Proactiv Entertainment produces and promotes large-scale shows, international exhibitions and music concerts, crafting unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. The Spanish company was founded in 1987 by Horacio Renna and has over three decades of experience in the live entertainment sector.
The company has worked with brands that are recognised and beloved all around the world, such as WWE, Disney, Star Wars, Marvel, Nitro Circus Live, Harlem Globetrotters and more. It has organized several successful exhibitions, for instance, the Meet Vincent Van Gogh Experience and The Art of the Brick, as well as producing and promoting the acclaimed Barça, The Exhibition. In addition, Proactiv Entertainment produces concerts for leading artists.
Blooloop spoke to Nicolas Renna, managing director, to find out more about the company’s journey so far and its plans for the future.
Strong beginnings
“The company was founded 35 years ago by my father,” begins Renna, explaining Proactiv Entertainment’s origins. “Our beginnings were in marketing services for different companies, but one thing led to another, and we started working in the entertainment sector soon after that.”
Since then, Proactiv has developed three distinct lines of business:
“One line is music concerts and festivals. The second is live entertainment, which encompasses things like theatre shows, live sports shows like the Harlem Globetrotters arena tour, and live events such as Disney on Ice. Then the third line, which is the fastest growing and the one of the most important for us right now, is exhibitions and location-based entertainment.
“We have different approaches to each of them – we work as a promoter, so we promote content from others as well as our own content, and we can also work as a producer, where we develop everything, from start to finish.”
A passion for engaging content
The company has a strong foundation that builds on CEO Horacio Renna’s passion for the industry, as well as his early experience in the marketing business.
“The company started in the 80s, and my father was very into sports. He was promoting a lot of things that he loved, like sailing events, racing etc. Then, in the early 90s, one client asked him if he could do a major project that would have international exposure. So, he did this arena event called Windsurf Indoor, which took place at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona and the Palacio de los Deportes in Madrid.”
For Windsurf Indoor, the team needed to generate 50 km/h winds at the biggest pool in the world. During the event, the world’s top windsurfers competed, and spectators could enjoy dramatic feats such as 360-degree loops up close. 40,000 people watched the event in person, and over a million more tuned in on Eurosport.
“Windsurf Indoor featured the top champions at the time and my father sold two arenas at full capacity for this show. This illustrates where Proactiv started – with his passion for the content combined with his knowledge of marketing.”
Proactiv Entertainment’s vision: Generating emotions
Over the last 35 years, the company has grown and developed into a firm with a clear purpose, says Renna, which is to entertain as many people as possible.
“Our goal is to play an important role in the entertainment industry, and our ethos is reflected in our slogan, which is ‘Generating emotions’.
In terms of what makes the company unique, Renna says this is down to its holistic approach:
“There are many companies that do a little part of the process very well. Some are focused on creating experiences, some are focused on promoting, or some are focused on one specific part of the chain. But there are not many companies that manage the entire process, where they develop the idea and then build and produce that idea.”
When it comes to exhibits and live entertainment, Proactiv is able to produce, promote, organise and market a wide range of events. In addition to this, it also offers sponsorship consultancy and management, sales management, pricing strategy, and venue advice and management services.
Exhibition expertise
One of Proactiv Entertainment’s recent exhibition projects was the award-winning Meet Vincent van Gogh Experience. This was developed in partnership with Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum, the world’s leading authority on the artist. Proactiv produced the Meet Vincent van Gogh Experience in Barcelona.
Following the exhibition’s outstanding success in the Spanish city, Proactiv also went on to collaborate on the show’s London leg. The company now has worldwide touring rights for the show.
To date, more than 700,000 visitors from around the world have visited the Meet Vincent van Gogh exhibition. It has toured Beijing, Madrid and Korea, in addition to Barcelona and London. Its next tour stop is Chile from July 2022, and it is available for booking for future venues too.
In 2017, the show won a TEA Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement in the category of Immersive Museum Exhibit: Touring.
Peppa Pig
The company has also worked with much-loved family brands like Peppa Pig. It toured two live Peppa Pig shows, the Treasure Hunt and Big Splash, around 39 Spanish cities, with a total of over 200,000 spectators. The first show won a BAFTA for best children’s show.
In May 2022, the award-winning Etihad Arena hosted the first-ever Peppa Pig live show in the Middle East. An international acting company was instrumental in bringing to life the beloved preschool brand, as young fans and their families joined Peppa and friends on an adventure into the woods.
As a result, over 12,000 people in this growing market were able to attend one of the most popular family live shows in the world.
“For the entire Proactiv Entertainment team, the event represented a challenge,” says Renna. “We are delighted to have successfully delivered a wonderful experience for the UAE. I want to thank everyone that was involved in the event organization. From our partners Miral and DCT to the exceptional team behind the Etihad Arena.
“I’m incredibly proud of the quality of work done by our teams both in the UAE and Spain.”
Proactiv Entertainment and FC Barcelona
In partnership with FC Barcelona, Proactiv also recently created Barça, The Exhibition. This immersive travelling exhibition explores the history of the iconic club. It features live interactive experiences, virtual tours, and interactive games, alongside a “hall of fame” that is home to trophies and memorabilia.
This exhibition began its tour in Israel and Dubai in 2021 and is now available for booking.
“Barça, The Exhibition will start touring Latin America in summer, and then will go to the US in 2023. I’m very happy with it. It’s challenging to create an immersive exhibition based on a football club, and we really rose to that challenge. We’re proud to be from Barcelona – and it’s not a secret that we are supporters!”
Telling a meaningful brand story
Is there pressure involved in working with brands, like FC Barcelona, that people already have such a strong emotional connection with? Renna says the key is to focus on meaningful content and an engaging story:
“We could have created something that just covered one angle. But what we’re trying to do is compress everything into an experience of around two hours where fans do not get disappointed, and at the same time, people who are less familiar with the brand are also engaged and find something that interests them.”
“Yes, we can sometimes feel the pressure, but we like it. Working with brands has its challenges, but the opportunity with brands like these is that there is so much content. That gives us lots of ways to make it appealing. But it’s vital to maintain a storyline that can engage both fans and non-fans.”
Other highlights in Proactiv’s exhibitions portfolio include the popular Lego exhibition The Art of the Brick and the follow-up The Art of the Brick: DC Super Heroes.
The company has also toured popular seasonal events such as Christmas Garden, an immersive light experience. This began in Germany, and last winter Proactiv brought it to Malaga, Valencia, and Barcelona.
“Christmas Garden was a huge success. We did three cities in Spain, and we sold 420,000 tickets in 47 days,” says Renna.
Proactiv Entertainment looks to the future
From its headquarters in Barcelona alongside offices in Madrid and Dubai, Proactiv has a global reach. Looking to the future, Renna says:
“For exhibitions, one market that we are entering soon is North America. Canada and the US are very interesting for us, and Mexico could be interesting as well. Our base in Spain gives us the door from Europe to Latin America – we speak the same language; we understand the culture.
“Right now, in terms of exhibitions, we are working to consolidate our partnerships across Europe and to enter the US market with our Barça exhibition. We also have some more exciting IPs to announce next year that will appeal to wide markets.”
“Looking ahead, we want to continue doing what we do. We will carry on creating wonderful ideas, both based on IP from others and creating our own, and we will try to be as diversified as possible, not only in markets but also in projects.
“We turn 35 years old this year and we still have an exciting future ahead. I am sure that exhibition and live events sectors are going to grow and grow in the years to come.”
