Hey there - welcome back to another edition of The SEG3 Report!

Edition #37 looks at Merlin’s launch of Minecraft themed attractions, and how Minecraft is hitting the key pillars for franchise growth in 2024, as well as how sports brands can engage super and casual fans + a first by Barrier Four & Netflix to deliver ‘playable media’.

Contents: Edition #37

• Merlin Entertainment & Mojang Studios to create Location Based Attractions for Minecraft

• 50% of fans form their fandom by age 14

• Barrier Four & Netflix pioneer ‘Playable Media’

Let’s get into it!

Merlin Entertainment & Mojang Studios to create Location Based Attractions for Minecraft

Merlin Entertainments has announced a new partnership with Mojang Studios to bring Minecraft-themed attractions to the real world. This collaboration will create immersive experiences based on the popular video game, debuting in the UK and the US between 2026 and 2027. The initial investment for these attractions is over $110 million. They will include themed accommodations, retail stores, restaurants, and a unique Minecraft ride at Merlin's theme parks, which may include locations like Legoland, Alton Towers, or other popular parks.

Additionally, visitors will be able to access special in-game content, making the attractions a blend of physical and digital experiences. Future expansions are planned for other countries, aiming to make these Minecraft IRL experiences a global phenomenon. This initiative is part of Merlin’s wider strategy to attract new audiences to their theme parks by integrating beloved franchises, similarly to what they have done previously with collaborations with brands like LEGO and Peppa Pig.

Why You Should Care

Minecraft is the best selling game of all time. Reportedly around 300 million copies have been sold since its launch. It is a gargantuan IP with significant reach to a loyal global audience.

Therefore it perhaps isn’t a shock that Merlin have selected it as their first global partnership with any gaming brand. 

Despite Minecraft’s success, maintaining its number one spot and/or growing the appeal of the IP requires constant nurturing, so delivering new touchpoints for the fans which can help drive audience & revenue growth is essential, and Kayleen Walters, VP of Franchise Development at Microsoft makes that very point:

Location Based Attractions are of course just one avenue that brands/IP can use to increase their surface area.

This great post from Simon Pulman dives into the other channels that it takes to build a thriving, front of mind franchise in the 21st century.

So, how is Minecraft comparing against these pillars?

1. Gaming 🟢

Well, we all know that Minecraft is excelling here.

2. Audiovisual 🟠 → 🟢

Minecraft have perhaps been slower than other game IP in this regard, but have some big launches coming in 2025 to remedy that such as:

• The Minecraft Movie (with big names such as Jack Black, Jason Mamoa & more involved)

• Netflix, Mojang & Wildbrain were reported to be releasing an Animated Series 

As games take over from comics as the newest source of inspiration for film & TV, and extending the reach of game IP through transmedia storytelling becomes the priority for a lot of publishers, Mojang/Microsoft not only have the opportunity to re-engage lapsed fans through Film/TV endeavours, but can build a wider story around their characters and gameplay to help broaden the IPs appeal to a mass audience.

3. Live/experiential 🟠 → 🟢

Well, the Merlin partnership is certainly a big tick in this box. And bringing the IP to life IRL allows Minecraft to have a presence across both realities, and tie their fans' interactions with the brand into one.

The release says:

‘It will create new and exciting ways to immerse yourself in the physical Minecraft world including digitally enabled real-life experiences, as well as the creation of touchpoints that will allow guests to unlock exclusive in-game content to continue their gaming journey’.

In my eyes, this is perhaps the most interesting element. In general, we’re seeing two trends:

1) Consumers are becoming more expectant that they will be rewarded for their engagement with the brand, and

2) Brands want to have a more 360 degree view of what their fan is engaging with, and where

So incentivising behaviours (like attending the attractions) with the temptation of access to exclusive content and other perks is a smart move by Mojang to integrate Minecraft into all aspects of their fans life.

4. Merchandising 🟢

Reports suggest that Microsoft/Mojang made around $1 billion from merchandising in 2018, with much of that attributed to their popular crossover to create LEGO sets.

The IP match with LEGO is of course a thing of beauty - and as discussed above - if Mojang are incentivising engagement in-game and off-platform, they’ll get more of an insight into their fans behaviours and wants, which they can use to drive more informed partnerships. A win-win.

Minecraft already delivers on many of these pillars and where they were perhaps lacking, they are now catching up and bringing more opportunities for their fans to immerse themselves into the IP and share their passion outside of the game environment.

And that can only be good news for what is already the world’s most popular game and largest gaming community.

50% of fans form their fandom by age 14

A report "Nurturing Lifelong Fandoms" from Two Circles dives into how sports IP holders and brands can grow their audiences using tailored approaches for fans at different stages of their sports journey.

Key takeaways from the report include:

1. Knowledge is Passion: Casual fans know three times less than core fans. Engaging content can close this gap, with social media and gaming highlighted as top tools. Notably, 35% of Gen Z learn about sports primarily through social media, and 27% attributing it to gaming.
   

2. Friction is the Enemy: 50% of fans form their fandom by age 14, yet 90% see a decline before 30 due to life changes. Acknowledging these obstacles and addressing them can help sustain engagement.
   

3. Advocacy is Exponential: Fans active on owned channels are twice as likely to advocate. A strong community influence boosts fan passion from 12% to 79% when surrounded by fellow fans.

Why you should care?

We’ve discussed a lot about superfans as part of this newsletter. And this report shows just how important they are to making the industry tick.

66% of sports consumption comes from just 20% of the most dedicated fans. 

What does this show?

1. The (over)reliance on this 20%, and how brands need to service and empower their superfans
   

2. The seismic opportunity if the 80% of casual fans can be engaged

Expectations & Empowerment

Core & Casual fans have very different expectations of the brands they interact with, and require different treatment to enable them to feel satisfied with their relationship with your brand.

For example, the report compares the two profiles:

1) Depth of Knowledge & Content

Core: Want detailed, in-depth information: They have a deep understanding of the sport and want content that matches their passion.

Casual: Want simpler, general information that doesn’t require expertise, but instead sparks curiosity.

2) Modes of Engagement

Core: Typically want to engage through traditional, structured formats

Casual: Typically want more informal, easily consumable content

3) Level of Interaction & Personalisation

Core: Require a high level of personalisation & empowerment; craving exclusive content and exclusive access - overall, expectant to be rewarded for their loyalty and passion for the brand.

Casual: Less commitment and more broad content; which gives more of a likelihood they can find content that resonates.

The takeaway?

Opportunity

How consumers first come into contact with your sport has irreversibly changed. The traditional concept of watching it on linear broadcast, or by playing the game through grassroots sports as the pathway into the sport is no longer the norm.

And the biggest thing to note with these legacy pathways?

The discovery of the sport only takes place if your household is a fan of the sport already - so although you’ll be inducting a new member into the 20% group, you aren’t necessarily widening the funnel to attract new audiences.

So how are Gen Z fans discovering your sport if they come from a non-sport family?

Social Media, Games & Live Content.

These findings hammer home the realities of being able to drive success in today’s cluttered environment. Diversification.

Brands must be visible across multiple platforms, delivering multiple formats and experiences to cater to the needs of casual fans so they can find attachment with the brand.

And although this requires malleability and a slight diversion away from the core product into unchartered territory that many sports brands won’t have explored before, if it can help you to attract new fans to your sport/brand, the pay off should be worth the risk.

Barrier Four & Netflix pioneer ‘Playable Media’

Barrier Four and Netflix have joined forces to create new experiences on the Roblox platform, bringing players closer than ever to the worlds of Cobra Kai and Spellbound.

In a new format, Roblox players will engage in fully interactive, playable scenes directly from both universes. In these experiences, players will be transported into two distinct worlds within Netflix's central hub on Roblox, Nextworld. They'll first step into an enchanting musical scene from Spellbound, reliving an iconic moment from the movie.

A few weeks later, players can immerse themselves in a high-intensity martial arts showdown from Cobra Kai, embodying Robby as they join Miyagi-do teammates in a recreated scene from the show. Both experiences showcase a seamless fusion of gaming and media, achieved through advanced animation and proprietary technology crafted entirely within Roblox.

Why you should care

Some of our earliest subscribers joined us from the newsletter ‘Playable Media’, so this phrase will be familiar to you. But what do we mean by it, and how have Barrier Four & Netflix brought this to life for Cobra Kai & Spellbound?

Well, as we’ve covered in many previous editions, Roblox & UGC gaming platforms have become a de facto part of most theatrical go-to-market strategies over the past 12/18 months - with many of the top movies of the year having been partnered with a Roblox experience.

These experiences developed often lean into key parts of the movie, but have never replicated actual scenes from the series/movie.

This ‘Robloxification’ of media will be a really interesting concept for a number of reasons:

1. How much more engagement / recognition will we see from the audience when participating rather than viewing?
   
   Netflix’s ‘Nextworld’ has had Lifetime Visits of 4.68m at time of writing, with the average session length of 3.65 minutes. Given the discovery of these playable experiences is through Nextworld, it’ll be interesting to follow whether the increased immersion into these scenes translates into increased time spent engaging with the experience.
   
   Netflix will certainly be hoping so, and my guess would be that it does, but there needs to be a draw to continue bringing players back, which is where the staggered approach of new scenes may be an interesting retention tool.
   
   

2. With scenes dropping intermittently, will that incentivise players to watch the series to know what playable scene will drop next?
   
   This has always been the crux of many studios' participation - the current model of partnering an experience with a theatrical launch undoubtedly helps to drive interest & action in the box office - but these so far have been very campaign driven i.e. short term, and long-term interest in those experiences dwindles without additional updates/liveops.
   
   The playable media approach, given it focuses on making scenes from the movie/series more interactive, could certainly help to expand the lifespan of the content, whilst keeping audiences coming back to the Nextworld experience as new scenes drop without the need for new creative input from the studio given it’s replicating moments from the movie/series.
   

3. Can this improve the speed to market?
   
   Building full worlds with multiple experiences ingrained into it takes a lot of development time - but given this approach focuses on scenes (that could be anywhere between 30 seconds and 5 minutes), it could help to capture and sustain the excitement of movie/series launch by being able to deliver additional experiences in a quicker fashion. And that certainly seems to be the sweet spot for studios, with Jonathan Millar, CMO of Barrier Four (and speaker @ SEG3 LA!) sharing that:

With the general shift being that consumers want to experience their passions in more interactive ways, this is certainly a new way to become immersed into your favourite series or movie, so we look forward to seeing how it goes!

In other news this week…

A quick round-up of other stories you should be across from the past 7 days - tonnes for you to be aware of:

• AI & Content Creation Report predicts AI’s use in Entertainment, Games & Marketing

• T-Mobile launch 5G Fan Experience at Las Vegas Grand Prix

• Air Jordan’s & other Nike sneakers come to Fortnite

• Hasbro to stop co-financing films and put $150m towards game development

• Mythical Games & FIFA partner to launch ‘FIFA Rivals’ mobile game

• Toca Boca tops 1 billion downloads

• The Sidemen to launch ‘Inside’ on Netflix

• Printemps starts accepting crypto as payment in its stores

• Why Gen Z are paying for live service games

• How Arsenal became fashions favourite football club

• Ubisoft & Adidas partner for Brawhalla 9th anniversary

• 76% of kids are asking for video games this Christmas

• Tottenham Hotspur announce remastered brand identity

• MotoGP announced new brand identity

• Capcom on average can recoup development cost 18 months after game release

Working on anything cool, or have a press release you would like us to cover? Send it in for the chance for it to be covered in next week’s edition!

That’s all for now - thanks again for reading the latest edition of The SEG3 Report!

If you enjoyed it, please consider sharing it with a friend or colleague 🤝