At the blooloop Festival of Innovation 2025, we were joined by a panel of experts for a session called Innovation in Immersive Experiences, exploring the role of storytelling in this rapidly growing sector.
The speakers were Kirsten Taylor-Hall, vice president of partner relations for global products and experiences and live and location-based entertainment at Lionsgate, Zack Sugarman, then chief strategy officer of Superplastic, and Meg Parker, chief marketing and communications officer of Area15.
The blooloop Festival of Innovation brought together the global visitor attractions industry to explore the most innovative projects, products, and organisations shaping the sector.
Innovation in immersive experiences: meet the experts
Kirsten Taylor-Hall is in charge of expanding Lionsgate’s global network of top-tier partners and creating live and location-based projects that honour the company’s classic film and television properties.
She has contributed to projects such as Lionsgate Entertainment World in Hengqin, China, Motiongate Park in Dubai, The Paddington Bear Experience in London, The John Wick Experience in Las Vegas, and global touring shows like La La Land and Dirty Dancing.
Zack Sugarman is an established sports and entertainment executive with two decades of experience in commercial strategy and revenue generation, and a focus on business development, partnership formation, digital strategy, new technology integration, valuation, packaging, and the execution of award-winning campaigns and projects.
He spent over 16 years in agency leadership positions at Wasserman, most notably directing the Properties division globally to assist venues/teams/leagues in optimising commercial revenue. Sugarman helped generate millions of dollars in commercial revenue for clients such as the NBA, NFL, NHL, FIFA, NASCAR, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, San Francisco 49ers, LAFC, Vegas Golden Knights, CrossFit, Drone Racing League, and Salesforce.
Meg Parker is in charge of Area15’s brand and planning all marketing and communication initiatives. Her leadership has been key in establishing Area15 as a leading entertainment and events district in Las Vegas, which attracts millions of guests each year.
Under her direction, the marketing team develops creative campaigns, digital advertising, content, and storytelling projects that raise brand awareness, encourage travel, and drive ticket sales. This reaches beyond Las Vegas and includes marketing and communications activities to position Area15 as an industry leader in location-based entertainment.
Superplastic and Area15
A new innovation in immersive experiences now open at Area15 is Superplastic’s Dopeameme Institute for Pleasure Research (D.I.P.R.). The company’s first-ever physical location offers an immersive, story-driven experience that puts guests at the centre of the action as they explore mind-bending rooms, each designed to trigger a dopamine rush.
Superplastic creates vinyl art toys and digital experiences using its original characters, such as Janky and Guggimon.
“But they’re more than just toys; they’re synthetic celebrities with over 30 million followers and a billion-plus video views,” says Sugarman. “We create animated content across platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, so people know us both for the toys and the fun, animated content.”
The partnership with Area15 came about as the brand started thinking about how to engage its fans beyond just physical and digital products. “We saw immersive experiences as the next frontier. Now, I tell people Superplastic is kind of like a degenerate Disneyland. We opened our own little theme park within Area15 called Dopeameme. It’s been incredibly fun and successful so far, and it’s just the beginning.”
Dopeameme is tied to Superplastic IP and brings visitors in as participants. It is the latest scheme from Janky and Guggimon:
“They want to understand what creates dopamine in people’s systems so they can extract it, can it, and sell it back as a drug. It’s a human trial research institute where visitors engage in interactive experiences to see what elicits dopamine.”
Dopeameme
In one room, visitors enter a bathroom stall with a vertical mirror where characters guide them through dance moves as the lights and music change. Another room lets them control one of the Superplastic characters suspended above a fan by pedalling:
“If you slow down, they fall into the fan with rainbow guts and blood splattering everywhere; if you speed up, they fly out of it,” says Sugarman. “You also watch content on an iPad as you pedal, blending digital and physical experiences to see what people enjoy more.”
The entire experience is tracked with RFID and motion capture, and when they leave, visitors get a digital takeaway that identifies their ‘dopamine prescription’ based on how they interacted. “It’s gamified too, with leaderboards that track who kept the characters alive the longest, who danced the best, and more.
“Even if you don’t know Superplastic, the experience is super engaging. But if you do know our characters, it’s like stepping into their world in a way that’s totally next-level.”
Gamification is key
The gamification is central to the experience, says Sugarman.
“We decided to gamify it because we see a lot of affinities with our fans and consumers in terms of what they like. For example, our characters are skins in Fortnite through an Epic Games license, and people play as them a lot. That kind of gamification felt natural.
“Plus, the experience is designed for groups of around 80, so we wanted to build on that communal nature. Are you trying to beat your friend? Are you working with them? Or are you doing it all on your own? It’s a casual leaderboard—you want to see how you did, and if you come back for a second visit, are you beating your score? Are you progressing?”
The team is also discussing how to roll out leaderboards more prominently, encouraging people to try and beat the daily or monthly high score: “And if they do, maybe that unlocks something else. It just adds a fun element. People can still take photos for Instagram, but now there’s a competitive nature, always done in our style and tone.
“It’s not about getting first or second place. It’s gamified with a tongue-in-cheek vibe. So, it’s more about making fun of your friend or wondering if you’re getting messed with by the brand. With Superplastic, and with Janky and Guggimon, you never quite know, because they like to mess with consumers in that way.”
The John Wick Experience
Another recent addition to the Area15 offering is Lionsgate’s John Wick-themed experience, offering interactive missions in immersive environments. The new attraction is based on the John Wick film franchise, which has taken in more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
“What guests will find when they come to the John Wick experience is The Continental Las Vegas,” says Taylor-Hall. “The Continentals are a major part of the John Wick universe, and we’re excited to bring guests into a completely immersive cinematic environment. It’s like walking onto one of the sets from the films.
“When you enter, it’s a ticketed experience—everyone knows you’re coming, and they’re ready for you.”
As visitors step into this pulsed experience, they move through multiple environments and are assigned a mission. There are interactors and a rich environment that people can engage with.
“Because of that, every time guests go through, it’s a little different. That’s something we know is really important to our guests; they want to have an impact on the experience and feel like they’re truly part of this neon world of John Wick. I’ve never seen anything like it before, and that’s incredibly exciting for us.”
Lionsgate partnered closely with the filmmakers, including director Chad Stahelski. “He’s super excited about it and has provided great feedback and encouragement. We also have Area15 as a partner—they love to push boundaries and do things that have never been done before. Egan Productions is another key partner; they specialise in creating environments where guests have a real impact. It’s completely immersive.”
While much of the experience is ticketed, there’s also a highly themed bar designed with Area15, which the public can experience, alongside themed retail offerings.
A repeatable experience
The fact that the experience is different each time brings a level of repeatability to the attraction – something that was a deliberate choice for Lionsgate, says Taylor-Hall:
“When we’re making decisions about what to do with these IPs that are so important to the studio, we look at them as long-term experiences. We’re hoping for a great, long run. As that happens over the years, we’re going to learn even more about the John Wick universe, and we want to keep evolving and adding new details as more is revealed.”
“That thinking is with us from the very beginning—we approach this as something long-term.
“We know the studio is fully invested in this IP, and there will be more and more coming. So whatever we create, we want to make sure we can update it and keep it fresh. Our fans want to be engaged in something that feels new and like it’s never been done before. We ensure that when it opens, it’s fresh and exciting, and then as time goes on, we can keep it updated.
“That’s exciting for everybody—not just for the guests, but for the interactors working in the experience, our team, and everyone involved. It keeps it feeling very active and vibrant.”
Partnerships with Area15
Speaking about what made the Area15 team want to work with Lionsgate and Superplastic on innovation in immersive experiences, Parker says:
“I love that these two experiences are so different, yet there are many similarities. What excites me is that Area15 can seamlessly be the catalyst between these two very different IPs. John Wick is a well-established piece of content, while the Superplastic characters are at the opposite end of the spectrum. But what’s amazing is how they all connect within a place like Area 15.”
One of the core Area15 brand pillars from day one has been bringing guests from spectator to participant:
“Every person who walks through the door, we want them interacting and in control of what they want to do inside the building. I love the idea of someone going into the Dopeameme experience, dancing and doing physical exercises, having a drink at The Continental Hotel, then moving on to Meow Wolf or Wink World. That’s exactly what Area 15 was designed to do.
“We wanted these very different experiences, attractions, and food and beverage elements to live in harmony without needing to align perfectly, and that’s allowed us to scale, grow, and welcome amazing partnerships. It creates this constant sense of exploration for our guests and allows for repeatability because there’s always something new to discover.”
Creativity and a business model that works
When choosing partners to work with, the Area15 team looks for best-in-class experiences, creativity, and a business model that works, explains Parker.
“Throughput is also very important. The Dopeameme and John Wick experiences are pulsed and ticketed, so understanding the timing is key. Of course, you need an amazingly creative and authentic product to start with, but the business aspect has to come in tandem with that as well.”
“I think what’s interesting nowadays is that all these new companies, whether it’s a consumer product brand, a media company, or a streaming company, are all looking for ways to engage with their customers on a deeper level. That’s where physical experiences come in. It’s about deepening their connection with the brand, driving repeatability, or extending into retail sales.
“It’s all coming full circle. There’s the physical experience, but there’s also so much opportunity to connect with your customer in the digital world. It’s culminating together, and it’s a really exciting time for our industry as we define what this new type of entertainment looks like for today’s customer.”
The power of storytelling
When it comes to deepening the connection between consumers and brands, storytelling is a powerful tool.
“You do hear Guggimon’s voice for the first time in our experience,” says Sugarman. “Guggimon and Janky have never had voices in the animated content before. So storytelling is absolutely a huge part of it.
“Even before you come into the experience, we have an awesome flagship Superplastic retail store open to anyone. It’s filled with amazing toys and Dopeameme-branded Las Vegas souvenirs.
“On the screens outside, inside, and throughout the experience, it’s our animated characters telling you the story—the background of what they’re trying to do, where they’ve fallen short before, and even snippets from our previous videos that have been released on YouTube and TikTok.”
We’ve found that when we provide more story and lore, fans like it and spend more time with us, but it also allows us to monetise it better. It naturally connects people who may watch the animated content to those who buy our toys and go into the experience
As guests travel through the rooms, it all culminates at the end with an ‘aha’ moment: “Guggimon and Janky reveal, ‘Hey, actually, we’ve been messing with you. This whole thing is so we can sell it back to you.’ And people know that going in, but they’re guided through it, and that longer-form narrative hooks them. It keeps them interested and diving deeper.”
This storytelling element is now expanding to the rest of the content and to Superplastic’s toys too:
“We’ve found that when we provide more story and lore, fans like it and spend more time with us, but it also allows us to monetise it better. It naturally connects people who may watch the animated content to those who buy our toys and go into the experience. Ideally, the trifecta is hitting someone who does all three, but it’s fine if they only do one or two, as long as it’s connected through the overall story.”
Bringing the world of John Wick to life
“For us, there are so many fabulous ways to tell stories,” says Taylor-Hall. “We love it when they converge, overlap, and create something new and heightened in a unique way.
“We’re thrilled when these films come out, do well, and satisfy what the audience wants to see. But our team also spends a lot of time in the live theatre space. We have a whole slate of shows coming out over the next little while, which we’re very excited about. We believe in that too.
“For the John Wick experience, you’ve got this incredible movie universe, a whole world built within the IP. We love to create that physically, where guests can go in and experience it. And then you have interactors—not really actors, because it’s not a show. It’s an experience.”
These interactors know how to facilitate the missions, how to deal with audience members who have quite a bit of agency.
“That’s harder than just putting on a show. You have to understand how to stay in character and keep everyone safe, happy, engaged, and energised. So it’s visual storytelling, physical storytelling, and interaction all coming together. And then you’re in an immersive space—wherever you look, you feel like you’re in that world. Nothing breaks the mood.
“That kind of storytelling is really exciting to us as a team, and we find that it ignites our fans’ curiosity and imaginations.”
Innovation in immersive experiences: operational challenges
Creating such intricate and personalised experiences has its challenges operationally, however:
“When we opened the Saw Escape, it was radical,” says Taylor-Hall. “It was room after room after room, and escapes previously, you know, if you got two, you were lucky. And this was one continuous experience. The Saw Escape is also heavily themed, and we had an interactor there who helps you move through.”
“That was an operational requirement. If you’re giving people freedom, you might need to escort them, too. You have to figure out how that works operationally and with the story. And what ended up happening was we learned how to run that experience in a way that improved throughput.”
That’s often a difficulty with escape experiences: how do you get the numbers to work when it takes time?
“So you have the creative impacting the operations, but you also need a partner willing to lean into that excitement and understand the value it brings. Their expertise in show control is critical—that’s all the stuff behind the scenes that the audience will never see, but it’s underpinning everything.
“The partners we work with are important. Our team doesn’t operate on our own. We’ve worked with Egan Production on Saw: The Official Saw Escape in Las Vegas and the Blair Witch Escape in Vegas. “
Upping the game
It’s a blend of disciplines, she continues:
“You have stage technology that would usually show up in a live show, combined with media that would usually come from a film, and all of it has to work together. So the creative process is exciting—we find it energising and fun. But then it gets into the ongoing expertise of knowing how to operate these things well. Good operators are precious and, I’d say, a little hard to find.
“You also have to have all of your partners on every side ready and excited about being very entrepreneurial, willing to dive in, find solutions, and figure out how to run everything well so everyone can succeed over time and have a consistently good guest experience.”
“It’s fine to have all of this excitement about what we’re going to do, but how will it perform for the person who shows up there at four on a Thursday? Will they have as great a time as the people did in the first month? That takes a lot of commitment from every level of an organisation.
“We get the support at Lionsgate all the way from the CEO throughout the organisation, and our filmmakers all lean in with us, saying, ‘Yes, this is exciting, we want to support you in making this happen.’ I think that’s really what it takes to get it going and then to sustain and keep evolving.
“Audiences are savvy. It used to be that the novelty of an immersive experience would carry you a little way, but the audience is becoming more sophisticated. So we’ve got to keep upping the game, which is exciting and great, but it takes a lot.”
Evolving expectations
Building on this, Parker says:
“I started working at Area15 in 2017, and in those early days, I remember our co-founders and the leasing team talking to potential partners, explaining what immersive is.
“We were lucky that we had Meow Wolf as our anchor tenant, arguably the leader in immersive entertainment. But it hadn’t become part of the mainstream conversation that it is now. To me, it’s incredible how much our industry has grown over the last couple of years. We’re seeing all of these new types of attractions and experiences not only pop up in Las Vegas but also in many other markets.
“They’re coming fast and furious, and I think that’s an incredible thing for all of us.”
It also creates a responsibility to educate—what is a quality experience versus not a quality experience?
“Kirsten is 100% correct that we are not in a position where we can rest on our laurels and say, ‘Okay, we have all these immersive experiences open.’ In fact, it’s time to double down and make sure storytelling is storytelling, and that being authentic and deeply creative in what you’re giving to your customer is critical.”
There are more opportunities for innovation now, thanks to new technologies, she adds, allowing for immersive experiences to be more personalised.
“We have to think about how we are not only giving them a great experience, but how they are actually becoming part of the experience? What is the tech that we can use to personalise the experience for each person going through? What’s the follow-up—not only when they’re experiencing the attraction but afterwards? And how are we using tech, storytelling, and brand narratives to continue and deepen that connection?”
New tech allows for innovation in immersive experiences
Speaking about some of these new technologies, Sugarman says the Superplastic team has been using AI to help bring its characters to life.
“So Daisy is a friend of Janky and Guggimon, and is part of the Dopeameme experience. There are phones where you can call her, and it’s a full AI Daisy. She’s loaded with knowledge of Superplastic Vegas, and you can have a full-blown conversation with her. She’s a Fortnite gaming expert.”
“We also have this going with Guggimon. We haven’t rolled it out yet to the public, but it’s in our VIP room when Guggimon is set up. You can ask him real-time questions, and he’ll be able to answer. We’ve been showing that off, and as our full character, he’s animated through D-Rigs, so they’re interacting with you. Right now, it’s audio-only with Dopamine and Daisy, but we’re figuring out how to bring it to life from a visual and audio standpoint.”
This is one example of how tech makes it more immersive and allows the flexibility to bring things to people in new and different ways. “We’re looking forward to continuing to do more of that, but right now, AI Daisy is in the control room; she’s also in retail, and literally, you can pick up the phone and talk to her, and she will talk back. It’s pretty cool.”
Future trends
The panel also discussed some of the emerging and future trends that they are excited about.
“One great trend is making sure your quality is really high, and you’re enhancing the brand rather than anything that could cause trouble,” says Taylor-Hall.
“Personally, I love the food and beverage trends that are coming as well. It used to be that getting anyone to talk about food and beverage was challenging. But people want it. They love it. And it makes sense on lots of levels. But once again, none of it’s easy, and you do need a more sophisticated location to handle that, but it can be so rewarding, and people want that.”
Coming up with something unique is key. “Because, of course, you want something—a drink specific to The Continental, right? And in Las Vegas, you can get some great drinks. So what are we going to do that’s going to be unique and that everybody’s going to want to have? And that’s a great thing to explore. You can’t leave it out because if you do, people will be sad, and you’ve left something on the table.
“Figuring out how to continue to offer more and more of what guests want and how to keep that quality level where we need it—it’s all about surprising and delighting people. The more we see, the harder it is to do in some ways, but people are game.”
Innovation & the immersive experiences of the future
“Themed food things are very fun,” agrees Sugarman.
“I also think you’re going to continue to see a lot of AI elements and the adhesion of what you can do, whether they are an agent guiding you, whether they’re a character in it, or whether they’re part of a surprise and delight. I think that’s continuing.
“And then, in line with the surprise and delight, I think there is a marriage between collectables and experiences. People want mementoes. They want something to remember it by. All of our experiences are amazing in the visual memories, the mental ones, and the photos and videos that you’re going to get.”
In a similar vein, he says exclusive merchandise is an area to watch:
“We’re thinking of ways with our products: what product or variant is maybe only available at Dopeameme? What if you achieve a certain status and unlock something? It gives people that memento beyond the souvenir, beyond the photo—a visual thing that is only available if you go through it.”
Revitalising retail
Giving an Area15 perspective on trends to watch, Parker says:
“I’m interested to see what more traditional retailers are doing and how they will get into the immersive space. Superplastic is doing a great job with their retail location in Dopeameme. But thinking about the John Wick experience, for example, if one of the guests wants to purchase the suits that the character is wearing.
“The traditional retail space in apparel and footwear has dipped its toe in immersive, doing pop-ups, but they haven’t gone full into it yet. I would love to see an integration in that way into a place like Area15, where there is a seamless journey, using AI or something, trying on the clothes, and then there’s a path to purchase. That would be an interesting trend to see.”
Area15 is also doing a lot with integration with its music and events. “Today’s customer doesn’t want to just sit and watch a musician or someone on the stage. How are you being part of that show? How are you integrating yourself into that entire experience?
“We do that with our massive festival series, where the entire building is activated. You can come early, you can get a food and beverage offering, and then you can go to some of our experiences and then go to see the show. So integrating with entertainment, events and food and beverage, and doing immersive experiences altogether, provides a holistic approach to a night out and the new type of entertainment.”
Surprise and delight
Finally, the innovation in immersive experiences panel spoke about some of the challenges that the industry faces.
For Parker, keeping an eye on the competition is important: “How are you differentiating yourself? How are you staying relevant?”
She adds that being flexible and able to update and change content regularly is essential for repeatability. “You want to have the same customer come back again and again and experience the attraction or the offering in some different ways. That is critical. And consider scalability, as well. How are you reaching new audiences? What are you doing that’s different every single time?
“The most important thing is how we treat our customers when they come. ‘Surprise and delight’ is a really important thing for us at Area15 as well. We want our guests to feel like they are the star of the show, and that is our number one priority.”
Sugerman agrees that share of wallet and discoverability are challenges. “There are a lot of options out there. So, for those that aren’t already like, ‘Hey, I know Janky and Guggimon, I’m in Vegas, I’m going to Dopeameme,’ how do we get those that don’t know anything about it when they have a plethora of options?
“Area15 is set up in a great way with an experience pass that allows us to do that, so people can dip their toes. We’re just working through a game plan and trying to enhance it. And because people are interacting with it, that means sometimes things get messed up and broken. So being able to quickly fix those, improve, and keep it moving—that’s just part of the experience.”
Innovation in immersive experiences: the challenges
Costs, adds Taylor-Hall, are also getting higher and higher:
“That’s hard, because one thing that’s fun about these experiences, or I think is important, is that when you step out of a real traditional theatre structure, the ticket price is lower. It’s more egalitarian. You get a lot of people who come to see this who might not go and sit down in a Broadway show or a West End show; they’ll come to these kinds of experiences instead.
“You want to keep a price people can afford and bring people together because everyone wants to buy real things and experience them with their loved ones and friends. So, you have to protect that price point. Yet we require and demand high-quality experiences, extremely safe environments, and good people to make it all work.
“That is a real balancing act—to figure out how to make the business work while supporting the creative vision. It’s a challenge. I don’t think it’s an insurmountable one, but it’s something that has to stay at the front of your mind.
“We can devise the best idea that we know people would love, but if you can’t afford to run it, pay the people, and cover the necessary expenses, it won’t succeed. So, while our imagination is limitless, we have to figure out how to be very creative with the business, so that all of these things are responsibly handled.”
