Upload
chad-kaydo
View
2.339
Download
2
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Fall 2014 Trends for Live Events & Experiences
Report #2 w September 2014
As we head into one of the busiest times of the year, this report lays out the business and cultural trends that will in7luence the season’s most innovative events and brand experiences. !From immersive cinemas and dream-‐inducing art installations to “live magazines” and conferences focused on modern cities, the trends here will provide opportunities for brands looking to drive engagement and create relevant experiences now and into 2015. !By Chad Kaydo [email protected]
This material is protected by copyright. Unauthorized redistribution, including email forwarding, is a violation of federal law. To download a copy go to thexletter.com. To request multiple copies for one organization, email [email protected].
The X Letter trend reports identify and explore the business and cultural movements changing how we design, market, and measure live experiences. !Through proprietary surveys, interviews, and expert analysis, The X Letter uncovers the insights and innovations driving modern events, meetings, and other experiential marketing efforts. !The reports provide the latest business intelligence for marketers, designers, and strategists looking for inspiration and a competitive edge. !Sign up for the X Letter email at thexletter.com. !!!!!!
About The X Letter Reports
“To succeed in this new world, businesses, rather than trying to 7log newly positioned but actually the same old stuff, will have to create genuinely new, engaging goods, services and adventures that give us social and experiential currency—that is, a story to tell and an experience worth remembering.” James Wallman Stuffocation: How We’ve Had Enough of Stuff and Why You Need Experience More Than Ever
Report #2 w Fall 2014 Trends for Live Events & Experiences �2
For all the years I’ve been immersed in events and experiential marketing—many as editor in chief of BizBash, now as a consultant—the people I always enjoy talking to most are the ones who talk about everything but events. They’re obsessed with art and theater and technology and fashion and books and travel and architecture. And ultimately all of those things 7ind their way into the experiences they design and create. They get inspired by the broader culture, not just the work of their colleagues or competitors. !That’s the spirit I try to bring to my email and website, The X Letter, and the underpinning of my approach to this trend report: to look at all kinds of live experiences, whether created by brands, artists, or just people looking to connect, to 7ind patterns that can help others increase engagement and connection. !While many of the ideas presented here are in7luenced by technology (Airbnb gets mentioned a lot, social media plays a role in several places), I didn’t focus on the very speci7ic ways gadgets, apps, and software are changing events and experience, because that was the subject of the 7irst X Letter report, “The Next Trends for Live Events and Experiences.” You can download a copy of that at thexletter.com. !I welcome your feedback and your suggestions for topics for future reports. And also your recommendations for books, movies, apps… !Chad Kaydo Editor & Founder, The X Letter [email protected] !!!
Introduction
“While there are many wonderful stores for physical things, there really is no great store that sells experiences.” Trevor Traina Founder, IfOnly.com [Vogue]
Report #2 w Fall 2014 Trends for Live Events & Experiences �3
Regardless of global economic trends, afDluent consumers continue to spend money on luxury experiences, and new offerings are popping up. !Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, unveiled plans for the world’s 7irst private multi-‐room cabin on a commercial passenger aircraft in May 2014. The 125-‐square-‐foot space will feature a living room, double bedroom, shower room, and a butler. [Skift] !In April 2014 the Four Seasons introduced the hotel industry’s 7irst fully branded private jet, to be used for private tours that include stays at its properties. The 7irst tour, scheduled for February 2015, includes stops in Bora Boar, Thailand, and India; the 24-‐day trip costs $119,000 per person for double occupancy, or $130,000 single. [Bloomberg]
The new service IfOnly sells exclusive experiences associated with celebrities, with some proceeds going to a charity. Available in August: A weekend tennis getaway for four with Andre Agassi and Stef7i Graf for $116,000, and a balloon expedition over Mt. Everest for $4.8 million. !There’s also the burgeoning space tourism industry: Virgin Galactic plans to start its high-‐speed, $250,000 trips with six minutes of weightlessness in 2015. [CNN] !World View aims to carry passengers to the edge of space in a pod raised by a giant balloon starting in late 2016. [Space] !
“Travel at the top 1% has been growing faster than the rest of the industry over the last two years. Expect more branded, luxury experiences.” [Skift] !“[M]ost clients are cash rich but time poor, prefer to travel light and want to see an entire country in as little as three days. ‘For a client seeking a real experience that is not part of the cookie-‐cutter safari package, helicopters are manna from heaven,’ says [wilderness guide Ralph] Bous7ield, who has guided the likes of Ethan and Joel Coen in Botswana’s Kalahari Desert.” [Bloomberg Pursuits] !“The decision to offer one-‐of-‐a-‐kind trips aboard a custom-‐designed Four Seasons Jet…recognizes their desire to pair adventure and discovery with the luxury of a fully immersive Four Seasons experience.” Susan Helstab, executive vice president, marketing, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts [Press release]
1. The High-‐High-‐End
The new Four Seasons jet. (Photo: courtesy of the Four Seasons)
Report #2 w Fall 2014 Trends for Live Events & Experiences �4
When everyone is tired, the greatest luxury might be a nap. !If you need proof that people have run themselves ragged: Earlier this year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared insuf7icient sleep a public health epidemic. [CDC] !Our collective exhaustion is affecting events, in ways both obvious and hidden. Sleep has become a hot topic and a lure for activations, while lack of sleep might be limiting the impact of conferences and meetings. !Some people are obsessed with sleep, using apps and wearable technology (FitBit One, Jawbone Up) to measure and improve their habits, while publications from Glamour to The Wall Street Journal write about it. !In spring 2014 Arianna Huf7ington published a book and hosted a conference, both called Thrive, focused on wellness as a part of business success, with sleep as a primary factor. !Two different brands included nap pods in their installations during South by Southwest in Austin in March. [BizBash] !Artists are creating experiences that incorporate sleep. At “Dream of the Red Chamber” in
New York, attendees lay down in beds while cast members performed around them, under dim light and droning music. The Rubin Museum of Art’s “Dream-‐Over” series invites visitors to slumber under art. British musician Steven Stapleton has been giving 12-‐hour “Sleep Concerts” across Europe, with ambient sounds and videos. [The New York Times] !Artist Julijonas Urbonas’s “Oneiric Hotel” installation attempts to recreate experiments to induce lucid gravitational dreams, where dreamers 7ly, fall, and levitate. Participants in his sleepovers wear headbands to measure their rapid eye movements and ankle cuffs to alert but not wake them. !The new B-‐and-‐Bee stackable structure is meant to give tired music festival attendees a comfortable but compact place to sleep between shows.
Artist Julijonas Urbonas’s “Oneiric Hotel” installation. (Photo: Aistė Valiūtė and Daumantas Plechavičius) !!Arianna Huf7ington’s TED talk, “How to succeed? Get more sleep,” has been viewed more than 2.5 million times. !“How do you break people free of the sort of conscious mind that we’re all used to exploring in our day-‐to-‐day life? That’s literally the goal of every art piece.” Randy Weiner, theater director and producer [The New York Times] !!
4. Sleep
Report #2 w Fall 2014 Trends for Live Events & Experiences 8
About Chad KaydoChad Kaydo writes The X Letter, an email and website about experiences, brands, and culture, and hosts Xembly, a cocktails-‐and-‐speakers series for creative professionals who are passionate about compelling live experiences. !Chad speaks frequently about event marketing trends. He also consults with brands looking to keep their events fresh and relevant, and advises companies looking to connect with event professionals. !As the 7irst editor in chief of BizBash, Chad helped launch and build the leading magazine and website for the event industry, overseeing BizBash’s print, digital, and social media content until March 2013. He now writes a biweekly column for BizBash.com. He has interviewed the most innovative event marketers, producers, designers, and vendors working today. !Chad also writes about culture, fashion, and travel for various magazines and websites. He earned degrees in journalism and English at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and now lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, with a black standard poodle called Rhonda. !Contact Chad at [email protected]. !!!!!!
Sign up to receive notiDications about upcoming trend reports from Chad Kaydo and The X Letter at thexletter.com.
Report #2 w Fall 2014 Trends for Live Events & Experiences 19
The X Council serves as an advisory board for The X Letter and its trend reports, and as a host committee for Xembly, a cocktails-‐and-‐speakers series. !• Melanie Altarescu, Head of Strategic Initiatives, Wired • Lauren Austin, Creative Director, MKG • David Beahm, Founder & President, David Beahm Design • Liz Bigham, Executive Vice President, Marketing, Jack Morton Worldwide
• James Curich, P.R. Director, William Grant & Sons USA • Jennifer Diamond, Director of Creative Services, Mashable • Holly Doran, Head of Corporate Events, Verticals, Bloomberg LP • Lance Fensterman, Global Vice President, ReedPOP/New York Comic Con
• Mike Fine, Community Manager, New York City, Uber • Rachel Gross, Senior Vice President, Event Marketing, Univision • Rachel Harrison, Co-‐Founder, Lion & Lamb Communications • Chad Issaq, Executive Vice President, Business Development & Partnerships, Super7ly/Bonnaroo
• Kim Last, Senior Events Editor, Fast Company • Natasha Mulla, Director of Events, Mashable • Michelle Z. Rosen Sapir, Head of Community/EDU Events, U.S. Marketing Events, Google
• Maureen Ryan-Fable, C.E.O., Americas, First Protocol • Jennifer Savica, Executive Director, Head of Regional & Event Marketing, UBS Wealth Management
The X Council
Get more information about The X Letter and Xembly at thexletter.com.
Report #2 w Fall 2014 Trends for Live Events & Experiences 20