Concept to Market
Commercial strategy for new experiences, technology and leisure concepts.
We help founders, developers and operators define the product, establish the customer proposition, build the brand and plan the launch. From early investment conversations to ticket sales, partnerships and bookings.
Proposition development, audience and revenue strategy, brand, investment narrative and go-to-market planning.
The challenge
Define a compelling commercial proposition.
We help founders, developers and operators define and articulate the commercial proposition behind new immersive experiences, entertainment technologies and leisure concepts.
We establish what you’re selling, who it’s for, why people will choose it and how to communicate its value. Then we develop the brand, investment story and go-to-market strategy.
Different starting points
Four ways we take concepts to market.
Our work is shaped by the product, the audiences and the stage you're at.
Immersive experiences to market
Develop the commercial proposition for a new immersive or interactive experience. Define fan, consumer, family, group and corporate offers; ticketing and distribution; brand positioning; pre-sales and launch.
Technology to market
Turn an entertainment technology into a customer product and investor-facing proposition. Identify applications, occasions, commercial assumptions and the experience brief before committing to expensive design.
Venues to market
Establish the concept, customer proposition and revenue opportunities for a new hospitality, leisure or competitive socialising venue. Give the architect a commercially informed brief and the operator a launch plan.
IP to market
Translate licensed entertainment, gaming or cultural IP into live products audiences will pay to experience. Define the fan proposition, wider consumer appeal, partnership opportunities and sales strategy.
Whether the project is seeking investment or preparing to open, we define what you're selling, who you're selling it to and how it will reach customers.
What we develop
A commercial plan that creative teams can deliver.
Proposition and positioning
Define the product, value proposition, alternatives and reasons customers will choose it.
Audience and revenue opportunities
Identify priority customers, purchase occasions, product packages and routes to revenue.
Brand and experience direction
Shape the positioning, identity brief, tone of voice and experience principles that carry the proposition.
Investment narrative
Express the customer opportunity, commercial assumptions and proposition in a persuasive investor-facing story. Financial forecasts and fundraising remain specialist work.
Go-to-market and sales strategy
Plan launch stages, audience acquisition, fan campaigns, corporate offers, partnerships and booking conversion.
Customer lifecycle
Map discovery, purchase, participation, CRM, repeat visits and advocacy so the launch supports a sustainable business.
Our approach
From uncertainty to a route to market.
- 1
Interrogate the opportunity
Understand the concept, technology or IP, the commercial ambition and what has already been tested.
- 2
Define the product and its audiences
Establish the customer propositions, segments, occasions and commercial logic.
- 3
Build the brand and business story
Create the proposition, narrative, creative direction and briefs for investment and development.
- 4
Plan the launch
Define channels, sales products, partnerships, booking pathways and the pre-launch-to-opening plan.
- 5
Deliver what matters
Bring in our branding, campaign, digital and experience-design capabilities, or collaborate with the client's existing teams.
Proof from real projects
From concept development to live audiences.
Humbug demonstrates our work on a ticketed experience: positioning, brand and campaigns developed to sell a distinctive live Christmas production.
Fortune Favours is an example of upstream proposition and brand development for a proposed multi-location entertainment concept. It did not launch, so we present it as concept work rather than evidence of ticket sales or commercial performance.
Pop Playrooms and Mighty Adventures demonstrate how a defined proposition can guide a physical customer experience. Different stages of work call for different evidence.
See HumbugWhen to bring us in
Bring us in while decisions are still being made.
- You have a technology but not yet a clear customer product.
- An architect is designing around a brief that has no proposition.
- You need an investment story grounded in who will buy and why.
- You have licensed IP but need the live commercial experience.
- You are preparing to announce, pre-sell or launch an attraction.
- You need separate fan, family, group and corporate sales propositions.
- You want strategic development before commissioning branding, marketing or fit-out.
Questions we hear
Useful answers before we talk.
Can you help before we have funding?
Yes. We can develop a clear commercial proposition, customer case and investment narrative so the concept is better prepared for investor conversations. We do not guarantee funding or act as a financial adviser.
Is this the same as venue concept development?
Venue Concept Development focuses on the proposition and creative brief for a physical venue, upstream of architecture and fit-out. Concept to Market goes further into commercial audiences, sales products, brand development, launch channels and acquisition strategy.
Can you work with our architect or technical team?
Yes. We can provide the commercial and brand brief they need, or work alongside them while the experience and operating model develop.
What if we already have a brand?
We start with what exists. The engagement might focus on audience products, commercial positioning, distribution and go-to-market rather than identity design.
Do you deliver the launch as well?
We can deliver branding, campaigns, content, digital and customer journeys, or guide the strategy while working with your existing teams.
Can we engage you for the initial strategy only?
Yes. A defined proposition and go-to-market engagement can stand alone, with delivery commissioned separately if needed.
Talk to us
What are you bringing to market?
Tell us what you are developing, who you expect to buy it and whether you are seeking investment, preparing to build or planning a launch.