Creating Immersive Audience Experiences

Have you ever walked into a theme park and felt instantly transported to another world? That's the magic of spatial storytelling, and it's a powerful tool that goes beyond just entertainment. As someone who works alongside the best of the best in themed experiences, I'm excited to share how you can harness this power in your own work, using some of the world's most famous theme parks as our guide. Spatial storytelling is the art of using physical space to convey a narrative. It's about creating an immersive environment that engages all the senses and makes the audience feel like they're part of the story. Theme parks like Disneyland Resort and Universal Orlando Resort have mastered this art, but its principles can be applied to various fields, from retail to education. Studies have shown that immersive environments can significantly enhance engagement and memory retention. For instance, a 2019 study found that students in immersive learning environments scored 30% higher on retention tests compared to traditional classroom settings (Johnson et al., 2019). In theme parks, this translates to higher guest satisfaction and increased spending. Disney parks, for example, saw a 70% increase in per-capita spending after introducing more immersive lands like Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (Thompson, 2022). 5 Steps to Apply Spatial Storytelling in Your Work • Define Your Narrative: What story do you want to tell? Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A. tells the story of early 20th century America, setting the stage for the rest of the park. • Engage Multiple Senses: Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter doesn't just look magical; it smells like butterbeer and sounds like spells being cast. Consider how you can incorporate smell, sound, and touch into your space. • Pay Attention to Details: The smallest details can make the biggest impact. Disney's Imagineers are famous for their attention to detail, from themed trash cans to hidden Mickeys. • Create a Coherent World: Ensure all elements of your space work together to support your narrative. In The Wizarding World, even the ATMs are themed as "Gringotts Money Exchanges." • Encourage Interaction: Allow your audience to be part of the story. Universal's interactive wands let visitors cast "spells" throughout the park, deepening their engagement. By applying these principles, you can create spaces that don't just inform or entertain, but truly transport and inspire. Whether you're designing a retail space, a classroom, or an office, the power of place can transform your audience's experience. Remember, it's not about recreating Disneyland. It's about understanding the principles that make these spaces so effective and applying them in your own unique way. So, are you ready to tell your story through space? How could you use spatial storytelling to transform your workspace or project? Let’s connect, dream and create together! justyn@storylandstudios.com PlainJoe Storyland Studios

What’s Broken in Experiential—And How to Fix It Somewhere between the flower wall and the neon sign that says “Treat Yourself,” we lost the plot. Experiential marketing, once the most exciting frontier in branding, has been reduced to decorative environments that look good on camera but say absolutely nothing. Let’s be honest. A swing in the lobby isn’t an experience. A tunnel of disco balls isn’t a story. And putting your logo on a smoothie bar doesn’t make it a “moment.” At best, these things are backdrops. At worst, they’re noise. The problem isn’t budget. It’s intent. It’s the idea that if something is “Instagrammable,” it must be working. But here’s the thing: Posting isn’t the same as connecting. Traffic isn’t the same as impact. And experiential doesn’t mean expensive aesthetics—it means designed, strategic, human-centered storytelling. We’ve seen it happen in boardrooms: “What can we build that will look good?” That’s the wrong question. Start here instead: What do we want people to feel when they walk in? What do we want them saying when they leave? What story are we telling—not just visually, but emotionally, culturally, experientially? Because the best experiences don’t start with “what can we build?” They start with “why does this need to exist at all?” That’s where the shift begins. And no, we don’t mean adding a mission statement or slapping a hashtag on a wall. We mean building a fully-immersive, fully-intentional experience that is rooted in the brand’s truth—and makes the audience feel like they belong in the story. A good experience is less like a commercial and more like an issue of Vanity Fair. Stay with me. It’s textured. It’s provocative. It pulls you into a world that’s bigger than the surface. The best VF stories don’t scream “look at me”—they whisper “you belong here, let me show you something you didn’t know.” The great ones combine culture, tension, beauty, and narrative so that even if you didn’t know you cared about the subject, now you’re deeply invested. That’s how experiential should feel. Like you’re inside something that has meaning. Like you’re part of a bigger idea. But meaning takes guts. You have to say no to “what’s trending” You have to resist the temptation to please everyone You have to be willing to provoke a little—to stir something real. Here’s how we fix what’s broken: - Stop designing for social. Start designing for significance. - Stop mistaking style for substance. You can have both, but you need the latter first. - Stop making experiences for “everyone.” Make them for someone specific—they’ll do the rest. - Stop starting with what you want to build. Start with what people need to feel. Experiential now feels very diluted. It’s not that people don’t want to be moved. It’s that we stopped giving them a reason to be. And the good news? That’s fixable.

Too often, the format of conference panels and town halls makes us as the audience feel invisible. There’s a better way. Here's how to unite the room... 1. "How many of you?....", "Who is here..." Small prompts like these serve two purposes. They survey the room and allow you to collect data in real time, but more importantly, they show us what we all have in common. This is a small but powerful choice to transform passive attendees into an active, connected group. 2. Instead of responding to questions one by one—where only the person asking feels seen—collect multiple questions at once, then answer them in themes. The effect? More people hear themselves in her response. More people feel included. It's easy to tune out as an audience member when a question isn't relevant to us. This choice helps an audience stay present and reminds us what these questions (and underlying needs) all have in common. It’s possible to leave a gathering feeling more connected to others in the room, even if you haven’t spoken. But that requires a shift in how we think about audience engagement. Panels, town halls, and conferences don’t have to be isolated exchanges. They can be an experience of belonging. How have you seen this done well?

The film, entertainment, and media industries are perpetually in pursuit of fresh narratives and engaging storytelling techniques to captivate audiences. As these industries evolve, a valuable reservoir of inspiration and innovation is emerging from an often-overlooked corner of the world: video games. 1️⃣ Video games are unique in that they allow audiences to influence the narrative through their actions and decisions. This level of interactivity adds a layer of depth and engagement that films and TV shows could incorporate. For instance, Netflix's Bandersnatch hints at this potential by allowing viewers to make choices that affect the story's outcome. By adopting game-like narrative mechanics, directors can create more engaging, personalized viewer experiences. At the most recent Game Awards, Hideo Kojima and Jordan Peele hinted at a product that will blur the lines between cinema and games, and I'm eager to see whether this will set a new precedent for entertainment moving forward. 2️⃣ Video games excel at building engagement and loyalty. They do this through ongoing content updates, expansions, and community engagement. Films and TV series could mimic this approach by creating more serialized content, interactive online components, and continuous story extensions that keep viewers engaged between seasons or movie installments. For example, when launching all the marketing around Arcane, we continued to anchor our ideas around delivering audiences a global, playable, shared experience. While the product itself was damn near perfect in large part to the work the showrunners and many others who contributed to the project had done, the way we continued to engage and sustain the audience through partnerships, experiential, and synergistic product opportunities as the series went on to ensure our players and audiences continued to feel connected to the show, the characters, Piltover and Zaun. 3️⃣ The games industry's use of cutting-edge technology—such as VR, AR, and AI—to create more immersive experiences is something the film industry is just beginning to explore. By integrating these technologies, directors and marketers can bring new dimensions to storytelling, offering viewers an even more immersive experience. For instance, Netflix recently adapted the book Three Body Problem (which I love btw) into a show, and I think it was a missed opportunity that they didn't leverage VR and/or AR as part of their marketing to give fans an even deeper and connected experience that would put them into the game to share the plight of the main characters firsthand. I've said it once (albeit on a panel), and I'll say it again: game industry creatives and marketers are some of the most talented and ingenious professionals. If you work in film, TV, or media and are in a creative rut, look to games as a source of inspiration, and I promise you, you won't be disappointed. 

Sitting through another online event, nodding along, but not really feeling engaged? I just experienced this feeling last week in an online webinar. There has been trouble with tech, which consumed a lot of time, there was little interaction with the participants, and the wasn’t quite built for everyone in the room. I left feeling disappointed and unmotivated. I've been moderating events, facilitating workshops, and giving trainings now for over 20 years. In this time, I’ve learned that truly engaging and great events are rare. The good part: it is a skill that people can learn. Three takeaways that I share with folks who are just starting out or for those with more experience who could also need a check-in from time to time are the following: Preparation is key. Always keep the audience in mind. And, offer various ways to learn. Preparation: With the goal and purpose in mind you should design the event. From opening with welcoming, sharing the agenda and rules of engagement to delivering the content to closing with a summary and feedback. Do several dry runs, meaning that you go through your whole program without audience or maybe with colleagues who can give constructive feedback. Also consider which tech will be used and test it before using it. Audience: The event is not for you; it’s for the audience. What do you know about the people who are attending? Do the participants know each other? Which questions could you ask to learn about their expectations, needs, and knowledge? You can do that, i.e,. through polls, surveys, or discussions. Be flexible and don’t be scared to adjust the agenda if needed, and communicate why you are doing what you are doing. There have been so many times that I was a participant and I couldn’t follow the instructions, or I didn’t understand what was asked of me. Learning: People learn differently. By offering various ways to learn, engage, and participate, everyone in the room has a chance to achieve the set objectives. It might be useful to make learning and reflection materials accessible prior to, during, and after the event. Some people prefer working alone while others prefer working in groups. Some need to hear, others need to read content. Don't just think about what you like, but educate yourself about what people with different ways of thinking need. And let me be clear. You'll never please everyone in the room. That’s okay. But by following the above-mentioned tips, you can get pretty close. And remember, there is help out there - hello Ellen and team 👋🏾 What is important to you in virtual spaces? What have been good or bad experiences? Do you need help in creating more engaging and inclusive events? Send me a DM. #Facilitation #Workshops #Training #Virtual #SaferSpaces ALT- Text in the comments.

Harnessing the Power of Belonging in Immersive Experiences I enjoyed delving into Storycraft Lab's insightful WXO - World Experience Organization campfire session on ‘Belonging’ in immersive experiences—a crucial yet often overlooked aspect vital for enhancing audience engagement. The discussion spotlighted Trust, Finding Your People, and Connection as the key elements of Belonging, according to this year's audience surveys. It underscored Belonging's critical role as a gateway to higher self-expression and fulfillment, as outlined in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (image 2). Belonging not only combats the modern epidemic of loneliness but also has profound implications for humans as well as businesses, from reducing employee attrition and boosting productivity to unlocking both individual potential and organizational growth. It's shown that those who experience a sense of belonging are 167% more likely to recommend a brand or experience, showcasing the immense value of Belonging for recruitment, recommendations, retention, and ultimately, revenue. Belonging tops the list of core values that motivate U.S. consumers to pay 12% more for products and services that align with their beliefs." Storycraft Lab's 'Wheel of Belonging' (image 1) breaks down this concept into three core areas: Meaning, Feeling, and Magic—each questioning how experiences are tailored, feelings of belonging are evoked, and connections are facilitated to foster transformation, growth, and shared experiences. This thoughtful strategy allows us to target specific audiences precisely and address their belonging needs in order to boost audience engagement and business transactions. Let's leverage the power of Belonging in our experiences! #Belonging #AudienceEngagement #ImmersiveExperiences