And it isn't just the participants, because this newfangled love of immersive experience is opening a door to innovative marketing opportunities, too.

What exactly is an Escape Room? you'll ask. Picture this - you're during a locked room. you've got a couple of random clues and you've got no idea the way to get out. you would possibly think this is often just another plot from one among the Saw film franchises but it's actually the makings of an Escape Room experience. This 'craze' involves a gaggle of up to 12 players - counting on where you book - who need to use physical and mental agility to unlock door after door, moving from room to room frantically deciding cryptic clues. The catch? you've got just hour to interrupt free.

Of course this is often not a replacement concept but after years of computer game parading because the cool big brother within the world of immersive experiences, escape rooms are confidently working through the experiential ranks to require the title of legitimately 'wow'. Not surprisingly, sharp marketers have tracked this and are now finding innovative ways to maximise the exposure to the experience. The 'tie-in' sort of marketing agreement seems to be the ruling formula for this.

Famous examples so far include Disney hosting a pop-up escape experience linked with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The Escape Game in Austin Texas (America's hottest escape experience) being appropriated by FOX in time for the launch of a replacement series of Prison Break, and HBO fixing a multi-room installation themed around Game of Thrones, Veep, and Silicon Valley . Smart.

Although this sort of marketing is additionally nothing new in itself, what makes it successful is that the products marry perfectly with the experience, and that we know that buyers are, quite ever, compelled to spend their money on 'doing' instead of through traditional advertising methods, i.e. simply 'watching'.

This trend are often linked back to the planet of video games and eSports. Marketers would launch games then host 'real world' experiences: events, competitions and interactions that complimented the gameplay and made it tangible. this is often where clever partnering and collaboration comes in. the right partnership here would be founded on a interdependent commercial relationship where the escape room company and therefore the IP (or copyright) owners work together to garner maximum exposure and expand the customer base, prompting a 'win: win' arrangement.

Escape 60 in Brazil achieved a blinding example of this in 2015 once they linked up with Ubisoft, the creators of fantasy behemoth Assassin's Creed, to urge before the sport and make an escape room orchestrated round the release of Assassin's Creed Syndicate. America's Escape Game, Marriott Vacations Worldwide and Vistana Signature Experiences also collaborated to bring the worlds of hospitality and entertainment together, which is now a growing trend. Alex Reece, CEO of America's Escape Game, commented in an interview at the time (October 2016), "We see a really bright way forward for incorporating escape rooms powered by America's Escape Game in multiple Vistana locations within the coming months and years. there's little question that this powerful alliance will bring the exploding escape room experience to several enthusiasts throughout the planet ."

Fast-forward to 2017, which same love of immersion drives many of the flowery marketing activations we see today in escape rooms. "I think the immersion allows for it to be more personal and customised ," Joanna Scholl, vice chairman of selling at HBO said when quoted in an interview at this year's SXSW conference. When asked about HBO: The Escape she remarked, "Each person seems like they themselves are a part of that have , and it leaves far more of a memorable note for them."

Ryan Coan founding father of agency Creative Riff, the experiential marketing specialists who were the creators of the Prison Break escape room takeover also commented at an equivalent event: "Experiential marketing is special because it's an engagement. It's something fans are choosing to try to to . Fans are so obsessive over this content, they're so crazy with these characters and their stories, that by allowing them to step inside that story and desire they seem to be a a part of it - even for a flash - may be a really special experience."

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