Situation & Round Room Live: Selling to Dispersed Markets by Matt Parker

Attractions and touring live event marketing have been my professional bread and butter for over 17 years. Before leading the Attractions, Sports & Live Events department at Situation I was on the client side at Feld Entertainment. I love the impact that live entertainment can have on families, the memories attendees make at a live event, and the challenge of getting people off of their couches and into the real world. Every year the live entertainment industry evolves and our agency grows and evolves with it. One of the best gifts in working in this field is how much I learn from and grow with my clients.

I had the opportunity to do just that in this interview with our client Stephen Shaw from Round Room Live. We discussed the global hunger for live events post-pandemic, the opportunities to take risks in domestic markets, and the fulfillment that comes with global growth. I got a lot out of this opportunity to connect, I hope you do too.??

M. Parker: What markets does Round Room Live operate in?

S. Shaw: Round Room Live is a global business. We operate shows in Australia, New Zealand, The United Kingdom, across continental Europe, The Middle East, Asia, and of course, our own backyard, North America.

M. Parker: How does your approach change depending on what market you’re in?

S. Shaw:? As our core team and key business operations are predominantly in the US, we ultimately have a significantly higher volume of distribution on our home soil. This leads to us taking on more risk and self-promoting more of our shows. Internationally, we typically work with our key partners in each respective territory to oversee the local operations and delivery of both our touring shows and our exhibitions and immersive experiences.

M. Parker: What themes are you seeing across all of your markets (across the states and domestic v. international)? Challenges and opportunities?

S. Shaw: We are seeing a significant appetite for live entertainment and a bounce back from the pandemic on a global scale. This hunger for live events is manifesting in the immersive space, where Round Room are well positioned to capture and thrive in, with our very active library of immersive experiences. The challenges will always exist. Our shows and tours can be capital and time intensive, however, with a pipeline of great content, a very strong and experienced team, and a global distribution network, we feel we can overcome these challenges to further succeed in the coming years.

M. Parker: What are some areas of stark difference between markets?

S. Shaw: The obvious differences – most notably price elasticity of territory. A show that can garner a $50 USD ATP in NYC may only yield a $25 USD ticket in Madrid. We also see this variance in our merchandise retail sales, where attendees in the US have a much higher appetite for consumer products, than they do in the UK or Europe.

M. Parker: Many of our clients who are working in multiple markets see wildly different buying patterns (last minute cash walkup vs. advance online buying), is that something you’ve dealt with before?

S. Shaw:? Yes, of course. Different demographics, different economies, and vastly different buying patterns. We have to take an in depth look into historical sales, average yields per attendees, and of course, what our competitors are doing. Ultimately, we have a good understanding of every market we operate in, and so we incorporate those learnings into our marketing and promotional plans.

M. Parker: What is your favorite part of working in so many regions?

S. Shaw: Growth. The best businesses in the world are operating on a global scale. The ability to have our shows run through North America, and then head out on an international tour is very exciting and can help the profitability enormously. It means we’ve successfully created something not only for our own market, but the different cultures around the world.