As the year winds down, I’ve been thinking a lot about where experiential is headed — and how we, as an industry, choose to shape it.
THE HEART OF WHY WE GATHER
Experiential is growing up. It’s no longer the scrappy cousin of advertising or a “fun” line item on a marketing budget. It’s a business — a global force built on creativity, commerce, and connection. But how we mature as an industry matters. Because if we lose the heart of why people gather, we lose the magic.
The best experiences, whether a festival, a fan moment, or a cultural commemoration, start with a pure idea. Like any great piece of art, it begins with what the creator is trying to say, the medium they choose, and the feeling they want to evoke. That’s the value exchange.
When the goal is just to cash in, it shows. (For more on this, check out this op-ed by Lou Pizante.) When the goal is to move people and to make them feel, grow, or connect, it lasts.
A HIGH-STAKES YEAR AHEAD
Which brings me to 2026, a year that will test what experiential really stands for.
The U.S. will host the World Cup, a global gathering fueled by passion, ritual, and community. And already clouded by over-commercialization, confusing logistics, and fan frustration, per The New York Times. Meanwhile, America 250, the semiquincentennial celebration of our country’s founding, is shaping up to be equally complex; a collision of politics, identity, and culture in an era of division. (Great piece here from The New Yorker.)
Both will challenge us as creators to think about why people gather. To remember that great experiences start with emotion, not monetization.
LOOKING BACK TO MOVE US FORWARD
If we can lead with that — with intention, with artistry, with empathy — we can remind the world that experiential is not just an industry; it's a way of being. It’s a reflection of who we are and how we connect.
So as I plan for the year ahead, I’m revisiting history. I’m watching Ken Burns’ The American Revolution, on PBS. Planning a winter visit to Boston’s Tea Party Museum. Thinking about how the messy, beautiful American experiment continues to unfold and how, 250 years later, our job as experiential creators is to help people feel part of it.
Because when we start with heart — when we gather to feel something real — we all win.
