exhibition strategy

Philadelphia, Monday, 17 November 2025.
Comcast NBCUniversal and The Franklin Institute will premiere a touring exhibition that pulls back the curtain on Universal Destinations & Experiences, opening Friday, 14 February 2026 in Philadelphia. Spanning roughly 1,672 m² across eight galleries with 25 interactives and more than 100 original artifacts, the exhibit showcases design development, ride engineering, show control and IP‑to‑attraction translation—making the most intriguing claim that Universal is packaging its creative pipeline as a deliberate B2B and recruitment channel. For retail and location‑based entertainment professionals this is a rare, public benchmark: a curated view of guest flow design, operational staging and narrative integration that can inform partnerships, merchandising strategies, licensing decisions and talent scouting. Expect tangible takeaways for planning and competitive positioning—replica show scenes and multimedia cases that reveal how technical craft is communicated to consumers and potential partners, and which aspects of Universal’s process most directly drive guest engagement and commercial opportunity.

Philadelphia, Wednesday, 27 August 2025.
Comcast NBCUniversal and The Franklin Institute will premiere a major Universal theme parks exhibition in Philadelphia on Saturday, offering an 18,000 m²-feet (approx. 1,670 m²) immersive showcase of design, engineering and storytelling behind attractions. For retail professionals, the most intriguing fact is the scale: 8 themed galleries, 25 interactive experiences and 100+ original artifacts from properties such as Jurassic World and Universal Monsters—delivered as a museum-grade IP activation outside park gates. This exhibition represents a deliberate play to extend guest funnels, test merchandising and licensing concepts in a non-park environment, and surface talent pipelines by spotlighting behind-the-scenes craftsmanship. Expect measurable benefits for retail strategies: new licensing windows, themed product assortments, experiential pop-ups, and data on consumer engagement that can inform assortment, pricing and omnichannel campaigns. The collaboration between a major studio and a cultural institution signals a replicable model for revenue diversification and brand reach—worth tracking now as a case study in experiential retail and IP monetization.