Socialtainment is big news for our industry – attractions where friends, family and colleagues can meet and compete in games are popping up all over the world. Small footprints, multiple revenue streams and attractive locations, often repurposed high street spaces in regional locations, all make socialtainment an attractive opportunity for operators, brands and investors.
Arguably, London is the leading force for this new type of entertainment. The city is full of experiences including mini-golf, darts, shuffleboard, axe throwing and more.
So it was a fitting location for the conference last month: ‘Socialtainment: The Evolution of Leisure and Entertainment’. Lappset Creative, a leading Finnish creative design and build company, hosted the event in collaboration with Business Finland. It took place at the beautiful Finnish Embassy in London.
Heli Lehto, deputy head of mission at the Embassy, greeted attendees. Lehto stressed the importance of play for well-being. And the Fins should know – Finland is the Happiest Country for the 6th year in a row.
Socialtainment and competitive socialising
Rob Arthur is the founder & partner of Paguro Ltd, a cinema and entertainment consultancy. He set out the socialtainment landscape for attendees and the potential for investors. “How much leisure can we take?” said Arthur. “The answer is not enough”. He spoke of post-covid behaviours, and friends and families wanting to meet in person. The focus is on experiential.
In the world of cinema, it is the same:
“When consumers have a 65-inch TV at home, it’s not enough to put it on a big screen anymore.” He points to Everyman, a leading cinema chain in the UK. The company has the highest ticket price in the country. But because they have such a strong food and beverage offering, stylised sofas and various spaces and events, they have made it an experience to be there and created multiple revenue streams for themselves too.”
Arthur also spoke about successful socialtainment examples. These included Monopoly Lifesized and Swingers, both in London, as well as Brass Monkeys in Dubai. A great example in development is the upcoming Chadstone Social Quarter in Melbourne, Australia. This will include 17 entertainment and dining experiences.
With a small footprint, socialtainment is ideal for regional entertainment. Although London is the hub, it is a saturated market. Regional cities and towns are ripe for new high-quality experiences. They often have unused high street locations and office space that could be converted into entertainment offerings. From the council/municipality’s view, these attractions help extend precinct times, retain residents, and provide jobs and skills for the local workforce.
“Socialtainment is a potential renaissance for the out-of-home entertainment sector,” said Arthur. “We have come through the pandemic, and we have a decade ahead of growth. We have to be adventurous to have a future that is different from the past.”
Two new IP- based concepts
Attendees were then shown two socialtainment concepts designed by two leading IP owners, which will be implemented by the Lappset Creative team.
Frederica Swallow, LBE regional manager EMEA for Mattel Inc., spoke to attendees on a brand new concept highlighting two games in the Mattel Games portfolio.
The hugely popular word game Scrabble has over 75 years of history. It is available in over 30 languages and has a multigenerational fan base including Taylor Swift. Scrabble has a whopping 98% brand recognition.
Secondly, Swallow spoke about Uno, the #1 card game in the world. With 11 million social media followers, Uno is a cultural phenomenon, hosting events including the recent Uno Championships.
Mattel has created a unique concept to bring Mattel Games to life through a mix of physical and digital experiences. The target audience is families ages 8+ in the day. This shifts to older families, social adults and corporate guests in the evening. Ideal locations could be on a high street, or in a shopping mall.
Plans are in the development stage. The concept focuses on a mentally challenging Scrabble experience, where players need to solve puzzles to enable them to complete the final, larger-than-life game of speed Scrabble. In the Uno experience, the gameplay focuses on physical sport and game experiences. Players will use ‘cards’ to influence their unique visit, creating interactive fun.
The concept can include a strong food and beverage offering, retail shop and Game Booths for other Mattel Games like Pictionary Air, Rock Em’ Sock Em Robots and more.
Terminator-branded socialtainment
We then heard from Valerié Rolandez Barrios who is head of licensing and partnerships at STUDIOCANAL.
With over 7000 titles in their catalogue, STUDIOCANAL has a lot of content to work with. But their most successful IP ever is the concept that was presented at the event – Terminator 2: The Experience.
With a generation that grew up on Terminator, and now gen z being introduced via video game collaborations with Fortnite and Call of Duty, the brand has very high brand recognition amongst the age groups.
Ashley Lynch, senior freelance creative for Lappset Creative, showcased the concept. The gamified experience is a spin-off from the movie. Guests need to solve puzzles find secrets and then battle with the Cyborgs to defeat Skynet.
Again, this new socialtainment concept is still in development, but plans include a challenge experience, a 90s arcade, a free-roam VR arena, an esports lounge and a strong themed food and beverage offering. Terminator fan artwork will feature throughout the futuristic location. It is aimed at 11+ year-olds, teens, families and the corporate market.
Attendees then heard from Johan Granholm, SVP of sales & marketing for Lappset Group Ltd, and Jari Partanen, sales director at Lappset Creative Works. They spoke about how Lappset works closely with the IP holders and operators to design and build experiences, across play, theme parks, and attractions.
The company has created a 4-pillar model to access the viability of a project, looking at the market, the space, the operations and the experience. They can do the entire turnkey project or provide design or build services – whatever the client needs. They are the designer, builders, and installers of the World of Peppa Pig attractions with Merlin Entertainment around the world. The firm also just opened the LasseMajas Deckarhus attraction in Sweden.
Overall, an exciting time in attractions as the socialtainment trend creates new concepts with IPs and new opportunities for investors.
Top image courtesy of Boom Battle Bar
