to be part of. We’ve got a talented group of people who work incredibly hard, and that definitely can’t be replicated anywhere else.
“The group of people that you have around the table when you’ve got us working on a project, whether that’s some of us from products and services looking at retail or AV, the executive creative team, the land or sea team, there’s a unique and valuable set of skills intersecting and making the magic happen.”
What’s next for RWS Global?
Looking ahead, Kreczko says:
“We’re constantly looking at how we can enhance the guest experience and what we can offer to make it a little more exciting for guests and create moments of surprise and delight. But I think what’s important is that as we continue to grow, the heart of who we are is never going away.
“Our motto is to treat everyone as a guest, and that won’t change. We want people to have fun with us; we like to have fun with them. And that’s the core of who we are.”
Ryan adds:
“Completing a project with Products & Services doesn’t necessarily mark the end of our client’s journey with us. Often, that’s just the beginning. From here, the branches reach out to all our other departments, and that’s when we really shine.
“We are a guest-first business, and whether you want to change your line of merchandise or if you need help with live entertainment, we think about the journey your guests take using company-wide collaboration, unrivalled creativity and carefully crafted execution to ensure that each step your guests take is a memorable one.”
