Hong Kong, Monday, 29 September 2025.
This Monday Madame Tussauds Hong Kong added a wax likeness of Gong Jun to its Fashion Zone — a targeted play to win back Greater Bay Area and mainland China visitors by leveraging a streaming-era star with a large, engaged fanbase. For retail and F&B teams the intriguing fact is clear: the figure is positioned as a short‑term activation engine, designed to extend dwell time, drive themed merchandise sales and create seasonal photo‑op programming (including an AI-powered immersive photo station). Operationally this fits routine lifecycle refreshment—balancing sculpting and display costs against predictable uplift in per‑capita spend. Expect coordinated marketing, licensed product drops and time‑limited ticket bundles to amplify conversion. For retail leaders the move underlines a broader trend: celebrity‑driven IP is being used tactically across mature urban attractions to extract incremental revenue and re‑localize experiences for priority source markets; measurement should focus on dwell time, attachment rate and incremental ticket+retail spend.
What changed this Monday at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong
This Monday Madame Tussauds Hong Kong unveiled a new wax figure of mainland Chinese actor Gong Jun, placing the likeness in the attraction’s Fashion Zone and pairing the installation with an AI-powered immersive photo station, per the operator’s announcement and media release [1].
Strategic intent: targeting the Greater Bay Area and mainland audiences
The addition of Gong Jun is framed by the operator as a deliberate content and IP play to strengthen appeal among Greater Bay Area and mainland China visitors by leveraging a streaming-era star with a large, engaged fanbase; Merlin’s statement emphasised the fit between the celebrity’s image and the museum’s goal of connecting Eastern and Western cultures [1][2].
Activation mechanics and short‑term revenue levers
Merlin positioned the figure as a short-term activation engine: the installation enables time-limited photo opportunities (including the AI station), themed merchandising and ticket-package tie-ins — tactics the announcement highlighted as part of planned marketing activity and seasonal programming meant to amplify conversions across ticketing, retail and F&B channels [1].
Operational perspective: lifecycle refreshment and cost balance
From an operational standpoint, the Gong Jun figure represents a routine lifecycle refresh: operators balance one-off sculpting and display investment (materials, protective casework, climate controls) against anticipated increases in dwell time and per-capita spend that celebrity additions typically target; Merlin’s release treats the figure as part of an ongoing programme of updates to remain culturally current [1].
Measurement priorities for park and retail leaders
For retail and F&B teams, the announcement underlines metrics to prioritise when judging success: dwell time near the installation, attachment rate for themed merchandise and incremental ticket-plus-retail spend during the activation window — all cited as focal points in the operator’s activation plan and implied by the timed ticket bundles and promotional programming referenced in the release [1].
Gong Jun’s overseas fan community and official overseas fan channels provide an existing audience for social amplification and earned-media spikes around the figure’s unveiling; the actor’s official overseas fan account lists an active presence that can serve as an organic promotional channel for in‑market activations [2].
Broader industry implications for mature urban attractions
The move underlines a broader trend: mature urban attractions increasingly use celebrity-driven IP and locally resonant cultural figures tactically to refresh offer, localise experiences for priority source markets and extract incremental retail and F&B revenue through themed campaigns and limited‑time bundles — a strategy explicit in the operator’s framing of the Gong Jun installation and visible in the bundled ticket and experience offers mentioned in the announcement [1].
Timing and commercial packaging noted by the operator
Merlin timed related commercial packages to coincide with the figure launch window: the release references new bundled offers and promotional tickets designed to drive cross‑product purchases and to convert fan visits into higher-value, multi‑channel spend during the activation period [1].
Public material from the operator does not disclose exact sculpting or display costs, nor specific uplift targets (for example, expected percentage increase in dwell time or per‑capita spend), leaving those financial impacts unquantified in the announcement [alert! ‘operator release does not publish cost or uplift targets’] [1].
Bronnen