This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover ice festivals, true crime spas and Big Rings.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan recently initiated investigations into the World Federation of Advertisers, the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, advertisers and agency holding companies based on concerns that brands are not advertising on conservative social media platforms like X. Jordan has also opened an inquiry into the merger of Omnicom and IPG based […]

It was an eventful end to 2024 for Netflix after taking some of the biggest steps in its foray into sports.

Endorsements of female athletes is an evergreen marketing strategy, but women’s sports is embarking on a new, more experiential era as the teams, leagues and individual players that once played to limited audiences find new fans, larger audiences and a fresh crop of passionate investors. For early movers in the event community, it’s an exciting […]

Event networking experiences often revolve around the bar. Once those black-cloth topped carts roll out, it’s a signal to socialize and sip while doing it, often at the end of the day. For those who don’t drink alcohol, the bar cart can be triggering, and the timing of the networking, cumbersome. It wasn’t until Laura […]

While the show floor at NRF 2025 was abuzz with talk of AI agents and retail media networks earlier this week, EM arrived at New York City’s Javits Center to explore how some of the world’s biggest retail brands approached exhibit design and engagement at the National Retail Federation’s “Big Show.” An estimated 40,000 people […]

Multiple different criminal rings around the world are orchestrating surgical phishing scams that target ad industry media buyers. Specifically, fraudsters are duping ad buyers who log into Google Ads after running a Google search. The scammers serve fraudulent sponsored search links to these ad executives, and then hack into their accounts and use their funds […]

At CES 2025, Accenture invited clients and guests to explore the AI-powered future, showcasing the power of new technologies, reinvention—and trust—through experiences that broke through even at the largest tech show of the year. Just off the show floor at The Venetian Expo, the company’s branded lounge was about what’s next and how it translates […]

M&A started off with a bang in 2025. T-Mobile bought Vistar Media, and The Trade Desk bought Sincera. With a special guest from LUMA Partners, Conor McKenna, we explore the rationale for these ad tech acquisitions.