Hello. We are Realworld, a playable content platform. Business scholars James Gilmore and Joseph Pine stated in their 1999 book 'Experience Economy' that goods and services are not enough. They argued that we need to sell something at a higher level - 'experiences'.
Now in the 21st century, their words have become reality. 'Immersive exhibitions' where visitors feel like they're entering the artwork rather than just viewing it, and 'immersive theater' where audiences leave their seats to participate directly in the play and complete the story alongside actors are no longer unfamiliar concepts. The age of immersive experiences has arrived.
Today, we want to talk about experiences. How should we provide immersive experiences that offer people more special moments? Please pay attention to the case of Realworld, a leader in the experience industry.
Beyond Products and Services to Experiences
There's a well-known saying in marketing: 'People don't need a drill, they need a hole.' This applies to furniture as well. People don't need furniture itself - they want their own beautiful and convenient space. But how can they feel that space before purchasing the furniture?
That's why IKEA created showrooms in their stores. IKEA stores aren't simply for displaying furniture. Consumers can browse the showrooms, discover furniture they like, and actually touch it. They can also experience the space that will be created with that furniture in advance. In other words, IKEA sells not just furniture, but also the space that will be created with that furniture. This experience strategy of IKEA serves as a competitive advantage that sets them apart from other furniture companies.
Let Customers Experience It Directly
Realworld is a playable content platform. We provide content that you can directly play with, not just passively observe. But how can we spread this kind of content experience?
It's quite difficult to explain such experiences with words alone. Even 'Immersive Fort Tokyo', the world's first immersive theme park, reportedly faced many challenges to overcome initially. In an interview with Blooloop, a leisure entertainment trade publication, they said, 'Many people still don't know what immersive entertainment is, and it's difficult to summarize in one sentence.'
That's why 'Immersive Fort Tokyo' became a space where people can directly experience this new form of entertainment. Since you can only understand it by experiencing it, they had to bring it right in front of people in a form they could directly try.
The Showroom of Immersive Experiences, Realworld Seongsu
Realworld's first offline space, Realworld Seongsu, also started from the question 'How can we let people directly experience Realworld?' Perhaps due to its uniqueness as a space for immersive experiences, it has maintained its position for nearly three years in Seongsu-dong, where countless pop-up stores appear and disappear daily, establishing itself as one of Seongsu-dong's representative hotspots.
Some might look at Realworld Seongsu and think 'Isn't that just an open-format escape room?' While Realworld Seongsu is a space that provides entertainment experiences to customers, that's only part of its various aspects.
Why do leading domestic companies visit Realworld Seongsu? What insights are they seeking that make them carve out time from their busy schedules to visit? It's because Realworld Seongsu is an experience showroom, just like IKEA's stores.
If you look at reviews of Realworld Seongsu, you can easily find comments like 'The space is beautiful like an exhibition, but it's amazing that you can play games here' and 'Many people play games in the same space, but the flow lines don't overlap.' This is because we put so much care into the spatial design and content. The fact that different experiences can be provided in the same space offers insights to many people seeking answers for tourism or space revitalization.
The same applies to educational experiences. It's time to move away from one-way education delivered by instructors. The participatory gamification education that Realworld provides requires learners to actively participate as the main characters of their education. Through this process, they physically learn various educational messages such as collaboration and communication.
Furthermore, Realworld is showcasing experimental content through Realworld Seongsu, including participatory immersive theater and large-scale murder mystery games. Realworld Seongsu is not just a well-decorated space, but a new space where many people can directly participate and experience. In this way, Realworld Seongsu can be seen as a flagship store that distributes Realworld's experiences.
Now the showroom of immersive experiences, Realworld's offline space, is expanding beyond Seongsu. In the first half of this year, new Realworld stores are scheduled to open in Gwangju Metropolitan City and Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do. Just thinking about countless people experiencing playable content at Realworld's new stores is exciting, and it seems the day when you can meet Realworld anywhere in the country is not far away.
The 'Age of Experiences' Has Already Arrived
Samsung Electronics participated in the CES 2020 keynote speech and defined the next 10 years as the 'Age of Experiences.' While Samsung's experience means hyper-personalized experiences combining their products and services, wasn't this also a declaration that we've entered an era where only products and services that provide new experiences to consumers can survive?
'Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand.' This is a Chinese proverb quoted by marketing guru Philip Kotler in 'Marketing 3.0.' The importance of experience cannot be overemphasized. If you want to sell experiences beyond the products and services you have, please visit the experience showroom Realworld Seongsu and the soon-to-open Realworld Gwangju. Thank you.