bluechip industry bulletin

This week's selection leans towards production. In New York, FX takes the fan out of the audience seat and gives them a role inside the experience; in London, WPP hands the set over to the studio and to artificial intelligence, changing the cost equation of production. Locally, Istanbul opens a nine-day culture programme, and Türkiye wins an award for sustainable tourism presented in London for the first time.

this week's highlight

BIZBASH

The Guest Opens the Door to the Next Room

To celebrate thirteen seasons of "American Horror Story", FX built a horror maze at Nya Studios in East Hollywood. The experience is structured like a Rube Goldberg machine: each room holds its own task, and visitors cannot move on to the next section until they complete it. The Murder House, Asylum and Freak Show scenes follow one another as links in that chain. Kenya Hardaway, senior vice president at FX, says they did not simply put the fan at the centre but made them the force that physically moves the story forward. Produced by NVE, it is a model piece that takes experience design from a passive tour to a participatory mechanic.

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brand activation

BIZBASH

The Fashion Week That Happened Off the Runway

In the Spring/Summer 2027 season of New York Fashion Week, the most talked-about work took place not at the shows but in the branded spaces around them. Brands turned the collection calendar into a public experience programme; some designed pre-show meeting points, others installations spread across the rhythm of the day. BizBash's round-up shows that the fashion calendar now reads like an activation calendar. A good summary for seeing the season's standout stagings on a single page.

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creative technology & the future

MEDIACAT

Shooting Paris, the Alps and Tokyo from London

WPP has opened Devon's Point, a 34,000-square-metre studio in East London. The facility's "grey box" stages bring real actors and generative artificial intelligence into the same frame; although Ford's latest work is set in Paris, the Swiss Alps and Tokyo, the team shot it without leaving London. A two-storey props store aims to put an end to single-use set building. CEO Cindy Rose warns that artificial intelligence is creating a "sea of sameness", and points to the ten-month HEX creative technology training centre as the answer. Worth reading to see how production infrastructure is being rebuilt.

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MEDIACAT

Türkiye Passes the Global Average in Artificial Intelligence

According to Microsoft's Global AI Diffusion data, the rate of artificial intelligence use in Türkiye rose from 17.4 to 18.9 per cent in the second quarter of the year. Over the same period the global average rose by one point while Türkiye's increase was 1.5 points, taking the country above the global average of 18.8. The United Arab Emirates tops the list at 73.3 per cent.

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tourism & MICE

TURİZM GÜNLÜĞÜ

Nine Days Spread Across the Whole City

The Istanbul Culture Route Festival opened on 26 September and runs until 4 October. The programme holds more than 400 events across 23 venues and over 50 locations: 40 concerts, 15 exhibitions, five gastronomy routes and more than 200 food stops. On stage are names including the Royal Philharmonic, the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Ballet, Özcan Deniz, Murat Boz and Ceza. In 2027 the festival will add six more cities: Balıkesir, Denizli, Hatay, Kocaeli, Muğla and Tekirdağ. A good example of how a culture programme is planned at city scale.

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TURİZM GÜNLÜĞÜ

An Award Presented in London for the First Time Goes to Türkiye

The "Destination for Change" award, presented for the first time at the TTG Travel Industry Awards 2026, went to the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency at a ceremony held at The Roundhouse in London. The award rested on more than 2,500 accommodation facilities that have gained international sustainability certification following the state-level agreement signed with GSTC in 2022, and on accessible public beaches.

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TURİZM GÜNLÜĞÜ · SPONSORED

A Route Linking Four Countries in One Train Journey

The seven-night, eight-day programme OTTO DMC has designed for 2027 combines France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany in a single route. At the heart of the tour is the Bernina Express panoramic train journey along the UNESCO-listed Rhaetian Railway; the itinerary runs from Nice and Monaco to Lucerne, Colmar and Heidelberg. An example of how route planning is packaged in group programmes.

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