The first time someone tried to build Jurassic Park, it didn’t go so well… When NEON tried it in Melbourne in 2016, they got it right. Eight years and over eight million visitors later, Jurassic World: The Exhibition has become a global phenomenon; raising the bar for immersive experiences in Sydney, Toronto, Houston, San Diego, Chicago, Paris, Shanghai, Cologne and Berlin. As the famous park gates open in Manchester, Milan Rokic, EVP Partnerships and Growth NEON Global, shares an insight into what it takes to build a blockbuster.
How does the scale of Jurassic World: The Exhibition compare to other NEON projects you’ve worked on around the world?
“For us, the bigger step is all about creating [an experience] that’s as lifelike as possible. So the animatronics on Jurassic World have been an extraordinary part of what we’ve achieved as an organisation. We’ve got our own animatronics studio in Nashville, and that’s where all the dinosaurs have been conceived and created. We’re always looking to move that to another level.”
What are you hoping guests get out of the experience?
“I want people to lose themselves in the story and lose themselves in the environment. That’s what immersion is all about. You don’t want this to be something you just come to and observe – you actually get to become part of the experience here. So you get on the ferry, it takes you to the island, and you get to explore and you come on that journey with your family. You become a part of the story.”
This the 22nd time you’ve staged this experience now – what have you learned from the other iterations around the world to help inform the Manchester development?
“In some places we go to permanent buildings, but for this one we’ve created a bespoke show space just for Manchester. Everything has been designed to be able to fit this environment, and the dinosaurs have been installed into the perfect scenario for people to go in and get immersed.”
What are some of the biggest technical challenges to building Jurassic World: The Exhibition?
“Logistics! As a starting point, this set came from a variety of different parts of the world and we had to converge everything here. I think we had about 30 containers full of equipment arriving here. And then we had our team in the UK working with local vendors as well to piece everything together and create a set which was lifelike and seamless. When audiences arrive they won’t see the blood, sweat and tears that go into making it all happen – they can just walk in and see the beauty of the environment.”
What are the creative challenges of working with Universal Studios on what must be a very tightly controlled IP like Jurassic World?
“Universal are a wonderful partner to work with. The brand itself is 30 years old, and it’s a beloved brand with a mega box office around the world. So detail is crucial. And they’re always providing input for us on how we can make things better, or tweaks that will make the experience really true to the brand itself. But as a producer, we’re also looking for ways that we can grow the experience and add elements too, so there has definitely been an evolution over the last eight years.”
Why Manchester? And why The Trafford Centre?
“We’ve been to London before, but we’ve not been anywhere else in the UK. Manchester is one of the key cities of the North and The Trafford Centre itself has a huge audience of people who are already attending this venue. The Trafford Centre have been working with us really closely to connect with audiences and make the consumer journey as seamless as possible.”
What’s it like working with Ticketmaster as a ticketing partner?
“For us, Ticketmaster has been an integral part of not just what we’re doing here in Manchester, but also throughout Europe this year. We’ve actually got three exhibitions operating concurrently throughout Europe with Ticketmaster being Ramses The Great in Cologne, Harry Potter: Visions Of Magic in Brussels and now Jurassic World: The Exhibition here in Manchester. To really understand our audience, to understand their customer journey, and to ensure that’s successfully delivered from purchasing all the way to arrival here on site is crucial, and Ticketmaster has been a big part of that with us.”
What’s next for NEON?
“Global expansion is really important for us. Jurassic World: The Exhibition is launching again in Melbourne, Australia today as well, and we’re operating in Mexico City at the same time, too. So we’re growing our footprint in a variety of international markets. We’re actually working with Ticketmaster as well in Singapore for the launch of Harry Potter: Visions Of Magic at Singapore Resorts World, so the relationship continues to grow.”
Didn’t you learn anything from the film about trying to mix dinosaurs and guests?!
“I know we should have, shouldn’t we?! Those dinos can escape…”
Meet the dinosaurs yourself at Jurassic World: The Exhibition here.
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