By Mark Seavy

Brand owners of all stripes are building location-based entertainment (LBE) into their licensing strategies.

To be sure, LBE has been a linchpin of entertainment brands for years led by the likes of Disney and Universal. But with companies like Hasbro, Mattel, LEGO, and Crayola taking advantage of increasing consumer demand for LBE offerings in recent years, a number of more niche brands are now seeking a foothold in the business.

For example, emoji company GmbH recently signed a licensing deal with UNIS Technology to open emojiplanet family entertainment centers (FECs) across the U.S., Canada, and China, ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 square feet. The FECs, which are expected to start opening later this year, will draw from emoji’s portfolio of 1,000 emojis. In fact, some of those emojis will be built into UNIS’ arcade machines and merchandise.

Anime is also making big moves in the LBE landscape. The Royal Shakespeare Co., which in the past has focused on staging the legendary bard’s plays, recently completed a second run for Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbor Totoro stage play at the Barbican Center in London and will move the production to the Gillian Lynne Theater in London’s West End in early 2025. Licensee Happy Hours Group, meanwhile, has launched a takeover of Silverlake Ramen’s 31 restaurants across six states featuring Japanese publisher Shueisha’s Naruto. The partnership runs through July 7 and includes themed menus and merchandise as well as an experience at the chain’s flagship Los Angeles, CA location.

“With more and more companies discovering the consumer demand for LBE, that means a more competitive market overall in finding the right cities and venues to activate,” said Matt Proulx, VP of Location-Based Entertainment at Hasbro. “Because of the proven success of LBE, we at Hasbro and our peers are looking at different ways to stand out. We have found that offering a diverse range of LBE experiences across formats – fixed, pop-ups, theatrical experiences, restaurants and more – allows us to meet fans and families where they’re at and grow our portfolio.”

And in addition to more unique brands expanding in the LBE space, companies have also been searching for unexpected locations. For example, the Saudi Arabia-backed Oil Park Development Co. is developing a non-licensed 3.2-million-square-foot theme park called The Rig. The attraction is spread across four oil rigs in the Arabian Gulf featuring 70 attractions, 800 hotel rooms, and 11 restaurants.

“You have always had people trying to put new concepts out there in the marketplace but with the consolidation of retailers, landlords are looking for new ways to bring in consumers and tenants,” said George Wade, President at the consulting firm Bay Laurel Advisors. “This allows consumers to connect with what the brand represents in ways that you just cannot do at retail stores and, at the same time, consumers want experiences. We are seeing a lot of innovation in the experiential world and these projects are not static, they are evolution.”

That evolution has spawned a raft of new and unique LBE projects, many of which target a specific IP or niche. Licensee Kindred Concepts’ F1 Arcade, which has two locations in London, features 60 racing simulator games inside its 16,000-quare-foot facility and big screen TVs to watch Formula One races. And Sloomoo Institute, which operates four 12,000-square-foot experiential locations that feature a variety of slime textures, recently signed its first licensing agreement to add Morinaga & Co.’s Hi Chew fruit candy scents to its slime.

For UNIS Technology, which is better known for building arcade machines, the agreement with emoji company GmbH is its first venture into LBE. In addition to standalone emojiplanet locations, Unis will also develop an in-store format for other retailers and rely in part on franchisees to expand, Unis’ General Manager Steven Tan said. The family entertainment centers will feature platforms that Unis has developed for arcades, including basketball and crane-based games, each of which will offer prizes, a key for attracting younger consumers, Tan said.

“It can’t just be an arcade anymore. You must be more of an attraction, and you have to bring in social media, including Instagram, Tik Tok, and other platforms, and create selfie areas,” Tan said. “You have to make the FEC or LBE a destination and our locations will be heavy on merchandising and prizes.”