Organizing for Change: Marketing, Esports, and Building a Community of Practice in XR - Panel Recording from 2025 VR Summit

Summary:
In this special session, Bob Cooney gathers operators, marketers, and innovators to reflect on the challenges facing the location-based VR and immersive entertainment industry, and how to solve them together. Drawing on the Two Loops Model of Change, Bob frames the conversation around moving from the old system of traditional attractions to a new system powered by XR. The panel explores marketing best practices, building community through esports, revenue per square foot benchmarks, and how user-generated content can drive growth.

You’ll hear how operators are experimenting with local leagues, how marketers think about differentiation and brand, why reviews and authenticity matter more than polished ads, and why industry-wide standards are essential to scaling. Social media strategist Jacob closes the session with a case study showing how a single authentic video generated 25 million views and half a million shares for Zero Latency.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why the immersive entertainment industry is at a tipping point, and how communities of practice can accelerate adoption.

• Insights from operators on integrating esports into VR venues and the challenges of standardization.

• Marketing takeaways: the importance of brand differentiation, user-generated content, and online reviews.

• Why tracking revenue per square foot is critical for operators, and how few do it today.

• The role of schools and local communities in building sustainable esports programs.

• A behind-the-scenes breakdown of a viral Zero Latency video that generated 500,000 shares and 30,000+ new followers.

• How authenticity in content creation beats polished campaigns, and why younger creators often outperform agencies.

Featured Guests:

• Jacob Giacobbi – Founder, CrowdSpecs, social media strategist for LBE.

• Katie Burke – Creative Director & GM, Pelagius VR.

• Salem Thyne – Operator, E-Sports Virtual Arenas.

• Andre Lawless – Founder, Lawless Marketing.

• Bob Cooney – Host, facilitator, and XR strategist.

Links & Resources:

• Find products and news about LBE XR: ⁠https://thevrcollective.com/⁠

• Join LEXRA & the VR Collective community: ⁠https://www.lexra.org/ ⁠m

• Replay Magazine: https://www.replaymag.com

• Follow Bob’s blog: www.bobcooney.com/blog