'The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes.' - Marcel Proust.
No company beats Cirque du Soleil to illustrate Proust’s view as it has redefined the genre of the old-fashioned and declining theatrical in the 1980s and has continuously changed and reinvented itself ever since. Cirque du Soleil was originally created by a band of creatively ingenuous street performers and has entertained to date nearly 150 million people across six continents and in more than 300 cities, reportedly exceeding US$1 billion in revenue annually.
The Canadian company started its transformation by capturing feedback from its circus audience, asking what they really liked about its show. As the feedback was rather negative, it then proceeded to challenge its own perception of what a performance was really about. To help with the process, Cirque du Soleil looked for inspiration outside of the circus industry across adjacent markets such as theater, live music acts, street arts, ballet, opera, etc. The result was the introduction of a new form of entertainment – theme-led shows – that combined compelling story lines, artistic costumes, music, dance and world-class athletics. Cirque du Soleil so completely reinvented itself that one of its first productions was named “We Reinvent the Circus.” Now its repertoire includes 33 shows, out of which 21 are still touring, on a variety of themes from aquatics (O) to The Beatles (Love) to martial arts (Ká) to insects (Ovo) to the evolution of humanity (Totem).
As part of its transition from the traditional circus, Cirque du Soleil abandoned some established acts such as those featuring animals and star performers (e.g. the “star clown”), raised the level of acrobatics, hired professional singers and orchestra and created a whole new concept of developing a scenario for how a show should run from start to finish. In addition, it increased the uniqueness of its venues by developing its own elegant tents with multiple rings. Getting rid of structurally unattractive circus acts reduced its cost base while the uniqueness of its shows allowed a pricing policy higher than circus. It had entered a new market.
The Canadian company's was to expand its target audience beyond its existing circus one, moving away from the unprofitable children’s market and reaching out to a completely new group of customers - adults and corporate clients – who were prepared to pay a higher price for an unprecedented entertainment experience and had abandoned the traditional circus for other types of entertainments such as theater, cabaret, opera, ballet or concerts. At the same time, developing two to three productions each year and creating a mix of touring and sit-down shows created a market for repeat customers which had not been possible with traditional circus performances.
To achieve this level of innovative artistry, Cirque du Soleil has established a culture of innovation, permanently looking for new challenges and cultivating openness and debates. A diversity of people, ideas, ambitions and influences is at the heart of the positive friction and artistic tension that gives light to innovative breakthrough and, as importantly, helps eliminate bad ideas quickly. Its deep commitment to R&D is the catalyst of its creative spark. It has built extensive archives with thousands of books, videos, musical scores, and images. It continuously researches trends for new ideas including “what’s cool and unique’ and is always looking out for young artists from diverse backgrounds to gain access to new and diverse views. It works closely with universities’ engineering and art departments actively seeking ideas from students for their shows. In 2013, it announced the formation of a multi-year fellowship program based in Las Vegas (home to seven Cirque du Soleil productions) with the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. New techniques are also constantly developed. Tellingly, acrobat mentor André Simard, whose innovations include a new safety line for aerial acrobatics, is not called creative director but “research and development specialist”.
Cirque du Soleil has used its innovative artistry to develop a strategy of partnerships that have helped expand its yellow-and-blue striped tent but also its reach thanks to an ever-growing suite of business models around product merchandising, licensing, video production, including:
- Partnerships with the likes of Disney, MGM Mirage or Grupo Vedanta to develop new shows
- Joint-ventures such as Cirque du Soleil Media with Bell Media to develop media content for television, film, digital, and gaming platforms which gave birth to the 3-D feature film “Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away” in collaboration with film producer James Cameron
- Its own special events business that does a handful of private and corporate events each year with specially choreographed programmes or content. Those included the 2007 Super Bowl, the launch of Microsoft’s Kinect system for Xbox Los Angeles in 2010, the promotion of Google’s Chrome browser in 2012 or the recent launch of IWC’s aquamarine collection in Geneva.
- Expansion into adjacent markets such advertising through taking a minority stake in Sid Lee to cooperate in the area of branded content or fitness, teaming up with Reebok to create a women’s fitness routine based on its artistic creation.
Cirque du Soleil’s market has become more contested as a result of the increased competition from older circuses upgrading their acts, from other companies such as Momix merging various disciplines and from smaller new outfits. However, its multiple business models seem to help Cirque du Soleil thrive without compromising the company’s core revenue stream or artistic integrity.
More findings on Cirque du Soleil’s success can be found here
by Christelle Espinasse - inSTRATEGIA
