Client: Royal Ballet & Opera
When you walk into the Royal Opera House, everything whispers: “Behave.”
The marble, the velvet, the history. The price of champagne.
The brief for our team wasn’t “give us an XR idea”, it was: “How do we stay world class and still matter to people who don’t feel this building belongs to them?” And that’s a very interesting challenge.
The collaboration with Brave Duck and Robots, grounded in innovation and a shared drive for unforgettable experiences, has truly shown what we can achieve together.
RBO had just rebranded: new name, same 300-year-old expectations. Inside the building, a few tensions were clear: Core audiences skew older and affluent. Younger Londoners admire the art form but don’t see themselves in it.
Globally, the appetite for cultural spectacle was huge but attention is fractured. Revenue can’t rely purely on tickets anymore. Trustees wanted innovation but not gimmicks. Artistic leadership wanted integrity but not dilution.
The Chief Commercial Officer didn’t need cool ideas, she needed a structured way to talk about innovation, and a plan that didn’t feel reckless, something credible for the internal team and strong enough to take to Trustees.
Boston Ballet Pop-Up Public Art Installation ÜNI - June 2022
Jasmine, 27
Culturally curious
Feels excluded
Eujiin, 35
Globally minded
Seeks premium
Cultural experiences
We designed and led a workshop to help the teams reframe everything around two lenses:
We gave them names, backstories, desires, frictions, not to be cute but to move the room from taste to strategy.
When you ask, “What would this mean to Jasmine?” people argue less and think more.
We introduced a shift that changed the tone of the room: attention is cheap, while intention builds loyalty. If RBO only chases visibility, they become content; if they build intention, they become culture. And culture becomes the backbone of everything.
So we ended up helping RBO shape three distinct pathways for future growth: immediate opportunities close to home, scalable ideas for broader audiences, and longer-term moves designed to strengthen brand relevance over time.
Each route balanced commercial potential with artistic integrity, giving leadership clear options rather than one risky bet. The concepts remain confidential and undeveloped, but the framework created a practical map for what progress could look like.
We filled a room with post its, we discussed, we brought together different teams and cocreated. We introduced a simple but important shift: attention can be bought, but intention has to be earned. That moved the conversation beyond visibility metrics and toward lasting value. We created a shared language across teams, separated short
term wins from long term brand equity, and turned vague ambition into choices people could actually assess. No gimmicks. No tech theatre. Just a clear system that made bold moves easier to consider. That is high-leverage work.
Looking back, this was Hatchery before Hatchery had a name. A focused, lower cost engagement designed to create clarity before major spend. It introduced new revenue thinking without threatening the core brand, opened the door to future IP opportunities, and built confidence before budgets were committed.
It hasn't produced a finished show yet but permission to move and that is often the hardest thing to build.