Mance Communications has been creating cultural moments for over 16 years. Initially focusing on hospitality, restaurants, hotels and luxury goods, in 2015 the agency pivoted to the experience market, recognising a profound behavioural change in both audiences and investors.
A decade on, Mance Communications’ past and present client list features legends from across the sector, achieved through long-term, dedicated advocacy for clients, organisations, and the industry itself to the media, public bodies, and the Government.
From Minecraft mobs to Birmingham gangsters, serial killers to monster trucks, the agency draws on extensive experience across start-ups and major international brands to help innovative creative concepts become recognised businesses.
Now the trusted name for new experiences across all disciplines when considering brand positioning, launch, fundraise, or announcement, Mance Communications is integrated within the story of the UK experience economy, growing alongside the sector it has supported.
We speak with Meritaten Mance, founder and director of Mance Communications, about the co-evolution of the agency and the broader immersive and experiential sector.
Appetite for escapism
Known for their strategic acumen, Mance Communications has track record of spotting emerging trends. Over the last decade, it has focused on high-capacity experiential events, transforming awareness for several leading brands.
“After graduating in English and Theatre, I spent three years in hospitality working as front of house for Marco Pierre-White and his then business partners Damian Hirst and Matthew Freud at the iconic Quo Vadis,” she says. “I went on to found my own business in my mid- twenties, specialising in PR for luxury brands, restaurants, drinks, travel and place-making PR.
“I spotted an opportunity for drinks brands to be positioned in lifestyle and consumer press, especially within the increasingly interesting area of pop-ups and restaurant collabs, with clients including Moët Hennessy, Patty&Bun, and Shaftesbury PLC (now Shaftesbury Capital PLC) amongst others.
“Initially as a freelancer and then with an expanding team, I rebranded to reflect the growing agency. It was around that time that we began to see a huge upturn in the numbers for large volume, escapism-based hospitality concepts such as Swingers: The Crazy Golf Club, Night Tales, Pergola On The Roof and our first fully immersive based clients, Time Run and The Crystal Maze: The Live Experience.
“The volume of coverage and the scale of bookings were awesome. It became clear we could encourage traffic via targeted lifestyle campaigns aligning with our clients’ marketing campaigns.”
Emergence of IP-driven experiences
“Our core clients at that time were pulling in around a million bookings a year, offering escapism and shared good times,” says Mance. “This was pre-pandemic, so the kernel of a movement had begun in our eyes, and post-COVID, we had a gut feeling it would become even bigger.”
An early project that helped shape the agency’s practice was Crystal Maze: The Live Experience from Little Lion Entertainment.
“If we could target that moment when experiences suddenly went mainstream, it would be the Crystal Maze: The Live Experience crowdfunding back in 2014.
“They were aiming to raise £500,000 and our collaborative efforts combined a crowdfund campaign and comms campaign that raised over £970,000 in one month.
“This was before the crowdfunding of today, and I don’t think that success could happen like that now.
“But when the £500,000 target was smashed within a week and just kept on going north, that was the pivotal moment we and Little Lion Entertainment knew that IP driven experiences, and what would later become IP adjacent experiences and immersive experience, would be the new moment in the public consciousness and of their expectations in a night out.”
Partnering with Little Lion Entertainment
This project launched a long-term association between the two companies.
Tom Lionetti-Maguire, founder and CEO at Little Lion Group, says: “Meri was recommended to me by Patty&Bun, who were having this amazing success.
“We walked into the office and pitched Crystal Maze, and Meri was on board straight away. We ended up with not just a campaign, but with support and a shared vision of our brand – by being on the same page, we all knew what the destination was.”
Over the years, Mance Communications has provided support that has evolved with the space.
“They know how to launch an activation and they know how to keep the press awareness going,” says Lionetti-Maguire.
“Over the ten years we’ve worked together, lots of things have changed – different marketing practices have also emerged, but at its core, anything in this field needs to sell tickets.”
Mance Communications understands this and builds it into the way it designs campaigns, incorporating multi-faceted approaches.
“I can’t think of another agency that has as much experience now in the area of experience-led events and concepts.
“As a business owner with so much at stake, the lines between success and failure can be fine. It’s refreshing to work with people who care not only about the success of your launch, but the success of the industry as a whole.”
Building brand relevancy
Another pivotal learning for the agency has been how to keep a brand relevant.
“If you have a longer-term venue, then there has to be a plan that continues to pique consumer and press interest,” says Mance.
“Working alongside the Pergola Group, for instance, we collaborated to help build the seasonal strategy well in advance.
“Leveraging evolving customer experiences with a media-friendly offer that generates stories means return custom, for example.
“We’ve been able to position and help market brands and venues – even when that has meant some uncomfortable truths to the client – and the success that ultimately supports the whole industry. After all, this business cannot sustain reputational damages like Willy Wonka, which knock consumer and investor confidence.”
This approach illustrates the agency’s wider ethos. Mance Communications has an underlying mission to continue supporting a growing sector by educating and guiding new consumers across all media to understand the category:
“Fundamentally, we are a PR, strategic communications, and Social Marketing agency delivering results that are designed to drive bookings, sales and footfall.
“Today Mance Communications has evolved into not just consumer PR, but Trade and Corp Comms, Licensing PR, Social Media Marketing, and will shortly be adding online digital advertising, Behavioral Influencer Amplification, Paid Social Media (Meta, X, Linkedin, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest etc.) to its offered services as part of its mission to deliver demonstrable value.”
From Jurassic World to Minecraft
A recent example of Mance’s work is the PR campaign for Minecraft Live Villager Rescue.
“From a PR point of view, Minecraft Villager Rescue is all about knowing how to speak to audiences through the prism of press and social media so as not to silo Minecraft (or any brands for that matter) as purely “kids” or “gamers”,” says Mance.
“Because they’re the audience that will shift the needle from doing ok, to a successful brand that attracts new IPs and investors.”
The project marks the latest collaboration between Mance and FKP Scorpio Entertainment (FKPE).
“We were recommended Mance Communications for our Jurassic World exhibition in 2023,” says James Cassidy, president of FKPE.
“They were very communicative in setting out their project targets and proposals, something that is important to a promoter.
“Throughout the process, and on all of our exhibitions, they maintain a strong focus on understanding the needs of building long-term exhibition PR support and results across many communication layers.
“They strategically get the best out of each project and understand our requirements and target sales for each.”
The agency’s ability to keep brands fresh is vital.
“The key challenge for all long-running exhibitions is to keep PR evolving and refreshed. Mance looks at all the key pillars of media opportunity, influencers, traditional and digital, optimising the right moment to push in each area, including pre-open gates, open gates and beyond,” says Cassidy.
Rewarding partnerships
“All great partnerships are built on professional trust and great personalities,” adds Cassidy. “The Mance team are really nice people, they execute with utmost professionalism, understand our needs, and also offer advice at the right moment. They are a close-knit team, reactive, experienced and effective.
“They understand this industry and the exhibition business, and how to build a rewarding business partnership with clients.”
Another project with FKPE and The Luna Entertainment Group was the Disney 100 campaign.
“On a personal level, working on Disney 100 was the stuff of legend, the original experience creator and a dream come true for the child in me. Also, as an agency, working with FKP, George Wood of The Luna Entertainment Group, and Disney was a standout moment. It doesn’t get much bigger!” says Mance.
Since meeting after the pandemic, Mance Communications have formed a close relationship with The Luna Entertainment Group.
Wood, managing director of The Luna Entertainment Group, says: “The Mance team has supported in an enormous way all our key strategic communications goals. This has been everything from the overall positioning of new products in the market, through to securing money-can’t-buy placements and opportunities.
“We will frequently consult the Mance team at the earliest chance on a new IP or business opportunity to get their thoughts.”
Joined-up, active approach
“There have been many examples over the years of how the Mance team’s input has proved invaluable to a project,” says Wood.
“Even if we look at the current crop where Squid Game The Experience needed very specific launch handling, given the IP is obviously not particularly family friendly, but the experience itself actually plays very well to all ages, so the strategy of how we position it in market, where it appeals to adults, colleagues, date-nights and so on whilst also working for a more family friendly audience was something that Mance really spearheaded.
“In working in a very joined-up way with rights holders – both Netflix on Squid Game and Warner Bros on Friends, Mance are able to leverage and capitalise on key moments and larger initiatives. This has seen us secure otherwise unattainable influencers and prime-time broadcast opportunities.
“I often recommend Mance to others and I find myself saying that the best thing about them is that it genuinely feels like they are an extension of the in-house team, where there’s a care and attention to detail, and vested interest in the wider good of the project that isn’t always present from a supplier.
“This comes, I believe, from a mentality fostered by Meri and James [Sinclair-Smith, managing director, Mance Communications] that they are active partners in the projects they take on.”
Prestigious projects
Beyond its collaborations with FKPE and The Luna Entertainment Group, highlights of Mance’s portfolio also include projects with Moët Hennessy UK’s portfolio, enhancing its brands through immersive experiences.
“One of the main standout projects was the Glenmorangie Whisky – an iconic, premium brand that took the brave step with some great collaborations such as Finlay Glasses and Renovo Bikes and stunning activations such as The Spice & Rye Secret Speakeasy, and – but which proved really successful not only with consumer press but with trade activity and influencers.”
The agency is currently enjoying working on The Traitors: Live Experience with Immersive Everywhere.
“It’s a massive globally-loved IP, and something that is wonderful to see, transferring the TV concept into a real-life situation.”
Working with Mance Communications
Immersive Everywhere, formerly known as The Everywhere Group, is another longstanding client, and Rich Major, group director of sales and marketing for Immersive Everywhere, shares why.
“Mance Communications have been a vital part of the sector for well over a decade, wants this industry to succeed, and is as invested in it as any of us,” says Major.
“They have also seen what works and what doesn’t work firsthand: when you are opening a new experience, that is vital. Otherwise, it’s easy to spend money that doesn’t deliver the results you need.”
This relationship has driven game-changing results.
“We approached Mance to help rescue a production I had inherited, which, in hindsight, had been miscategorised and presented. They were able to identify the ideal market position for this experience and pivot the strategy, and we immediately started seeing a difference in results in awareness and ticket sales.
“They understood exactly who we needed to get in front of, stripped the press campaign right back, and delivered.”
This clarity is what sets Mance apart, says Major.
“Team Mance think differently. That is one of the things I value most about them. I get things wrong (everyone does!) and they’re not afraid to tell me. They communicate with me and my team and we work out what is best for the production and how to get there.”
Deep industry expertise
This difference is rooted in the agency’s diverse experience, including hospitality, hotels, and luxury goods.
“Mance Communications found our mixed background in drinks brands, street food and restaurants was the perfect mix in positioning experiences that wanted to speak to a young and motivated audience who emerged blinking from the shock of the global financial crash and who wanted to explore new tastes, styles and experiences,” says Mance.
“Combined with social media, these brand-new concepts found a new voice and audience that were completely and utterly uninterested in traditional messaging and wanted to feel directly connected to the brands in a language they understood and in experiences they felt reflected their values and needs.
“The new breed of clients valued authenticity, interesting stories, personalities and in turn, created valuable advocacy for unique brands, resulting in newsworthy content and repeat custom/longevity.”
This expertise inspires trust and enables Mance to be bold and take risks.
“We don’t see Mance Communications as an agency divorced from the industry it works in, but as an actual partner. That means we’re expected to know what is going to deliver the results and give the best advice we can,” says Mance.
“We have been through the gamut of ‘experience’ and can now showcase studies for pretty much any type of project – whether that is IP—driven immersive exhibition, a steampunk town, launching brand-led projects in cities across the UK, or a ticketed for consumer drink brand-led full immersion experience.”
Trends and challenges
Considering the opportunities and challenges facing the sector, Mance says the key consideration is “everything else.”
And this is everything, she adds, “from theatre, to restaurants, to pubs and bars. It has never been harder to win people’s spending in the leisure industry.
“You are up against what is in the market now, what will arrive when the brand launches and what will launch afterwards, for as long as your brand trades.
“It’s not an insurmountable challenge, but it’s about planning before you launch. How can you sell the same ticket more than once?
“Too often, the full vision of the producer/creator of the brand is only part of the customer journey, and it’s the rest of the offering that will get the ticket buyer over the line.”
Turning to trends, she anticipates that “we will continue to see big IPs and well-known brands being popular, especially where consumers can be at the heart of their favourite TV shows or films.”
“Off the back of this, we are likely to see experiences’ timing openings around film and television show releases where possible, and synchronising across territories.
“More experiences based around important moments in history and historical re-enactments are also likely, blending information and education with the pure joy of entertainment and spectacle.
“Another noticeable trend is for gaming brands bringing characters to life in immersive gaming experiences, in amazingly creative ways. As tech changes, so do the ways in which these events are delivered.”
Recognising the industry
Taking a macro view, Mance looks to the vast potential of the sector.
“Since starting down this path, I think it’s become crucial to understand that this ‘new’ industry of immersive experiences may seem like other, similar industries – a bit of hospitality, a bit of theatre, some business trade, some drinks PR. But it really isn’t.”
“It may have some of those genetic inheritances, but it’s also none of those things.”
Mance Communications has been working with trade bodies such as International Experience Network (IEN), World Experience Organisation (WXO) and ExperienceUK, as well as the Government-backed DBT (Department for Business and Trade, who are huge supporters of the immersive and experience sector), to raise the profile of the UK’s experiences.
“This aims to help the sector find its place in the public, press awareness and champion the industry as a proper economic driver for the economy.
“It’s a sector arguably still in its infancy and is a global phenomenon, so although it is especially prominent in the USA and UK, there are huge projects in the pipeline in Asia and the Middle East.
“Mance Communications is currently in negotiations to open an office in Dubai and the Middle East, where feedback from the industry has given us the impetus to take the experience we have gained and share it in another territory.
“It may have started as a game, but it’s a proper business now. One that deserves recognition as an economic pillar.”
