With the pandemic easing in most of the US, brands are increasing their marketing budgets. It’s no wonder that some of that spending is focused on providing people with experiences (vs. advertisements). After all, we customers have been hunkered inside for more than a year. We’re approaching outdoor events as Rip Van Winkle reacted after being asleep for a long spell — eyes and hearts wide open to anything. As with all marketing efforts, there are ways to do experiences right and ways to do them wrong. For the latter, we need to look no further than the North Face X Gucci “Pit Stop” that was part of the 2021 Desert X event based in Palm Springs, California. Desert X presents art installations across 40 miles of the breathtaking Coachella Valley. This year, the event sought “to explore the idea of the desert…
Disrupt Career Booths – Engage Role Models
How could I say no? The Academy of Our Lady of Peace, a 135-year-old girls’ Catholic high school in San Diego, was hosting a group of successful women in panel discussions and keynote addresses. Organizers asked me to write about the experience. The day was a welcoming alternative to the usual high school career day involving low-level Human Resource professionals sharing information on their company from one of 30 some booths. Actionable life strategies can only emerge from a vision, and the women speakers provided all the ingredients the students need to forge their vision. Even if that vision only goes so far as what to achieve next year in school to keep all options in college open, having a North Star of sorts helps navigate tumultuous high school years and hormones. I hated the rules and uniforms of my own all girls’…