Event Planning

How the Humble American Diner Became the Stage for Brand Storytelling.... When we think of a diner, we think nostalgia. Neon lights, checkered floors, milkshakes, and the smell of fries drifting through the air. But today, brands aren’t just serving nostalgia, they’re serving story, theatre, and tangible brand experiences that make people stop, engage, and remember. Take Tesla’s Cybertruck “Tesla Diner & Drive-In.” It’s not just about the Superchargers. It’s about a retro-futuristic diner and drive-in theatre that transforms a functional stop into a multi-sensory moment. The diner becomes the stage where Tesla’s narrative, 'innovation meets Americana' comes alive. It’s tactile, it’s playful, and it’s a perfect example of a brand turning necessity into experience. Luxury and lifestyle brands are doing the same. CHANEL, SKIMS, and Jellycat have used pop-up diners to reinforce their brand DNA while giving consumers a physical, sensory connection. Think soft tactile displays, curated menus, neon signs echoing campaign aesthetics, and social moments built into every corner. The diner becomes a theatrical playground: consumers don’t just buy a product, they inhabit it. They sip, they snap, they share. So why does this work so well? It taps into the experience economy and Gen-Z’s appetite for moments that feel real, tangible, and shareable. A diner is both familiar and fantastical, it’s something people already know how to navigate, yet it can be transformed into a brand’s universe. Retro cues spark nostalgia, playful design encourages interaction, and the combination of taste, touch, and sight delivers multi-sensory engagement that static campaigns can’t match. They also offer collaboration potential; menus, merch, even limited-edition treats become vehicles for storytelling and co-creation. Social content writes itself: photo-booths, milkshake moments, and a drool inducing aesthetic, all make for irresistible feed fodder. And because diners are inherently communal, they naturally create micro-communities around the brand experience. For me, the power of the pop-up diner is that it’s more than just activation, it’s a physical manifesto of a brand’s values and aesthetics, inviting consumers to live the story, not just consume it. It’s theatre, tactility, and sensory engagement all rolled into one. Brands today aren’t just launching products, they’re designing worlds. So, are you still marketing products, or are you serving experiences with a side of storytelling? ________________ *Hi, I am Tim Nash. I help global brands build connected campaigns that resonate across every touchpoint. 🚀 #BrandExperience #ExperientialMarketing #RetailInnovation #GenZTrends #StorytellingInRetail #CulturalStrategy #BrandActivations #ExperienceEconomy Pictures courtesy of Glossier, Inc. / Skims / Chanel / Tesla / Benefit Cosmetics

One of the easiest ways to improve your collaboration with product managers and engineers is to improve your design handoff files. - It doesn’t take a lot of time - It drastically improves how people interpret your designs - It reduces backs and forths between engineers and designers - It gives engineers confidence that they are doing the right thing - It increases the chances that what’s implemented will match the design Great handoff files, for me, are an instant sign of design maturity. It shows me that designers think not only of themselves but also the ecosystem of people around them. Coming up with great handoffs boils down to the following: - Setting context - Adding structure - Adding annotations - Including all states - Visualizing the flow - Including a prototype - Doing a run-through Not everything is required for every design initiative; a small feature update may not need a full handoff, whereas a big, impactful one may require everything from the above. In this cheat sheet, I’ve put together my top tips for delivering the “perfect” handoff file. Bonus: I have also created a Figma Annotation and handoff kit with handy components for the above. Find the link in the comments. 👇 — If you found this useful, consider reposting ♻️ PS: By handoff I'm not referring to the process of handing over a design, which should be a collaborative process from problem to solution, but rather the organized design file that is the single source of truth for what needs to be implemented. #uxdesign #uiux #productdesign

India is lost in the magic of 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲, but have you wondered what legal protocols are needed before hosting such grand concerts? Here's a quick checklist: ✅ 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: Secure approvals from local authorities and police, including details of timings and crowd limits. ✅ 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬: Sign detailed agreements with venue owners, covering cancellation policies and liabilities. ✅ 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: Obtain licenses from music labels if copyright societies lack licensing rights, ensuring clarity on usage terms. ✅ 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐋𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞: Obtain licenses from music labels if copyright societies lack licensing rights, ensuring clarity on usage terms. ✅ 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐋𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: Cover for accidents or damages during the event, protecting both organizers and attendees. ✅ 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 & 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: Ensure fire safety measures, crowd control protocols, and emergency response plans. ✅ 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Define performance terms, timings, payments, and cancellation clauses clearly. ✅ 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: If the concert is being streamed live, establish agreements with streaming platforms covering territorial rights, exclusivity, number of re-runs of recorded feed and revenue-sharing models. ✅ 𝐓𝐚𝐱𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Adhere to GST and entertainment tax rules, ensuring accurate filings to avoid penalties. Big concerts are more than just music—they’re a legal concert in themselves! 🎶⚖️ #coldplayindia #concert #legalcompliance #entertainmentlaw

AI is revolutionizing the fashion industry, and catwalk shows are no exception. What do you think about this one? 1. Virtual Models and AI-Generated Fashion Shows: Hyperrealistic AI Models: AI is creating incredibly realistic virtual models that can walk the runway, showcasing designs without the need for physical models. This opens up possibilities for diversity and inclusivity in fashion. AI-Generated Designs: AI algorithms can generate unique and innovative fashion designs, pushing the boundaries of creativity. AI generated fashion designs Virtual Reality Fashion Shows: Immersive virtual reality experiences allow audiences to experience fashion shows from anywhere in the world, creating a more engaging and interactive experience. 2. AI-Powered Personalization: Personalized Catwalk Experiences: AI can analyze viewer preferences and tailor the catwalk show to individual tastes, creating a more personalized and enjoyable experience. AI-Driven Trend Forecasting: AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data to predict upcoming trends, helping designers stay ahead of the curve. 3. Enhanced Efficiency and Sustainability: AI-Optimized Production: AI can streamline the production process, reducing waste and improving efficiency. Sustainable Fashion Solutions: AI can help identify sustainable materials and practices, promoting a more eco-friendly fashion industry. 4. Interactive and Engaging Experiences: AI-Powered Audience Interaction: AI can enable real-time audience interaction, such as voting on favorite looks or creating custom designs. Augmented Reality Catwalk Shows: AR can overlay digital elements onto the physical runway, creating a more immersive and visually stunning experience. While AI is undoubtedly changing the landscape of catwalk shows, it's important to note that it's not replacing human creativity and artistry. Instead, AI is empowering designers and models to push the boundaries of fashion, creating innovative and engaging experiences for audiences around the world. #Ai #Innovation #Technology

Six years ago, I took over marketing at a company that went to 40 trade shows per year, and I cut that to 4. When I joined CoLab to lead marketing, we had zero conferences planned. I booked 2 the first year, and increased it to 6 the following year. What happened? Did my opinion on trade shows do a 180? Nope - the black and white pro - trade show vs. anti - trade show narrative is just an oversimplification. Most companies can go to at least a couple shows per year and get a positive ROI. Problem is - most companies are going to way more than a couple of shows per year and they have no idea which ones produce a positive ROI. You actually need a decent amount of rigor and discipline to figure this out. If you scale your conference spend too fast, you'll skip important retrospectives. It's easy to end up in the first scenario I described, where I had to cut trade shows by 90% in a year. Here's what you should do instead: 1) Start with a manageable number of conferences (no more than 1-2 per quarter, unless you have someone working on it full time) 2) Define success criteria going in: - You should have a qualified pipeline target - You should have tight definitions for what constitutes qualified pipeline, in the context of a conference - If you want to measure success based on other things (like establishing partnerships, moving in pipeline opps forward, etc.), figure those things out ahead of time too 3) After each show, do a retro and understand whether you achieved or missed your success criteria 4) If you missed, figure out why: - Is it a bad show for you? (e.g. not enough good fit ICP attendees) - Or could you make something of it, with some tweaks to your own execution? If it's the latter, you can go back again next year and test the new approach. Just like your email list, your trade show portfolio is something you should be constantly managing and "pruning" Most companies don't apply this level of rigor, which is why most trade show + conference programs are really, really wasteful. #b2bmarketing

Global PC outage. Kit Kat & Decathlon had the same idea. We've tested both with real people. One of these is in the top 10% for long-term creative effectiveness. Outstanding reactive digital campaigns require the resources to have brilliant and speedy creative and media teams. Is it worth the investment and the focus? Yes. System1 tested both ads with 300 real consumers using Test Your Ad to understand whether they create useful branded emotions for long-term and short-term sales effects. They are both great examples of reactive marketing campaigns. 1. Distinctiveness. They've ensured they still use famous and unique brand assets (logo and colour), leading to 93%+ brand recognition each. 2. Positioning. "Get Outside" and "Have A Break" are long-term campaigns. They've creatively linked the outage to their platforms, picking a relevant moment. Consistency is a marketing superpower. This helps build category entry points, which we see in spontaneous associations. 3. Cultural Reference. Tapping into something we already understand and recognise is an emotional shortcut. It's a simple enough idea for digital and OOH, and the clever humour builds positive emotions, giving both these ads strong long-term creative effectiveness. One issue. The executions are a little wordy for mediums that both get about 2 seconds of active attention (digital and OOH). This limits emotional intensity, lowering expected short-term sales effects. Both these campaigns are brilliant and had real media spend whilst gaining a lot of earned attention. But Kit Kat looks like the winner. It generates more positive emotions, useful for long-term brand building. This is down to it being a bigger brand with a longer-running campaign, and simply a chocolate break is an easier sell! Well done to both teams involved. The full testing reports are available for free below. KitKat: https://lnkd.in/e2MQRR8z Decathlon: https://lnkd.in/ezyv5_66 If you want this kind of quality #marketing insight in your feed for free every day, hit follow for more. Decathlon Jon Evans Nestlé Dhaval Bhatt Courage Inc Xavier Blais Rethink Phil Blondé

In today's digital age, leveraging celebrity brand ambassadors has become a popular strategy for businesses, including startups. As someone who's been a brand ambassador for various companies over the years and dabbled in startups myself, I've seen firsthand the ups & downs of this approach. People often ask if it's always beneficial to have a celebrity endorse your products or services. I’ll break it down to the most important things to consider. Visibility - Celebrities bring a massive following, offering increased visibility & reach to a wider audience that may have been difficult to engage otherwise. This exposure could enhance brand recognition & create positive associations in consumers' minds. Credibility -  The right kind of celebrity could inject a dose of credibility into your brand. Consumers may in turn perceive your product as reliable, particularly important for startups aiming to build a solid reputation & carve out a slice of the market. Engagement - Some celebrities are able to forge personal connections with their community. By aligning your startup with a celebrity, you may be tapping into that emotional connection & that community may be more likely to show interest in your brand. Costs - Engaging a celebrity ambassador comes at a price. Even if you opt for an equity-based deal, you still need to allocate valuable resources to amplify the association, potentially diverting funds from other key areas of requirement. Authenticity - The alignment between the celebrity & your product must seem genuine. If the partnership feels like a misfit or forced, the results can be counter productive. Today's consumers are evolved & can sense inauthenticity from a distance. Sustenance - While celebrities can generate a buzz in the short term, building interest & loyalty requires consistent effort & a solid value offering that goes beyond the celebrity association. Your product still needs to deliver exceptional value beyond the initial buzz.. Relevance - Ensure the celebrity aligns with the startup's target audience, values & offerings. The endorsement should make sense within the startup's brand identity & goals. Budget - Assess whether the startup can afford the associated costs, especially including the ongoing marketing efforts. Do not assume that bringing a celebrity on board itself is going to win you the war. It’s just a head start. Long-Term Strategy - A well-crafted partnership should naturally integrate into your overall marketing & branding strategy & solidify your position & bring sustained growth. Timing - Most importantly, remember, spending so much in early stages, or early dilution in equity can have long-term consequences, so ask yourself if you’re really ready at this stage. Ultimately, the decision to engage a celebrity brand ambassador should be based on your unique circumstances & goals. Hopefully this will help some make an informed decision. #BrandAmbassadors #CelebrityEndorsements #InfluencerMarketing

Early in my facilitation career, I made a big mistake. Spent hours crafting engaging activities and perfecting every little detail… Thinking that amazing learning design is what would make my workshops stand out and get me rehired. Some went great. Some bombed. You know the ones, sessions where: - One participant dominated the conversation. - People quietly disengaged, barely participating. - half the group visibly frustrated but not saying anything. I would push through, hoping things would course-correct. But by the end, it was a bit… meh. I knew my learning design was great so... What was I missing? Why the inconsistency between sessions? 💡I relied too much on implicit agreements. I realised that I either skipped or rushed the 'working agreements'. Treating it like a 'tick' box exercise. And it's here I needed to invest more time Other names for this: Contract, Culture or Design Alliance, etc... Now, I never start a session without setting a working agreement. And the longer I'm with the group, the longer I spend on it. 25 years of doing this. Here are my go-to Qs: 🔹 What would make this session a valuable use of your time? → This sets the north star. It ensures participants express their needs, not just my agenda. 🔹 What atmosphere do we want to create? → This sets the mood. Do they want an energising space? A reflective one? Let them decide. 🔹 What behaviours will support this? → This makes things concrete. It turns abstract hopes into tangible agreements. 🔹 How do we want to handle disagreement? → This makes it practical. Conflict isn’t the problem—how we navigate it is. ... The result? - More engaged participants. - Smoother facilitation. - Ultimately, a reputation as the go-to person for high-impact sessions. You probably already know this. But if things don't go smoothly in your session. Might be worth investing a bit more time at the start to prevent problems later on. Great facilitation doesn't just happen, It's intentional, and it's designed. ~~ ♻️ Share if this is a useful reminder ✍️ Have you ever used a working agreement in your workshops? What’s one question you always ask? Drop it in the comments!

RAND ‘s report on wartime #disinformation : Applying lessons learned from #Ukraine to other contexts. 92 pages, 3 chapters, 12 lessons learned : 🪖Before the war: shaping operations. 🔹 2014-22: building government &civil society institutions countering adversary disinformation 🔹 steps to stop the flow of Russian propaganda targeting the country 🔹 intelligence-driven “prebunk” informing international audiences about planned Russian operations 🪖During the war: countering false narratives across the 3 theaters of the information war. 🧰12 lessons learned : 🔸Prepare and plan for 3 theaters of information war, look for innovative ways to reach & communicate with populations in totalitarian countries; rally international institutions to effectively prebunk adversary campaigns targeting the rest of the world; support a broader array of institutions residing in host nations. 🔸Build critical host nation institutions in advance of and during conflict 🔸Build and maintain capacity to counter disinformation: assess own doctrine, training, and wargaming efforts to ensure it is able to counter disinformation during conflict. Ensure that institutions & psychological operations forces retain their capability. 🔸Invest in and work with civil society 🔸Build and maintain trust to effectively dispel adversary narratives. 🔸Work with and empower local and military influencers: promote online voices to help support national security objectives. 🔸Build #resilience of troops: to avoid frontline soldiers being a target of adversary campaigns, undermining their will to fight. Develop a mandatory media literacy education campaign to help deployed and garrison personnel recognize malign influence attempts and foster safer online behavior. 🔸Do not allow coordination to sacrifice speed in responding: the Ukrainian experience highlights the value of a loosely coordinated and redundant network response that involves multiple actors both monitoring media and communicating key narratives. 🔸Be prepared to take risks: accept that government communicators outsource their efforts to creative and agile civil society institutions. Allow communicators to quickly create unique, humorous, and engaging content. 🔸Plan on resourcing and executing 3 critical counterdisinformation tools: Debunking (fact checking), prebunking, and the promulgation of proactive information narratives. Ensure the 3 are integrated in military theaters of operation. 🔸Be prepared to build the capacity of key institutions: In future contingency operations, consider adversary targets for propaganda and disinformation and evaluate the ability of local institutions to effectively respond. 🔸Recognize the risk of waning support over time, as the time engaged in conflict increases and influence of messaging decreases & adversary disinformation narratives may become more influential. Wargame these risks and consider incorporating them in war plans. 👏🏼 Todd Helmus Khrystyna Holynska

What is the future of universities in the UK? It was great to have an opportunity to discuss this vital question in the Houses of Parliament this evening. Our panel included a politician, a UK Higher Ed policy expert, a Japanese higher education policy maker, a psychologist, a school head teacher and myself. I pointed out that universities are increasingly boxed in by a set of macro forces and many of the ways out of the box are not particularly effective or realistic. Finding a genuine way out requires looking at other sectors where there have been genuine disruption and turn arounds. The lesson from research on those sectors is that finding efficiency is important but just doing this won't solve the problem longer term. What drives sustained turn around in the longer term is innovation - in processes, products, business models, and cultural framing. The good news is that the UK higher education sector has gone through moments of stagnation and turn-around in the past. It found its way out through experiment and innovation. It hopefully should be able to do it again. Here is the HEPI report (with Diana Beech) where these ideas are expanded on: https://lnkd.in/e5ChU8xq