By Clara Rice, Adirondack Studios, and Matthew Cross, OE Experiences
This year’s TEA INSPIRE week was a fresh celebration of the industry in Hollywood, California. The event occurred shortly after the Academy Awards. Fittingly, it began in the Hollywood Roosevelt’s Blossom Ballroom – the site of the first Academy Awards. It then went on to end in the Dolby Ballroom, the host venue for the prestigious Governor’s Ball after the Academy Awards
This week clearly made the connection between the Theas, and the celebration of excellence Hollywood embodies in entertainment.
Leadership Forum
The 2024 TEA INSPIRE week kicked off with a reimagined Leadership Forum. Here, 125 attendees focused on execution in the global business community. Its intimate start featured Alien Fresh Jerky’s father-son ownership team. They discussed their use of creative storytelling to set their product apart by elevating a commodity to an experience.
The formal program featured Jasmine Braswell of the US Department of Commerce. She shared the resources available to US and non-US entities to facilitate international commerce. The next set was a business relationship panel featuring Wendy Heimann Nunes, Kile Ozier and Owen Zhao. The takeaways emphasized process over law and the importance of candour and courtship in establishing new international business ventures.
The final speaker was Matt Proulx of Hasbro, who shared their global growth and various business models. Proulx revealed how this allows Hasbro to deploy location-based entertainment and attractions in markets at a rapid pace.
For over 60 core career professionals and rising talent, the Pop-Up Production sessions were a new item and alternate choice in the “choose-your-own-adventure” philosophy of the TEA for INSPIRE week to the Leadership Forum. These sessions included deep dives into diverse topics. They spanned signature events, technical integration, cruise experience, and a candid conversation about what happens when things go wrong. A Fireside Chat with Kirin Sinha of Illumix topped off the sessions.
The world takes notice
Immediately following the conclusion of the Leadership Forum and the Pop-Up Production sessions was TEA INSPIRE 2024. The educational and case study program began by diving into this year’s Thea recipients. The TEA emphasized and shared that of the 146 submissions only 41% were from North America. 32% came from Europe and 21% came from the Asia Pacific region.
The world took notice as well. The French national press covered Puy du Fou’s win, and the LA Times attended the entire program. Travel and Tour World covered Chimelong chairman Su Zhigang, winner of this year’s Buzz Price Lifetime Achievement Award.
INSPIRE, as the complimentary component to the Thea Gala, extends the original intent embedded in the Theas’ history to illuminate. The Theas are named in part after the Greek goddess of Light, Theia. They exist to identify outstanding achievements and the makers/creators who helped to create them.
This lens into outstanding attractions has started to be shared with consumers via live streaming. Operators and developers have also begun promoting and valuing the Theas as a prestigious distinction. TEA INSPIRE took deep dives into the difficult process of conceiving Thea recipient projects. Several common themes emerged including resilience, the balance between innovation and authenticity, and retaining flexibility to drive repeat visitation.
Celebrating resilience at TEA INSPIRE 2024
The week’s focus on resilience acknowledged the difficulty in realizing the creative ideas the themed entertainment industry is known for, beginning with Luis & Martin Ramallo’s journey as first-generation immigrants building their business from a roadside stand with a rented tent to a multi-million dollar venture with distribution across multiple channels. His advice to the crowd? “Never give up.”
The pop-up production session “When things go wrong: a candid conversation” honed and reinforced this message. It focused on self-care, creating plans and establishing boundaries. Mr. Su, chairman of Chimelong, perhaps best embodied the journey of success and resilience required. Attendees learned about his path from selling food off his motorbike, to running an entertainment empire in China.
Innovation versus authenticity
A more nuanced discussion centered around the push and pull of innovation vs authenticity. Technology was questioned in its role in telling emotional stories. AI, cell phones, and the use of digital environments were all examined in the context of Thea recipients. Each group established their own boundaries of how to weave technology into design, hide it in the guest experience, and use it as an ever-changing means to an end.
If there was a main takeaway, it would be the compromise to 1) have technology support the story instead of being the story and 2) incorporate a blend of digital and physical environments. Colored (Noire), Deutschlandmuseum, Le Mime et Le’Etoile, Johnnie Walker, Titanic Belfast Reimagined and Cosmic Rewind are all prime examples of this idea.
A third recurring topic was the importance of freshness and driving repeat visitation to attractions. Approaches ranged from variability in the paths guests take within an attraction, to changing soundtracks, seasonal events or changing media. Attraction designers and IP owners increasingly focus not only on bringing guests in once but multiple times. In addition, they seek to build a sense of connection that endures beyond one experience.
The Thea Gala follows TEA INSPIRE 2024
The Thea Gala ended with a climax as 635 attendees donned black tie and dress to observe the Thea recipients claim their awards in the Ray Dolby Ballroom. The atmosphere was both reverential and collegial, acknowledging the intimacy of a tight-knit community of dreamers. Whilst constrained by time, resources, and circumstance, they nonetheless deliver transformative experiences.
“Our job is to talk to the soul…love can change the world,” said Puy du Fou Grand Parc chairman Nicolas Villiers.
The economic, socio-political and philosophical power of physical experiences, and the most outstanding among them, is increasingly being levered worldwide, and the need for the global community to discern the trendline of excellence has never been higher.
The evening concluded with a karaoke party and celebration that felt more like a family gathering than a professional event. Perhaps the energy of the week can best be summed up by Sir Richard Taylor’s remarks during his discussion of their Thea recipient project:
“Love of oneself, love of what you do, love of who you do it with, and love of who you do it for.”
