Experiential Has an Experience Problem
I’ve been thinking about the word experiential lately. Somewhere along the way, it became the creative industry’s favorite catch-all. Put up a tent, hand out samples, hire a DJ, screen-print a tote bag, and suddenly we’re calling it an “immersive brand experience.”
We may need to raise the bar.
I’m not knocking event marketing. There is absolutely a place for sampling, street teams, sponsorship activations, branded merchandise and a well-timed free drink. Those tactics can move product and generate awareness.
But event marketing and experiential design are not the same thing.
At Project Art Collective, when we talk about experiential, we’re talking about something deeper: creating a world someone can enter and, ideally, leave feeling differently than when they arrived. That distinction matters more than ever.
People Aren’t Starved for Events. They’re Starved for Connection.
We live in a world with almost unlimited digital access and increasingly limited human connection. Freeman and The Harris Poll found that 69% of Gen Z professionals say technology has made them feel less connected or more isolated, while 91% say in-person events are among the best ways to develop social and interpersonal skills. That should be a giant flashing sign for anyone working in experiential.
People aren't showing up simply because they want something to do. They're looking for something digital can't give them: presence, connection, and feeling. Another Freeman/Harris Poll study found that 95% of working professionals said they trusted brands more after attending an in-person event, while 92% said live events positively affected their perception of a brand.
That is an extraordinary opportunity. And sometimes we use it to give people a branded water bottle.
A Photo Op Isn't an Emotional Journey
This is where experiential has lost its way. We’ve gotten incredibly good at designing the moment of capture. Where should someone stand? What's behind them? Where's the logo? What will look good on TikTok?
Those are valid questions. They're just not the first questions.
I want to know: What do we want someone to feel when they walk in? What do we want them to discover? Where does the energy change? What is the moment of surprise? And what do they carry with them when they leave?
That’s world building.
It requires thinking about narrative, sound, lighting, art, architecture, performance, technology, hospitality and human behavior as parts of the same story. The best experiential work should borrow as much from theater, museums, film and hospitality as it does from advertising.
And the research suggests audiences can tell the difference. Freeman's 2025 study of more than 2,600 attendees and organizers found a pretty striking gap: 78% of organizers believed they were delivering standout “peak moments,” while only 40% of attendees said they'd actually experienced one. Attendees who did experience one were 85% more likely to return.
That gap is where the industry should be paying attention.
Experience Needs a Story
To me, true experiential should answer a few basic questions:
Why does this world exist?
What role does the audience play inside it?
How should they feel differently at the end?
What happens here that couldn't happen on their phone?
If we can't answer those questions, we may have created a really good event. But we haven't necessarily created an experience. That doesn't mean everything needs a multimillion-dollar build. Some of the most powerful experiences I've seen have been incredibly simple. A room. A piece of music. The right lighting. Twenty people. One unexpected moment.
Immersion isn't a budget. It's an intention. We Have to Stop Designing for Impressions and Start Designing for Memory
The opportunity for experiential right now is enormous precisely because everything else has become so disposable. Ads disappear. Feeds refresh. Content gets swallowed by the next piece of content. But a great experience can become part of someone's personal story.
That's the standard our industry should be chasing.
Not: Did they post it?
But: Did they feel it? Did they remember it? Did it change their relationship with the brand?
Because handing someone a sample might create a trial. Giving them a T-shirt might create an impression. But building a world they never expected to enter? That can create a memory.
And memory is where experiential becomes powerful.