Cirque Du Soleil

When examined through the spectacles of a Porter’s Five Forces Model, a traditional circus is generally considered an unappealing industry. Suppliers such as talented star performers and animal tamers have high bargaining power, due to the circus’ dependency on specific acts. Buyers have high power, as they are able to choose amongst various identical circus performances or alternative forms of entertainment. More still, there are an ample number of entertainments that could act as substitutes. Finally, due to a thorough public understanding of how the industry operates, there is little restriction for new circuses seeking to enter the industry. As such, rivalry is commonplace amongst traditional circuses where much of the competition is based on lowering ticket prices and production costs. However, the Porter’s Five Forces analysis on a traditional circus is not applicable when examining Cirque Du Soleil, which truly captures the essence of its slogan “We Reinvent the Circus.” Cirque has been a disruptive innovator in creating a new market for the circus industry by deviating from the boundaries of a traditional circus. At the time of the case report, the Cirque occupies a blue ocean, of little rivalry, has low supplier power, and is in a market that has high costs for entrants. Although it is true that substitutes exist in this market, and that buyers have other entertainment options, Cirque is able to attract spectators by being one of the few suppliers of such a performance. In this niche market, Cirque enjoys a weaker Porter’s five forces than a traditional circus and thus must be evaluated accordingly.

It must be acknowledged that Cirque embraces some aspects of a traditional circus such as the casts and acts. There is a diversity of character roles such as clowns, acrobats, and mimes, which would be found in a regular circus. Furthermore, the acts performed by the characters are intended to be dangerous and humorous, which captures the spirit