Funworld October 2009

Blue Man Group co-founder to give his perspective on the industry at General Managers and Owners’ Breakfast
by Jeremy Schoolfield

The grease-painted faces of Blue Man Group are entertainment icons. The azure entertainers have multiple permanent shows around the world and numerous television appearances. Two years ago, however, the mute performance art outfit went somewhere completely new: a theme park, opening a show at Universal Orlando.

How did those two entities mesh? IAAPA Attractions Expo 2009 attendees will get a chance to go beneath the skullcap of group co-founder Matt Goldman and find out at the General Managers and Owners’ Breakfast Wednesday, Nov. 18. In his keynote address, the artist/entrepreneur will share what he’s learned about the attractions industry since partnering with Universal—and what the attractions industry has taught him about his own creation. Oh, and a few of Goldman’s black-suited friends are scheduled to make an appearance, as well. If they can’t get you going in the middle of a hectic trade show week, nothing will.

FUNWORLD recently caught up with Goldman to discuss his new perspective on the industry and get a sneak peek at his keynote presentation.

What has your relationship with Universal Orlando been like this first two years?
We’ve had a profound learning experience and learning curve. It’s a completely different animal than being in Vegas or having other independent shows.

We’ve had a phenomenal partnership with Universal— the chemistry is fantastic. We’re both nimble and innovative. We’re able to take different positions, have strong opinions, and give each other a chance to test a lot of different things. The results have been surprising in every area.

As a result, we’ve done a tremendous job in maximizing the customer/audience experience—making it convenient and easy. And we’ve maximized the venue and riding out what’s been one of the craziest years in anyone’s lifetime.

We expected [a theme park] to be different from our other experiences, and for there to be a steep learning curve, and that we’d bring the best of what we already knew to the table and reinvent the whole thing all over again. What’s been surprising is how steep the learning curve has been for so long—it’s not any less steep today than it was from when we announced.

What’s one way you’ve adapted Blue Man Group to more readily meet the theme park audience?
We’ve put LED signs under as much of our advertising around the park as possible, just to remind people what time the next show is. It seems obvious, but that one little move instantly, dramatically, and measurably bumped day-of-show sales. People get on roller coasters and eat, and they look up and it’s 7:45, and they missed the 7 o’clock show. That’s something I experienced bringing my own family there: Time can really get away from you. By having reminders, it prompts a check-in by an extra 100-200 people daily.

The beautiful thing about being at Universal is on any given day we could be drawing from 50,000 people. In a thousand-seat theater, we look at it as 10 groups of 100 people, and then we start looking at how we can capture 10 more people here, and 20 more people there. In a theater that size, it only takes 20 different ideas that each yield 20 tickets—that’s 400 tickets and the difference between being half full and [sold out]. When a single idea yields up to 200 tickets a day, that’s phenomenal. You’re high-fiving yourself.

What have you taken away from your experience at Universal and implemented into the rest of the Blue Man Group organization?
Universal’s sales and marketing departments are fantastic about testing different concepts for limited times and very targeted audiences. That’s something we’ve adopted and use as part of our standard operating procedure.

They try a certain pricing or promotion at the walk-up box office versus online, or they try something as part of a package. The combinations of things you can try are almost limitless, but you have to be smart about what you’re trying and what will move the needle the most. Prior to the Universal experience, we thought, “Let’s put this whole major initiative in place, try to track it for a year, and commit to it in a big way.” Their whole thing is, “Let’s try this for two weeks.” They have this scientific process of testing, so that’s something we’ve definitely taken away from the experience.

Has your perception of theme parks changed from when you first agreed to put a show at Universal?
My wife and I brought our 5-year-old son to Universal for his birthday this past year, and experienced the park as straight-up consumers—I wasn’t there for work, I didn’t have any meetings. We did a three-night stay, and I have more respect and awe for what it takes to make a fun, enjoyable, satisfying customer experience, and how Universal pulls it off. From the park being pristinely clean to keeping lines short to how good it is for 40-something people as well as single-digit people, it’s phenomenal they are able to do this. I’m more blown away than ever.

What do you hope attractions industry executives take away from your presentation and your experiences with Blue Man Group?
First and foremost, I want to talk about how incredible it can be for a theme park to have a high-quality live theatrical experience on site. I think it’s added a dimension to Universal that’s a win-win-win: It’s a win for Universal, it’s a win for Blue Man, and it’s a win for the customers.

We’re also going to talk about the importance of having an authentic, quality experience for the customer from beginning to end: Searching the web site, buying the ticket, sitting in the seats, and the word of mouth when they’re leaving. There’s no marketing that returns more than that high-quality experience.

I also will talk about how two very different organizations with two very different business models can come together. When you make art, that’s one kind of satisfaction; when you make successful partnerships, that’s another kind of satisfaction. To bring it all together … it doesn’t always turn out this way, but when it does it reminds us all why we work so hard.

The General Managers and Owners Breakfast is Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 8:30 a.m.-9:45 a.m. at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel. Advance registration is required: members $85; nonmembers $105.

Contact Senior Editor Jeremy Schoolfield at jschoolfield@IAAPA.org.