It Pays to Obtain Locked Up! Escape Rooms: The Marketing Experts' New Play Area



One could believe that being locked up is a point of nightmares, well currently it's the new cool. Sweeping en-vogue sector events such as the South By Southwest (SXSW) Seminar, the Escape Area is the tourist attraction obtaining everybody talking. And also it's not simply the individuals, because this modern love of immersive experience is opening a door to innovative advertising and marketing opportunities, also.

What specifically is an Escape Area? Picture this - you are in a locked space. You may believe this is simply an additional story from one of the Saw film franchises however it is in truth the makings of an Escape Area experience.

Of course this is not a brand-new idea however after years of virtual reality parading as the great big brother worldwide of immersive experiences, escape rooms have been confidently working through the experiential ranks to take the title of legitimately 'wow'. Not surprisingly, sharp marketers have actually tracked this and also are currently finding innovative methods to optimize the direct exposure to the experience. The 'tie-in' style of advertising and marketing arrangement appears to be the ruling formula for this.

Famous examples to date include Disney hosting a pop-up escape experience linked with Rogue One: A Star Wars Tale. The Escape Game in Austin Texas (America's most popular escape experience) being taken control of by FOX in time for the launch of a brand-new collection of Prison Break, as well as HBO setting up a multi-room installment themed around Game of Thrones, Veep, and Silicon Valley. Smart.

Although this design of marketing is additionally absolutely nothing brand-new by itself, what makes it effective is that the items marry perfectly with the experience, and we understand that customers are, more than ever, forced to invest their cash on 'doing' instead of through traditional advertising and marketing approaches, i.e. just 'enjoying'.

Marketing experts would launch video games then host 'actual world' experiences: occasions, competitions and also interactions that complimented the gameplay and also made it tangible. The perfect collaboration here would certainly be founded on an equally beneficial business relationship where the escape space company as well as the IP (or copyright) owners function with each other to amass maximum exposure and also expand the client base, prompting a 'win: win' arrangement.

Escape 60 in Brazil pulled off a blinding example of this in 2015 when they connected up with Ubisoft, the makers of fantasy behemoth Assassin's Creed, to get in advance of the game and also create an escape space coordinated around the release of Assassin's Creed Distribute. Alex Reece, Chief Executive Officer of America's Escape Game, commented in a meeting at the time (October 2016), "We see a really brilliant future of integrating escape rooms powered by America's Escape Game in Escape Room NYC multiple Vistana places in the coming months and also years.

Fast-forward to 2017, and that same love of immersion drives much of the elaborate marketing activations we see today in escape rooms. "I believe the immersion permits it to be a lot more individual and customized," Joanna Scholl, vice president of advertising at HBO claimed when quoted in an interview at this year's SXSW seminar. When inquired about HBO: The Escape she said, "Everyone feels like they themselves are part of that experience, as well as it leaves a lot more of a remarkable note for them."

Ryan Coan owner of agency Creative Riff, the experiential marketing specialists who were the designers of the Prison Break escape area requisition also commented at the same event: "Experiential advertising is special since it's an engagement. It's something fans are selecting to do. Fans are so obsessive over this material, they're so crazy with these characters and their stories, that by allowing them to step inside that story as well as feel like they belong of it - also for a moment - is a truly unique experience."

Layout and also technology goes to the center of this intelligent advertising and marketing trend as each area might have a various motif or trouble degree where the ideas will certainly additionally be themed around the subject of each area. The top quality of the area needs to be superb and also the immersion aspect at the fore. The even more the individuals seem like they are 'part of that area' the more of a long lasting effect the experience will have. This implies competition is fierce and marketers have to be sharper than ever before to locate that excellent 'hook'. That claimed, it does not appear like this advertising and marketing approach is bogging down, so watch out for the next immersive escape room experience leaping off a display near you quickly!


Of course this is not a new principle however after years of digital fact parading as the great huge brother in the globe of immersive experiences, escape rooms have actually been confidently working via the experiential ranks to take the title of legitimately 'wow'. The Escape Game in Austin Texas (America's most preferred escape experience) being taken over by FOX in time for the launch of a brand-new series of Prison Break, and also HBO establishing up a multi-room setup themed around Game of Thrones, Veep, and Silicon Valley. Escape 60 in Brazil pulled off a blinding instance of this in 2015 when they linked up with Ubisoft, the developers of dream behemoth Assassin's Creed, to obtain ahead of the game and develop an escape space managed around the release of Assassin's Creed Organization. Alex Reece, Chief Executive Officer of America's Escape Game, commented in an interview at the time (October 2016), "We see a really brilliant future of incorporating escape rooms powered by America's Escape Game in numerous Vistana places in the coming months and years. That claimed, it doesn't look like this marketing approach is slowing down up, so look out for the next immersive escape area experience leaping off a display near you quickly!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *