Dossier de Presse_UK.indd
Transcription
Dossier de Presse_UK.indd
Walibi, major new European entertainment brand Walibi opens up the doors to a new universe for you. The brand is calling on its 35 years of experience and aiming to become a landmark brand in European family entertainment. Walibi is writing another chapter in its already rich history as a major player in family leisure in Europe. Part of the ‘Compagnie des Alpes’ group since 2006, the Walibi brand is renowned across its four leisure parks: Walibi Aquitaine and Walibi Rhône-Alpes (France), Walibi World (the Netherlands) and Walibi Belgium, which welcome between them 2.8 million visitors every year. The Belgian park, located at Wavre, is the historic birthplace of this brand with its kangaroo logo, and has been delighting families for 35 years. With the benefit of this long experience and its unique recognition across several generations of visitors, Walibi now opens up the doors to a new universe. A universe which goes far beyond the limits of a leisure park and which turns the ambitions of the Compagnie des Alpes group into reality, benefiting from its brand and its experience to increase its growth potential and multiply its capacity for expansion. The ambition is to make Walibi a landmark brand in European family entertainment. Music as the central theme This new universe is the result of a thought process which began three years ago and whose objective was precisely to modernise the Walibi brand and extend its horizons beyond the limits of a leisure park. Today, the brand revolves around a series of characters which were created in the minds of a project team from the CDA group, and which brought in the best talent from the worlds of scriptwriters, design, cinema, sculpture and costumes from all across the world. The famous kangaroo has been given a new more modern look, closer to that of the 8 to 12 year old group (The “Tweens”), and is surrounded by a group of friends all with strong personalities: Haaz the cheetah, Zenko the gorilla and Fibi the beautiful water sprite. Together, they decide to form a rock group, W.A.B (Walibi’s Adventures Band) to bring a bit of adventure and fun into the monotonous life of Monotowny. But all sorts of obstacles are to spring up along their road to success, in particular the jealousy of Squad, Walibi’s twin brother who forms a rival band, The SkunX. In their search for creativity and fantasy, the two groups also enrich themselves through contact with fantasy creatures from the fairy-tale world of Shimmeria… This rich world, with which children and young teenagers can easily identify, uses music as its central theme. The two rival rock bands, W.A.B and The SkunX, are to launch themselves into merciless musical jousts, The Music Battle, about which the public will certainly have something to say. Everybody is going to have to choose which side they’re on between the title song ‘Hello World’ from the Walibi group and ‘We are The SkunX’, a completely eccentric punk rock song from Squad and his buddies – discover them for yourself on www.walibi.com right now. Walibi – for all the family From the end of January 2011, ‘tweens’ can experience this battle for glory between the two music groups W.A.B and The SkunX all through the year, via the audiovisual media. Their musical jousts and their adventures will be turned into comic strips, games, music and video clips, all available on the new Walibi site www.walibi.com now. And from April 9th 2011, tweens and their parents, will of course be able to see these new heroes in the flesh in the four parks, hear their performances live in stunning shows, and rock with Walibi and his group in a 4D adventure. 8-12 year-olds give their approval The new Walibi universe has been the subject of a wide-ranging approval survey with the primary target group – 8 to 12 year-old, or ‘tweens’. The result was a very great degree of immediate attachment by these young people to the new personalities. A majority of them also easily understood the ‘different’ nature of this new fantasy world and appreciated the important role music had to play in it. The musical creations of the W.A.B and The SkunX groups were extremely popular, whichever group they came from. 2011, a major year for Walibi « The creative work we set out to do three years ago went much further than simply re-inventing our mascot. We wanted to create a major European brand in family entertainment, personalities and a universe which people would want to take home with them, and with whom they would want to live, even outside the parks. Today, Walibi is ready to set out on a new ambitious and thrilling journey » declares Serge Naïm Deputy Director General and Marketing, Development and Products Director at the Compagnie des Alpes, responsible for the Walibi project. A landmark project for the Compagnie des Alpes group « Great parks, Great brands’ » : the new Walibi universe demonstrates the ambition that the Compagnie des Alpes group has in terms of making the most of its brands and its expertise, in order to increase its growth potential and multiply its capacity for expansion. By 2012, 15 million Euros will have been invested (of which 11 million up to now) in order to bolster the Walibi brand and enable it to come to life with ambition in the parks, whilst also opening up new development opportunities. About Walibi : A pioneer in the leisure park sector, Walibi came into being thirty five years ago in Wavre. The four parks are owned by the Compagnie des Alpes. www.walibi.com a brand of the Compagnie des Alpes, a major player in the production of active leisure in Europe. It is present on 36 sites, including 15 major ski resorts in the Alps (including Tignes, Val d’Isère, Les Arcs, La Plagne, Les Menuires, Les 2 Alpes, Meribel, Chamonix) and 21 leisure parks (including the Asterix park, Grévin, Walibi…), in six European countries: France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the UK. During the financial year which ended on September 30th 2010, it welcomed almost 23 million visitors and achieved consolidated turnover of 597 million Euros, producing divisional net profits of 42 million Euros. www.compagniedesalpes.com Press contact : Origami PR Consultant Fabienne Smets – fabienne@origami.be Lucia Sanchez – lucia@origami.be Tel : +32 2 539 07 04 Walibi : history and characters History Walibi and Squad are two kangaroo brothers who differ in everything. The first wears his heart on his sleeve and has his head full of dreams. The second only wants to attract attention and make a name for himself. Both live in Monotowny, a world which will have nothing to do with fantasy and humour. Each inhabitant’s destiny is laid out from birth, according to which species he belongs to: the parrots are journalists, the dogs policemen, the bears taxi drivers… As for the birds, they are the only ones who have the right to sing. And woe betide anybody who tries to break away from the path that has been laid out for them! Walibi and Squad thus seemed condemned to a life of monotony… until the day when they get hold of a cart which will drive them to Shimmeria, a mysterious world peopled by fabulous creatures. In this parallel world where magic is king, the two brothers get a taste of the freedom to play music. For them, this is a real revelation: from now on, nothing can stop them from living their own musical adventures! Walibi forms his own group, W.A.B In reaction to this, Squad forms The SkunX, a much more ‘dark rock’ trio. W.A.B on one side, The SkunX on the other. Two groups led by two rival brothers. The musical battle has only just begun… Walibi Age : 15 Species : kangaroo Qualities : courage, energy, humour and a gift for composing Faults : impatience and naivety Convinced that music and enjoying life can change the world, Walibi dreams of bringing something of the colour of Shimmeria to the cold, grey universe of Monotowny. The energy he communicates and his overflowing imagination make him an exceptional group leader. But his habit of only seeing the good side of things sometimes works to his disadvantage… Squad Age : 15 Species : kangaroo Qualities : minuscule Faults : innumerable Squad is not just Walibi’s twin brother. He is also a millstone around his neck! Although he possesses the worst imaginable faults, he is nevertheless a guitarist without equal, capable of taking on Haaz. Fiercely egotistical, all he wants is to be in the spotlight. To achieve this objective, he will stop at nothing, even if it means one disgrace and betrayal after another. Sara Fox Age : 24 Species : fox Qualities : organisation, business sense, ambition Faults : organisation, business sense, ambition With a diploma from the most prestigious business school in Monotowny, Sara Fox has built herself a reputation as a redoubtable businesswoman. Having immediately understood the immense potential of W.A.B, she resolutely imposed herself as their impresario. And if she sometimes finds it difficult to share the blind ideals which motivate them, Sara is always there to defend their interests. Linaa Age : 7 Species : sparrow Qualities : audacity, independence, tenacity Faults : stubbornness, indiscretion, scheming A young and still immature little bird, Linaa is the most fervent admirer of W.A.B and would not miss one of their concerts for anything in the world. Having learned all the songs of her fetish group off by heart, she has started to nurture the dream of replacing Fibi as the singer! But to Linaa’s disadvantage is the fact that her voice is nothing like as tuneful… Fibi Age : unknown Species : water sprite (goddess of the water) Qualities : beauty, generosity, intelligence, courage Faults : sometimes capricious, curious, obstinate Born in Shimmeria where she grew up, Fibi is a fantasy creature and, in this capacity, possesses a certain number of powers which she uses when some disaster looms. She is the singer in W.A.B and has nothing to envy of the voices of her aunts, the Sirens. Though a natural gossip, she remains absolutely discreet where her origins and her parents are concerned. Haaz Age : 14 Species : cheetah Qualities : a virtuoso with the guitar Défaut : only son! A young cheetah protesting against the strict system of Monotowny, Haaz is also an exceptional guitarist. Especially when Fibi is there with whom he is hopelessly in love… As is often the case with his species, he tends to favour the law of the strongest and individualism. But thanks to his contact with Walibi, Haaz gradually starts to learn that strength lies in numbers. Zenko Age : 16 Species : gorilla Qualities : integrity, permanent good humour, a genius on the drums Défaut : desperately shy Jovial by nature, Zenko has difficulty in accepting the draconian regulations of Monotowny, which in particular prevent the inhabitants from laughing if they want to. Despite his considerable strength, he shows himself to be desperately shy, especially when it comes to girls. He protects himself by an armoury of received ideas, which have the effect of plunging Fibi into great fits of anger… Vita Drakovitz Age : 145 679 Species : dragon Qualité : a heart of gold beneath a boiling character Défaut : avaricious An old asthmatic female dragon, Vita Drakovitz is riddled with rheumatism, though this doesn’t stop her from boiling over at the slightest annoyance… As the runner of the most popular bar in Shimmeria, Le Psyke, she regularly holds W.A.B concerts. Both tight-fisted and a tender mother, Vita Drakovitz is a monster of paradox. Loco Age : 15 Species : bull Qualité : devoted to Motiv Faults : narcissist, coquettish, foolish Incapable of taking the slightest personal decision, Loco spends his time imitating Motiv, whom he admires limitlessly. Totally under the influence of him, the bull drummer goes into contortions to carry out the desires of his mentor. What few brain cells he possesses only really come to the fore when he has to choose clothes and make sure he looks good. Motiv Age : 13 Species : crow Qualities : bold, free speaker Faults : nervous, malicious, hypocritical, cynical A past master in the art of picking quarrels, Moti v takes a wicked pleasure in stirring up trouble wherever he goes. Selfish through and through, he will not hesitate to betray The SkunX, in which he is the organist, if this serves his purpose. Heartless and without scruples, Moti v has made Loco his scapegoat, and he doesn’t hesitate to humiliate him in public. The men behind the project Serge Naïm (54 ans), with a degree from the HEC, was financial director and then deputy director general finance at EuroDisney until 2003, a group within which for 11 years he occupied several operational posts before joining the Executive Committee. In 2005 he joined the Compagnie des Alpes group as a member of the Board and director of the leisure parks branch. In March 2009 he became deputy director general of the Compagnie des Alpes and since October 2009 he has also been head of marketing, development and products for the whole of the group. Within this context, his principal missions are to improve the attractiveness and commercial performance of the sites, and to identify all development opportunities for the group. Rascal Udo Hüppe (45 ans) joined the project team responsible for re-branding Walibi in July 2009, as director of content and creation. He carried out this role in parallel with his function as director general of Fort Fun Abenteuerland, the German site of the Compagnie des Alpes, before devoting himself 100% to the Walibi project since March 2010. With a degree in marketing and communications, as well as in psychology, Rascal Udo Hüppe began his management career in the music industry at the beginning of the 90’s with Rough Trade Records/ Zomba Records. He is also behind Popkomm, an unmissable event in the music industry across the entire world and which takes place in Berlin. A musician himself, Rascal Udo Hüppe has had a number of successes and still continues both to record and to give concerts with his group ‘Rotersand’. Oliver Snyers (40 ans) has been marketing director of Walibi Belgium (Walibi, Aqualibi and Bellewaerde) since November 2006. In parallel with this, he was named marketing manager of the Walibi brand in July 2009, and as such he supervises all the marketing aspects of the re-branding of the four Walibi parks in Europe. Oliver Snyers joined the Compagnie des Alpes group in 2002 as sales and marketing director of Bellewaerde (Starparks Group at the time). Before that, this commercial engineer worked at Scoot. The new Walibi universe: the deployment of multi-disciplinary teams and the efficiency of a project formula A team of a dozen persons from the Compagnie des Alpes (CDA) has been working for almost three years, within the context of a pilot committee, on creating this new Walibi universe. This internal multidisciplinary studio has been the kingpin of a major work-site, because it wasn’t only re-branding which was involved, but the conception and realisation of new content, requiring new mascots and a rich new musical universe. This new content also had to be translated in its turn at a marketing level. Putting it into operation in the parks will also require the involvement of all the operational teams. To carry out this substantial task, the Walibi project team has brought in a number of external service providers, adding up to a total of almost 200 persons. Cube for the audiovisual aspects, Chris Creatures and Stagemark for the shows and mascots, and for the manga we work with the ‘World Wide’ studio in Hong Kong with Wuye Changjie taking care of the design and Jean-David Morvan in charge of the scenery. Mudpie for retail, FigTree for the logo and Armando Testa Brussels/Hémisphère Droit Paris for strategy and marketing communications. Joravision & Upsilon are responsible for implementing the new concepts in the parks. The investment for the creation of this new universe which aims to make Walibi into a major reference in terms of entertainment in Europe amounts to 15 million Euros over two years. The WALIBI parks WALIBI BELGIUM Location: Wavre, 14 km to the south of Brussels Year of opening: 1975 (Walibi Wavre) – 2001 (Six Flags Belgium) – 2005 (Walibi Belgium) Surface area: 62 hectares Characteristics: Walibi Belgium, the historic birthplace of the brand, is the most wide-ranging leisure park in Belgium. It has 40 attractions, including 5 big dippers, 1 4D cinema, 1 giant drop, 2 aquatic attractions, 16 attractions for children and 1aquatic paradise: Aqualibi. Walibi is also known for its exclusive shows. Internet site: www.walibi.com WALIBI HOLLAND Location: in the Province of Flevoland, at Biddinghuizen (to the north west of Amsterdam) Year of opening: 1971 (Flevohof), 1994 (Walibi Flevo), 2000 (Six Flags Holland), 2005 (Walibi) Surface area: 120 hectares, of which 40 for the theme park, 20 for the holiday park and 60 for the events zone. Characteristics: The park numbers 41 attractions, with a good mix of attractions and sensations and more family-oriented attractions, along with shows. Aquatic pleasures are also to be found everywhere. Walibi Holland has developed a whole range of know-how in the organisation of private parties and company events, and is able to accommodate up to 20,000 persons. The park also stands out for its holiday park, including camping facilities and bungalows, as well as for its events zone, which in particular hosts rock festivals. Internet site: www.walibi.com WALIBI RHONE-ALPES Location: Les Avenières, around 50 km to the west of Chambéry Year of opening: 1979 (SAS Avenir Land) Surface area: 30 hectares Characteristics: Walibi Rhône-Alpes is a theme park offering 21 land-based attractions, a 13,000 m² aquatic zone with the famous Pirates Island, slides, a swimming pool with waves, themed areas, shows, a mini-farm, restaurants and shops. Internet site: www.walibi.com WALIBI SUD-OUEST Location: Roquefort near Agen, close to the A62, Bordeaux-Toulouse motorway Year of opening: 1992 Surface area : 30 hectares Characteristics: The Walibi Sud-Ouest leisure park is set within a zone of luxuriant greenery across 30 hectares, and is dominated by an authentic 18th century chateau. Catering for all the pleasures, Walibi Sud-Ouest with its 19 attractions, its spectacular shows and its events, guarantees that everyone will experience an unforgettable day full of thrills, emotion and laughter! Internet site: www.walibi.com