Experiential
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Pop-Ups
Halloween 2026 Experiential: Brands Lean into Carnivals, Audio Horror and Jump-Scares
Halloween is one of the most wonderful times of the year for the experiential industry, with brands often willing to take bigger creative risks, and consumers increasingly embracing the holiday. This season, audiences around the U.S. were haunted by pop-ups, stunts, tours and theatrical performances that delivered memorable moments, and a healthy dose of mayhem.
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Pop-Ups
The Brief: Airport Races and Cashmere Cabins
This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover after-dark airport races, Cashmere Cabins and NFL events impacted by the protests in Paris.
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Sampling
Experiential Marketing Trend of the Week: Aperitivo Culture
The essence of aperitivo culture is wending its way into sampling experiences, offering attendees a slice of the beloved Italian social ritual of gathering for light, pre-dinner drinks and bites, and unhurried conversation, within vibrant branded settings. And a host of consumer behaviors and appetites is feeding the trend, from the rising popularity of early-evening […]
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Cause Marketing
Curious About Cannabis Events? 3 Tactics in Play
Most cannabis events are centered around trying products, according to Justin Miller, svp-brand marketing at Curaleaf, but consumers want more from brands. They want to connect with other enthusiasts, and experiential is giving them a place to build that community. Among home growers, for example, I Love Growing Marijuana’s 2024 brand survey found that 48% […]
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Trade Shows
3 Things to Know About Experiential at CES 2027
We’re just under three months away from the 60th year of the Consumer Electronics Show, and already a few big announcements are signaling how brands are rethinking where and how they engage audiences. What was once a show defined by long-held convention center booths is now a citywide experience with traditional exhibiting brands leaning into […]
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Pop-Ups
The Brief: Goddess Energy and Crappy Cars
This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover vintage showrooms, goddess energy and one crappy fleet of vehicles.
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Sampling
Bloom Takes Us Inside its Flavor Innovation ‘Universe’ at NACS 2026
From a Shirley Temple lounge to a lineup of nostalgic, dessert-inspired energy drinks, Bloom Nutrition brought its consumer-facing experiential playbook to the convenience-store trade show floor at NACS 2026. “Everything we do at Bloom is building a world, whether online, in person, at trade shows,” says Erica Tam, senior vice president of brand at Bloom […]
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Trade Shows
AI Agents, the Joy Factor: 7 Takeaways From IMEX America 2026
The 15th annual IMEX America brought together over 17,800 event professionals, venues, and destinations to Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas Oct. 13-15. More than 96,000 scheduled meetings—an equivalent of five years—took place during the event’s largest edition to date. Here’s what stood out to us in sessions and on the busy showfloor. Who’s […]
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Festivals & Fan Cons
Collectibles Culture: Live Selling Leads Booth Trends at NYCC 2026
Fast-paced, livestreamed shopping was one of the most pervasive trends spotted on the show floor at the 20th annual New York Comic Con (Oct. 8-11 at the Javits Ceter), and all of the action took place right inside the exhibits. The QVC-style broadcasts included sophisticated cameras and lighting, live hosts, and screens within the footprint […]
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Festivals & Fan Cons
NYCC 2026 Experiential: Shopping Malls, Haunted Cabins and Slime Surges
The 20th anniversary of New York Comic Con embodied everything the convention is renowned for, from the marketplace to the masquerade. In our jaunt through the Javits Center, we spotted trends in collectibles and content, and exhibit tactics worth stealing. Read our recap of the best on- and off-site experiential moments.
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