譯/高詣軒
太陽劇團抗落日危機 寄望Z世代
The circus is a thrill, a locus of nostalgia for people who remember summers with family members under colorful tents, a beloved amalgam of the athletic and the absurd, the rare place where jugglers and acrobats and fire breathers can fly free, fodder for countless movies and a Dr. Seuss book — and, not to be a downer, a business.
馬戲團扣人心弦,對於回憶中曾在夏天和家人一起待在那彩色帳棚下的人們來說,是懷舊的場所;它也是備受喜愛、結合體能和荒誕演出的結晶,更是少數雜耍演員、特技演員和吹火表演者可以自由翱翔的地方,亦是無數電影和蘇斯博士著作之一的創作素材,而同時,平心而論,它也是一門生意。
The circus has to make money to keep its clowns clowning.
馬戲團必須生財有道,才能讓小丑繼續逗人發笑。
Coming out of the pandemic, Cirque du Soleil was in trouble. The company had staked nearly all its revenue in live shows, with their dizzying displays of balletic grace and gravity-defying gymnastics. After filing for bankruptcy protection in 2020, Cirque decided it had to be more than just a circus. It wanted to be a brand, something that could sell perfumes, sunglasses, tote bags and video games.
走出疫情的太陽劇團陷入困境。過去該劇團幾乎將所有獲利來源押寶在現場演出,用芭蕾式的優雅舞動和顛覆重力的體操動作,使人目眩神迷。2020年太陽劇團聲請破產保護後,矢志不能只當個馬戲團,而是想成為一種品牌,可販售香水、太陽眼鏡、托特包和電玩遊戲。
Cirque du Soleil hired a "cultural analysts" firm, called Cultique, to answer an age-old question: Is it possible to hack popularity?
太陽劇團聘僱了一家名為Cultique的公司,由「文化分析師」組成,以期回答一項古老的問題:有可能破解人氣的祕密嗎?
Cultique argues that it is. Analysts there are in the business of selling cool. And their work with the circus this year has offered a glimpse into what it takes to change a business's reputation, to do a brand makeover at a time when social media has made branding both more important than ever and more fraught.
Cultique主張,這是有可能的。該公司分析師的本業就是販賣風潮。而他們這一年和該劇團的合作,可讓人一窺在這個社群媒體讓品牌打造變得更重要也更艱難的時代,改變企業名聲並從事品牌重塑要做出何種付出。
Cirque's leaders felt confident that their company embodied everything Gen Z loves: campy outfits, kitschy makeup, feats of athletic daring. Sequins, spandex, being extra. Yet few of that generation — people born from 1997 to 2012, who now have $360 billion in consumer power — seemed interested in the circus. Cirque's more than 40 shows sell 10 million tickets a year around the world, with a focus on its American home in Las Vegas, but mostly to a middle-age (or very young) audience. The average Cirque attendee is 42, according to the company. More than two-thirds have children under 18.
太陽劇團領導人胸有成竹,自認自家劇團體現了Z世代鍾愛的一切:奇裝異服、濃妝豔抹、大膽無畏的神乎其技。亮片,彈性纖維和特立獨行。但該世代的人們,也就是出生於1997年至2012年間、如今掌握3600億美元消費力的一代人,似乎少有人對馬戲團感興趣。太陽劇團超過40個戲碼一年在全球可售出1000萬張票,重點放在美國的根據地拉斯維加斯,但多數購票觀眾都是中年(或非常年幼)。根據該劇團資料,劇團觀眾平均年齡是42歲,超過三分之二帶著未滿18歲的孩子。
Cirque du Soleil turned to Cultique to become relevant. And Cultique promised, improbably, that even at a moment when culture seems to move at the speed of (sorry) a flying trapeze, it's possible for a savvy old business to catch up.
太陽劇團求助於Cultique以期跟上時代,而Cultique則做出不太可能的承諾:即使當前文化似乎以(抱歉了)空中飛人的速度變遷,經典老店還是能夠迎頭趕上。
"We literally help people get ahead of the curve," said Linda Ong, Cultique's co-founder and CEO, later adding, "The secret sauce to our business is we help brands anticipate what's going to change before it's widely acknowledged."
「我們只是幫助人們走在潮流前面」,Cultique共同創辦人兼執行長琳達.王表示,接著說到:「本公司的獨門祕方,就是幫助品牌在眾所周知之前就預期到即將發生的改變。」