Hello. This is the UniqueGood Experience Trend Letter. Dear subscribers, do you visit movie theaters frequently? According to statistics from the Korean Film Council, the average number of theater visits per person in Korea was 2.44 times in 2023. While this figure is recovering from the decline during the COVID-19 pandemic period, it's just slightly over half of the 4.37 times recorded in 2019. The increase in other options for watching movies, such as OTT services, seems to have had an impact as well.
However, the situation for OTT services isn't necessarily better. According to research conducted by Forbes Korea and IGAWorks in 2023, the number of users in the domestic OTT market has remained largely unchanged over the past three years, appearing to have entered a stagnation period. As the OTT market is also gradually reaching saturation, companies now face the situation of having to compete for a fixed pie.
So what are the ways to draw audiences back to movie theaters and appeal to OTT users with their content? UniqueGood's Experience Trend Letter, which covers 'playable' content, aims to highlight the trend of movie promotions becoming increasingly playable. Let's examine cases that draw audiences into the movie's universe to experience it firsthand.
Online & Offline Moon Escape: The Silent Sea
In December 2021, a lunar base appeared at the North Atrium of IFC Mall in Yeouido. This was an offline 'Moon Escape' site for promoting the Netflix drama 'The Silent Sea.' Participants had to move around this space, reminiscent of the Balhae Base from the drama, searching for escape codes. The set and props were designed to make participants feel like they had entered the world of 'The Silent Sea,' creating an immersive experience, and they could also create commemorative videos through 360-degree panoramic filming.
Additionally, a more challenging Moon Escape experience was available on the online campaign page, where participants were given the mission to secure samples and escape from Balhae Base, which was scheduled to be closed in 24 hours. This online version of Moon Escape used drama clip footage to create an even more immersive experience, making users feel as if they had entered the drama.
The Fusion of Movies and Games: MovieQuest
News came that the movie 'Exhuma' surpassed 10 million viewers on March 18th, its 26th day of release. This is the first for an occult/horror genre film, and it's even more impressive considering it was released at the end of February, a period traditionally known as the movie off-season.
But did you know that a game begins after the movie ends and the end credits finish? This 'MovieQuest' is an interactive mystery game introduced by Lotte Cinema, with 'Exhuma' being the first MovieQuest title. As shown in the attached video, it proceeds in a format where participants watch instructional videos and solve problems, with first-come-first-served merchandise provided upon quest completion.
While it's somewhat disappointing that the video itself isn't directly related to the main film, I'd like to applaud this new attempt at enjoying both movies and escape room games at the theater.
Transmedia Movie Experience: Concrete Utopia
Those who read Experience Trend Letter Issue 20 might remember the 'Concrete Utopia' case. Since we've covered this topic before, let me briefly touch on the key points. Utilizing the movie's worldview, they conducted an online ARG (Alternate Reality Game) where participants performed missions to move into 'Hwanggung Apartment,' the only building that didn't collapse in a major earthquake. Offline, they opened a pop-up store, conducting transmedia marketing that spanned both online and offline channels.
Rather than a pop-up store with just photo zones, it featured stories and props that allowed visitors to experience the movie, resulting in crowds of participants. According to the results data, during the promotion period, about 20,000 people participated in the online ARG and approximately 3,000 people visited the offline pop-up store.
Experience Expansion Beyond 'Movies'
What's the reason behind these various efforts to make audiences experience content inside or outside movie theaters? While researching various materials, I found diverse opinions such as 'it's due to the content industry's anxiety' and 'it's because Gen Z's way of enjoying content has changed.' However, the interpretation regarding fandom formation was also interesting. According to an article on transmedia storytelling in Dong-A Business Review Issue 334, 'while each piece of content can be enjoyed independently, loyal fandoms can be created when they share a worldview and are interconnected.'
We can interpret that fandoms are formed through playable experiences and storytelling across various channels, and these fandoms can influence content success. Considering that strong fandoms are behind most popular recent content, this makes sense to some degree.
As an example, the new season of 'High School Mystery Club,' set to be released in April 2024, is also encouraging fandom participation by releasing teaser videos containing codes. We'll cover audience-participatory variety content in the Experience Trend Letter soon.
We've explored various topics from movie experiences that continue even after the film ends, to fandoms formed through diverse channels and their impact on content success. For those in the content business, I'd like to conclude this Experience Trend Letter with the advice to design playable experiences that draw people into the content's worldview.