153 Q UA RT E R _ 0 2 _ 2 0 2 6 Retail Stores Can Double as Attractions The toy store Camp—with several US locations— bills itself as a “family experience company.” It regularly constructs in-store interactive experi ences based on children’s media properties (such as the TV series Bluey or the Trolls films) that are accompanied by themed shopping opportunities. - Underused Real Estate Can Be Repurposed as an Attractions Space Smaller and temporary attractions can create opportunities that benefit both real estate holders and IP owners. “Many real estate holders I speak with these days have underutilized space,” says Chris Holdren, former chief marketing officer at Caesars Entertainment. “One large movie theater group told me it has 10 percent too many screens and wants new ideas about what to do with those spaces. Casinos and malls often have excess space. I think IP holders could consider moving quickly to make use of these available spaces.” Bundling Attractions Together Can Create a Mini Theme Park Both Netflix and Sony have experimented with com bining a limited number of IP-based attractions under a single roof. Netflix launched a Netflix House con cept in Pennsylvania and Texas, with each location offering a variety of experiences—based on streaming series such as Squid Game and Stranger Things —that are gathered within 100,000-square-foot venues. Sony created a Wonderverse in Chicago that was a 45,000-square-foot space featuring experiences based on movies such as Ghostbusters and Jumanji . - - Theme Parks Can Expand to Satellite Locations Universal Destinations & Experiences has pre viously offered “Halloween Horror Nights”—an evening presentation full of thrills and chills—to its theme park guests. But Universal has now expanded the initiative to other locations, including - a pop-up haunted maze in New York called “Jimmy Fallon Tonightmares.” In Las Vegas, the year- round, 100,000-square-foot Universal Horror Unleashed experience features multiple haunted house environments. Lego has augmented its Legoland theme parks with smaller, indoor Legoland Discovery Centers in locations across Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. DEVELOPING A LOCATION-BASED EXPERIENCE FOR BRAND ACTIVATION Stakeholders contemplating an investment in a location-based experience should consider important elements such as performance metrics, construction timelines, and the benefits of col lecting and analyzing data to adjust approaches quickly. It’s vital to focus adequate attention on - creating distinctive experiences—while also pro tecting IP assets. - Align on the Measures of Success It’s important to align on the core purpose of creating an attraction. Profitability is, of course, a plus. But if a well-received experience generates online buzz and deeper engagement with consumers, financial returns might be a secondary goal. Stakeholders should con sider in advance what success would look like. - Coordinate on Realistic Timelines A typical timeline for creating a smaller-scale, immersive experience—involving one attraction in an existing building—could stretch to roughly 15 months. That can include about 90 days for con tract negotiations with execution partners, eight months for construction to build out the guest envi ronment, and two weeks of closed beta testing to resolve any issues prior to opening to the public. If activations are planned in tandem with major launches or announcements, getting up-front alignment on the timeline is crucial. - -