Our first interview was with Tom Zaller, President & CEO of Imagine Exhibitions—a leading producer of live entertainment, including zoos, touring museum exhibitions, and a vast portfolio of other products and experiences dramatically impacted by the global response to COVID-19.
TGG: How has the changing climate in museums impacted your approach to selecting and pitching venues for your exhibitions?
Tom: In almost everything we do at Imagine Exhibitions, we’re working hand-in-hand with partners who are visitor-serving institutions located all over the world. With each country, each local region, and each organization, the challenges are unique and varied and cannot be navigated in isolation—as ironic as that statement is given our world today! That is why our greatest focus right now is in maintaining open, consistent communication with our clients so that we can be responsive to the unique considerations that each venue is navigating.
Our approach right now is less about pitching and selling, and more about listening and problem-solving. We are reaching out to each of our clients to understand what they are up against, and we are helping them to navigate the challenges they face using whatever resources we can offer.
TGG: What is your outlook on how people will experience museums and exhibitions moving forward?
Tom: One thing that we are finding—perhaps unsurprisingly—is that venues that have outdoor spaces are opening up sooner than those without. In some cases, we are pivoting shows that were previously intended for indoor venues only to now be suitable for outdoor or indoor/outdoor combination spaces. We have found some early success with a few drive-through experiences at zoos and we are looking at how we can adapt more of our portfolio to suit that type of experience. With so much uncertainty in our world and in our industry, there is a lot of speculation about what the future may look like. In many ways, it is too early to tell how exactly this will play out for our industry, but we at Imagine Exhibitions are excited about the idea of innovation and are poised to adapt as the world continues to change.
In the wake of past pandemics, museums have emerged as leaders in helping the public to make meaning of the experience—arguably the first ever blockbuster exhibition was the Tuberculosis exhibition at AMNH in 1905, and the one of the early traveling exhibitions was “What about AIDS?” which toured in the 1980s. So, although traveling exhibitions may look different in the future, we’re looking forward to the opportunity to continue to evolve as storytellers in a world where shared experiences are perhaps more valuable than ever before.
“… we’re looking forward to the opportunity to continue to evolve as storytellers in a world where shared experiences are perhaps more valuable than ever before.”
TGG: With many hands-on exhibits as part of your attractions, how are you adjusting your content to conform to safety requirements and best practices?
Tom: Right now, Imagine Exhibitions is creating new procedures to implement in order to keep our frontline staff, our clients’ staff, and the visitors to our exhibitions safe. With host venues only now starting the plan to re-open, we have started our first load-outs and installs in the ‘new normal’. We’re looking to the best practices of the essential businesses who have remained open throughout the crisis for guidance and are consistently talking to our peers and colleagues about the ever-changing landscape of the virus to make sure we are doing everything we can to protect our people. Right now, our plans include daily temperature checks, PPE for all frontline staff, conscientious methods of travel, reducing the number of people needed to be in one place at a time, and more.
Ultimately, we must work alongside the host venue to assess the specifics of their space and organizational scope and determine what measures need to be taken. In some cases, this may mean re-evaluating the layout of the exhibition in the space to allow for 6’ distance between natural stopping points and developing on-the-ground stickers to indicate safe distance. In other cases, this could be limiting or adapting the hands-on interactives or finding operational solutions to allow for cleaning surfaces that may be touched by visitors. In some cases still, the solution may involve putting part or all of the exhibition outside rather than inside to allow for more comfort and social distance safety for the visitors. Unfortunately, in this business, one size does not fit all and so we are talking every day to our clients and colleagues to determine the best solutions to the challenges we all face.
TGG: Have you identified any new creative opportunities or content concepts to help offset revenue lost from the impact of COVID-19?
Tom: We are celebrating the opening of our first drive-through exhibition! Sean Kenney’s Wild Connections Made with LEGO® Bricks is opening this weekend at the San Antonio Zoo. We have been doing outdoor experiences for many years in city parks, zoos, botanical gardens or county fairs, and they have been extremely successful in many markets because the displays look so good in nature when surrounded by real plants and landscapes. However, the drive-through element is a new one for us, and one we see a lot of opportunity to grow in the new reality of our world. It is a no-brainer for zoos, gardens and other facilities who have the infrastructure for experiences of this kind because families can stay inside their car and drive through an experience without having to leave the safety of their own vehicle. Tickets can be bought online and scanned through the car window, we can do a simple drive through gift shop at the end, and can create a companion audio component that can be downloaded on a smart phone or pushed through an FM channel. We are excited to monitor the success of this experience in San Antonio, and are in discussions with several other clients about similar ideas. “If there is one thing we know for sure, it is that people will continue to crave entertaining, educational, communal experiences and we are committed to finding ways to deliver these experiences safely and successfully for many years to come.”
“If there is one thing we know for sure, it is that people will continue to crave entertaining, educational, communal experiences, and we are committed to finding ways to deliver these experiences safely and successfully for many years to come.”
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Tom Zaller is a 25-year veteran of the entertainment and exhibition industries and has been instrumental in creating, producing and marketing some of the world’s most popular exhibitions and attractions, including Jurassic World: The Exhibition, REAL BODIES, Angry Birds Universe, Titanic The Exhibition, Dinosaurs Around the World, and Dinosaurs in Motion. In addition, Tom and his team have collaborated on the creation and touring of The Hunger Games: The Exhibition, Downton Abbey: The Exhibition, Imagine Van Gogh, Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal, Discover the Ice Age, Da Vinci The Exhibition, and Living Dinosaurs among many others.
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