This is all about how we combine storytelling both off park and to the reality of on park for our guests.
Having announced to the public at our fireworks event, we created tents and theming for our guests to see the Phalanx at work. The Phalanx is a shady organisation who was meant to be looking after Nemesis, but it appeared as if that was not quite the case. So as part of our innovation and storytelling that extended through the whole closure of Nemesis.
In 2023, we built the Nemesis observation platform. This was an area controlled by the Phalanx, but actually what it meant for our guests is they could see the construction site. We knew they’d be infused to see what was happening, but at the same time we didn’t want to lose the storytelling. The crane that towered over the site was adorned with Phalanx operational tag on it.
All around, everyone knew the Phalanx were in control of this site. So with the platform tower live, it was time to reopen Nemesis Subterra as part of our storytelling for Nemesis Reborn.
In May 2023 we reopened the attraction. But the way we did that was through storytelling, and the spokesman of the Phalanx was here to do that. But of course, the Phalanx not truly been in control meant that it didn’t all go quite as planned.
As we got closer and closer to reopening, as this site developed further and further, we knew we had to control the narrative around what the track looked like. We knew ultimately the track was going to come back in the same design as it did now, but the fantastic work from our creatives meant it was coming back with a brand new theme.
We took that innovation and idea through our storytelling and we talked about how Nemesis had grown veins, how the Phalanx had been been doing tests on it and angered it. We completely controlled that narrative all the way through from production through to sight. That included drone footage of the trucks bringing the track into location to make sure that we were 100% controlling what that story was.
As we built up to opening day, we knew the centrepiece of this brand new attraction would be the Nemesis Eye, so we therefore took that again back to our storytelling. We took a helium inflated huge red eye into the Moorlands of Staffordshire to announce the opening date of Nemesis Reborn.
Along with our PR campaign we also launched our TV and Out of Home. Our TV story told an incredible story of Percy and Night Watchmen. Out of Home told a story of the Nemesis creature through innovative 3D technology.
But ultimately, when guests got here on the opening day, they saw the connection from story through to attraction, with posters like this adorning the Forbidden Valley site.
In the spirit of our innovation and storytelling, it didn’t just stop with the comms, it included all elements of Forbidden Valley including our brand new stop Bunker 94.
We believe that the innovation and storytelling throughout the Nemesis Reborn campaign – both from comms through to execution, through our actors, through all of our teams and everyday our guests – is worthy of this award.
