It Pays to Get Locked Up! Escape Rooms: The Marketers' New Play Ground

One might believe that being secured is a thing of headaches, well now it's the new cool. Sweeping en-vogue market occasions such as the South By Southwest (SXSW) Conference, the Escape Space is the destination getting every person talking. And it's not just the individuals, due to the fact that this gimmicky love of immersive experience is opening a door to cutting-edge marketing chances, also.

What exactly is an Escape Room? You may ask. Image this - you remain in a locked space. You have a couple of arbitrary clues and you have no concept just how to get out. You might believe this is simply an additional story from one of the Saw film franchises however it remains in reality the makings of an Escape Room experience. This 'trend' includes a team of approximately 12 players - depending upon where you publication - that have to use physical as well as psychological agility to unlock door after door, moving from space to area hysterically figuring out cryptic clues. The catch? You have simply 60 mins to damage complimentary.

Naturally this is not a brand-new concept but after years of virtual reality parading as the awesome big brother on the planet of immersive experiences, escape rooms have been with confidence overcoming the experiential rankings to take the title of properly 'wow'. Not surprisingly, sharp marketers have tracked this and are now locating cutting-edge means to make best use of the direct exposure to the experience. The 'linkup' design of advertising and marketing arrangement appears to be the judgment formula for this.

Famous instances to day consist of Disney organizing a pop-up escape experience related to Rogue One: A Celebrity Wars Story. The Escape Game in Austin Texas (America's most prominent escape experience) being taken over by FOX in time for the launch of a new series of Prison Break, and HBO setting up a multi-room installment themed around Game of Thrones, Veep, and also Silicon Valley. Smart.

Although this design of advertising and marketing is additionally absolutely nothing new in itself, what makes it successful is that the products wed flawlessly with the experience, and also we understand that customers are, more than ever, forced to spend their money on 'doing' rather than through typical advertising and marketing approaches, i.e. just 'viewing'.

Online marketers would introduce games after that host 'real globe' experiences: events, competitors as well as interactions that matched the gameplay and made it substantial. The ideal collaboration right here would be established on a mutually beneficial business relationship where the escape area company and also the IP (or copyright) owners work together to gather optimal exposure and increase the client base, triggering a 'win: win' arrangement.

Escape 60 in Brazil pulled off a blinding example of this in 2015 when they linked with Ubisoft, the creators of fantasy leviathan Assassin's Creed, to prosper of the game as well as create an escape area managed around the launch of Assassin's Creed Organization. America's Escape Game, Marriott Vacations Worldwide as well as Vistana Trademark Experiences likewise worked together to bring the globes of friendliness and also amusement with each other, which is now a growing pattern. Alex Reece, Chief Executive Officer of America's Escape Game, commented in a meeting at the time (October 2016), "We see an extremely brilliant future of including escape rooms powered by America's Escape Game in numerous Vistana locations in the coming months Escape games NYC as well as years. There is no doubt that this effective partnership will certainly bring the exploding escape space experience to lots of fanatics throughout the globe."

Fast-forward to 2017, and that same love of immersion drives a number of the sophisticated advertising activations we see today in escape rooms. "I believe the immersion enables it to be extra individual as well as personalized," Joanna Scholl, vice president of advertising at HBO said when quoted in a meeting at this year's SXSW meeting. When asked about HBO: The Escape she remarked, "Each person seems like they themselves become part of that experience, and also it leaves a lot more of an unforgettable note for them."

Ryan Coan creator of agency Creative Riff, the experiential marketing professionals that were the designers of the Prison Break escape room requisition additionally commented at the exact same event: "Experiential marketing is unique since it's an engagement. It's something fans are picking to do. Followers are so obsessive over this web content, they're so crazy with these characters and also their stories, that by allowing them to tip inside that story and seem like they're a part of it - also for a moment - is an actually special experience."

Style and also development is at the center of this shrewd advertising fad as each area may have a various motif or difficulty level where the hints will certainly additionally be themed around the subject issue of each room. That said, it does not look like this advertising and marketing approach is slowing up, so look out for the next immersive escape space experience jumping off a display near you quickly!


Of course this is not a new idea however after years of digital fact parading as the awesome huge sibling 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 popular escape experience) being taken over by FOX in time for the launch of a new series of Prison Break, as well as HBO establishing up a multi-room installment themed around Game of Thrones, Veep, and also Silicon Valley. Escape 60 in Brazil drew off a blinding instance of this in 2015 when they connected up with Ubisoft, the makers of dream leviathan Assassin's Creed, to obtain in advance of the game and also develop an escape area coordinated around the launch of Assassin's Creed Organization. Alex Reece, Chief Executive Officer of America's Escape Game, commented in a meeting at the time (October 2016), "We see a really intense future of including escape rooms powered by America's Escape Game in numerous Vistana areas in the coming months and also years. That claimed, it does not look like this advertising approach is reducing up, so look out for the following immersive escape area experience jumping off a screen near you soon!