Paul Osterhout

Vice President
Universal Parks and Resorts, Orlando, Florida

Paul has an impressive 30 year career in the theme park and attractions industry, spearheading a number of high profile creative projects and the eagerly-anticipated Universal resort in Beijing. With a passion for storytelling, he’ll be delivering an unmissable session on audience engagement.

Hear Paul’s session:
Revamp your engagement strategy to attract, engage and retain the new generation of consumer!

Check out the incredible speaker line-up to see who will be joining Paul.

Download The Latest Agenda

Conference Day One: Tuesday, 16th April 2019

Tuesday, April 16th, 2019

12:00 PM INTERNATIONAL TRAILBLAZER: Universal Parks & Resorts, Orlando share key insights on how to revamp your engagement strategy to attract, engage and retain the new generation of consumer

Today we see a different kind of audience: people who grew up on video games, steaming content, the instant exchange of information from the Internet and social media.

The new generation doesn’t want to be told to sit back and passively receive something, but rather they are programmed to actively engage with their entertainment, making them not just observers, but members of an activated community. Keeping audience attention is more important and more difficult than grabbing audience attention.

Join Paul Osterhout for his exclusive insights and interactive session on audience engagement and what it really means to tell a story in a theme park environment.

In this session, we will examine:

Strategic tactics to attract and engage Millennials and Gen Z to increase loyalty and park footfall
What does storytelling in a theme park actually entail? Uncovering success factors in storytelling to deliver the ultimate park experience
How storytelling, attractions and technology need to work seamlessly together to elevate park experience
Exclusive case study examples

Speaker:

Conference Day Two: Wednesday, 17 April 2019

Wednesday, April 17th, 2019

9:30 AM TRAILBLAZER PANEL: Cultural inspiration vs. appropriation: Creating local content to ensure Middle East Parks top annual attendance charts

Innovative, fresh theme park attractions with powerful storytelling and engaging theming keep visitors longing to come back and drive word of mouth marketing.

From Harry Potter World to Legoland and Disney’s Star Wars it is essential that your park has a theme to connect with the audience. Operators spend millions on their content investment with the hope that their attractions will last decades.

But in a region of diverse cultures and ages how do you decide which theme is appropriate for your park to drive footfall and increase sales?

This panel session will discuss:

Meeting consumer demand for immersive story experiences through partnership with popular entertainment franchises
Analysing themes that engage with the Middle East audience but also respect their culture and heritage
Debating whether park operators need to work with IPs and franchises to create memorable experiences and attract international audiences?
How do theme park designers create content that ensures longevity and connects to the future generations?

Panellists: