Engineering Belonging: How to Turn Product Launches into Living Worlds (Late)
2025-11-26 17:55 - 19:30 (Europe/London) | Zoom
A practical Campfire on using story, symbolism, ritual, and sensory design to build brand worlds people choose to join.
What if a car launch wasn’t just a moment – but the start of a culture?
In this Campfire, The Hanging House co‑founders Anam Ahmad and Husam Haris will take you inside Nissan NISMO’s Red Ring Society – an experiential world where two very different cars live under a single emotional universe.
Anam and Husam will detail how their Dubai-based experimental agency transformed a ‘simple’ product reveal into an unforgettable brand experience into something more.
You’ll learn the key choices, frameworks and sensory signatures on how what started as an audience became a genuine tribe…
Inside the case study: NISMO Red Ring Society

The challenge: How to build one emotional universe from two distinct cars
The approach: Story architecture > Symbol & ritual design > Multi-sensory world‑building
The result: An experience that felt alive, coherent, and repeatable—giving fans identity, not just information

What you’ll learn:

What it takes to build a cinematic, emotionally-driven brand world
How to engineer belonging through story, symbolism, and design
Tools to unite multiple products under a single emotional framework
Practical takeaways to elevate the impact and longevity of your experiences

Who this Campfire is for:

Experience designers
Brand + creative strategists
Experiential producers and world-builders
Brand leaders ready to go beyond campaigns

About Anam & Husam:
Anam Ahmad (Founder and CCO) and Husam Haris (Co-Founder and COO) are co-founders of The Hanging House, an experiential studio reimagining how brands build worlds people want to live in.
She leads the instinct: inventing worlds through story, psychology, and play.
He leads the intelligence: scaling those worlds into reality through strategy, production, and systems.
Together, they’ve built brand ecosystems with cult-like loyalty, from Nissan’s NISMO tribe to GUGU, a rising cultural movement designed to unboring adulthood. Their work proves that when creativity and operational mastery collide, brands stop selling and start shifting culture.
About The Hanging House:
The Hanging House is an independent omnichannel experiential studio working at the intersection of art, tech, and people. Born eight years ago in a garage with four people and a few laptops, it has since delivered 200+ experiences across industries and borders for brands, governments, and culture‑makers—most recently earning shortlists at Campaign Middle East Agency of the Year.
Visit: thehanginghouse.com

How to watch this Campfire:

Link to sign up for this Campfire (WXO members only)
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #2 is suitable for those in the US or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 17:55 – 19:25
Paris: 18:55 – 20:25
Los Angeles: 09:55 – 11:25
Santa Fe: 10:55 – 12:25
Chicago: 11:55 – 13:25
New York: 12:55 – 14:25
São Paulo, Santiago & Buenos Aires: 13:55 – 15:25

Quantum Narratives: The Science Move that Destroys The Old Narrative Playbook in Experience Design (Early)
2025-12-03 09:55 - 11:30
In her new book Quantum Narratives, acclaimed creative technologist and experiential innovator Stephanie Riggs reveals how deeply our stories rely on Aristotelian Poetics – and why that limits us.
She introduces a bold framework that fuses principles from the physical sciences with today’s generative tools to finally overcome the long-standing narrative paradox.
Revolutionary, research-backed, and practical, this talk reframes everything we think we know about storytelling and offers interactive and spatial creators a transformative new way to build narrative.
What you’ll learn:

Nine techniques from Ancient Greece to Renaissance
Their adaptation into modern methods
Examples of contemporary applications of these methods from around the world
A design toolkit for memorable experiences

Who this Campfire is for:

Experience designers
Creative technologists
Storytellers
AI-haters & AI-lovers

About Stephanie:
Former Disney Imagineer, classical storyteller, and creative technologist Stephanie Riggs has led narrative innovation and immersive tech for more than 25 years. Called “the renaissance woman of the immersive era” by the VRAR Association, she has led ground-breaking work across theatre, theme parks, film, experiential, VR, AR, and AI.
Her approach blends classic storytelling, research-driven development, and world-class technology. Stephanie has collaborated with major media companies (Instagram, Google, Netflix, Amazon), start-ups, non-profits, and universities including Yale, CMU, and NYU. She is the author of the acclaimed books ‘The End of Storytelling’ (SXSW 2019) and “Quantum Narratives’ (SXSW 2025).
———-
How to watch this Campfire:

Link to sign up for this Campfire (WXO members only)
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #1 is suitable for those in the APAC region or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 9:55 – 11:25 (BST)
Paris: 10:55 – 12:25 (CEST)
Dubai: 12:55 – 14:25 (GST)
Mumbai: 14:25 – 15:55 (IST)
Shanghai / Singapore: 16:55 – 18:25 (CST/SGT)
Tokyo: 17:55 – 19:25 (JST)
Sydney: 18:55 – 20:25 (AEST)
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25 (NZST)

Quantum Narratives: The Science Move that Destroys The Old Narrative Playbook in Experience Design (Late)
2025-12-03 17:55 - 19:30
In her new book Quantum Narratives, acclaimed creative technologist and experiential innovator Stephanie Riggs reveals how deeply our stories rely on Aristotelian Poetics – and why that limits us.
She introduces a bold framework that fuses principles from the physical sciences with today’s generative tools to finally overcome the long-standing narrative paradox.
Revolutionary, research-backed, and practical, this talk reframes everything we think we know about storytelling and offers interactive and spatial creators a transformative new way to build narrative.
What you’ll learn:

Nine techniques from Ancient Greece to Renaissance
Their adaptation into modern methods
Examples of contemporary applications of these methods from around the world
A design toolkit for memorable experiences

Who this Campfire is for:

Experience designers
Creative technologists
Storytellers
AI-haters & AI-lovers

About Stephanie:
Former Disney Imagineer, classical storyteller, and creative technologist Stephanie Riggs has led narrative innovation and immersive tech for more than 25 years. Called “the renaissance woman of the immersive era” by the VRAR Association, she has led ground-breaking work across theatre, theme parks, film, experiential, VR, AR, and AI.
Her approach blends classic storytelling, research-driven development, and world-class technology. Stephanie has collaborated with major media companies (Instagram, Google, Netflix, Amazon), start-ups, non-profits, and universities including Yale, CMU, and NYU. She is the author of the acclaimed books ‘The End of Storytelling’ (SXSW 2019) and “Quantum Narratives’ (SXSW 2025).
———-
How to watch this Campfire:

Link to sign up for this Campfire (WXO members only)
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #2 is suitable for those in the US or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 17:55 – 19:25
Paris: 18:55 – 20:25
Los Angeles: 09:55 – 11:25
Santa Fe: 10:55 – 12:25
Chicago: 11:55 – 13:25
New York: 12:55 – 14:25
São Paulo, Santiago & Buenos Aires: 13:55 – 15:25

The Event Transformation Blueprint: 10 Steps to Events People Trust (Early)
2025-12-10 09:55 - 11:30
When so much online is uncertain, people trust what they experience together in person. Well‑run events can change minds, build relationships, and lead to real action.
At this Campfire, Sasha Frieze – an award‑winning event strategist with 30+ years of experience and 1,000+ events – shares a clear, 10‑step blueprint you can use to plan and run events that deliver results.
She will detail the three categories to consider when exploring customer journeys, share how to establish your event’s ‘ikigai’ plus strategies to put your participants at the heart of the story.
Her clients include the United Nations Foundation, The Guardian, The BMJ, the Open Data Institute, Raymond James, Incisive Media, and the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
The session draws on her book, The Chief Event Officer’s Playbook – a blueprint for the next generation of events: purpose-led, outcome driven and aligned to organizational goals.
What you’ll learn:

Set a clear purpose and success measures everyone understands
Map three key journeys – before, during, and after – so each stage works together
Put participants at the centre with formats that invite real conversation, not just one‑way talks
Choose speakers and content you can trust, and prepare for honest Q&A
Design practical next steps so the event leads to action, not just applause
Show how your event supports your organisation’s goals without turning it into a sales pitch

Who this Campfire is for:

Event and meeting professionals
Marketers and strategists
Anyone shaping business or professional events who wants clear steps and real outcomes

In a time where events can inspire world leaders, change government policy and redefine the conversation in sectors ranging from immunology to technology, we need a guidebook that helps us create authentic, trustworthy events and experiences that meet these high expectations – for both the organiser and the audience. Welcome to The Chief Event Officer’s Playbook.

About Sasha:
Sasha Frieze is an author and event strategy consultant. Over three decades, she has delivered more than 1,000 events for organisations including the United Nations Foundation, The Guardian, The BMJ, the Open Data Institute, Raymond James, Incisive Media, and the Royal College of Anaesthetists. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Royal Society of Arts, a non‑executive director of the British Society for Haematology, and a visiting lecturer in event management at the University of Westminster.
She is the author of The Chief Event Officer’s Playbook – How to Create Transformational Events.
Learn more: https://mybook.to/TCEOP

How to watch this Campfire:

Link to sign up for this Campfire (WXO members only)
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #1 is suitable for those in the APAC region or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 9:55 – 11:25 (BST)
Paris: 10:55 – 12:25 (CEST)
Dubai: 12:55 – 14:25 (GST)
Mumbai: 14:25 – 15:55 (IST)
Shanghai / Singapore: 16:55 – 18:25 (CST/SGT)
Tokyo: 17:55 – 19:25 (JST)
Sydney: 18:55 – 20:25 (AEST)
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25 (NZST)

The Event Transformation Blueprint: 10 Steps to Events People Trust (Late)
2025-12-10 17:55 - 19:30
When so much online is uncertain, people trust what they experience together in person. Well‑run events can change minds, build relationships, and lead to real action.
At this Campfire, Sasha Frieze – an award‑winning event strategist with 30+ years of experience and 1,000+ events – shares a clear, 10‑step blueprint you can use to plan and run events that deliver results.
She will detail the three categories to consider when exploring customer journeys, share how to establish your event’s ‘ikigai’ plus strategies to put your participants at the heart of the story.
Her clients include the United Nations Foundation, The Guardian, The BMJ, the Open Data Institute, Raymond James, Incisive Media, and the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
The session draws on her book, The Chief Event Officer’s Playbook – a blueprint for the next generation of events: purpose-led, outcome driven and aligned to organizational goals.
What you’ll learn:

Set a clear purpose and success measures everyone understands
Map three key journeys – before, during, and after – so each stage works together
Put participants at the centre with formats that invite real conversation, not just one‑way talks
Choose speakers and content you can trust, and prepare for honest Q&A
Design practical next steps so the event leads to action, not just applause
Show how your event supports your organisation’s goals without turning it into a sales pitch

Who this Campfire is for:

Event and meeting professionals
Marketers and strategists
Anyone shaping business or professional events who wants clear steps and real outcomes

In a time where events can inspire world leaders, change government policy and redefine the conversation in sectors ranging from immunology to technology, we need a guidebook that helps us create authentic, trustworthy events and experiences that meet these high expectations – for both the organiser and the audience. Welcome to The Chief Event Officer’s Playbook.

About Sasha:
Sasha Frieze is an author and event strategy consultant. Over three decades, she has delivered more than 1,000 events for organisations including the United Nations Foundation, The Guardian, The BMJ, the Open Data Institute, Raymond James, Incisive Media, and the Royal College of Anaesthetists. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Royal Society of Arts, a non‑executive director of the British Society for Haematology, and a visiting lecturer in event management at the University of Westminster.
She is the author of The Chief Event Officer’s Playbook – How to Create Transformational Events.
Learn more: https://mybook.to/TCEOP

How to watch this Campfire:

Link to sign up for this Campfire (WXO members only)
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #2 is suitable for those in the US or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 17:55 – 19:25
Paris: 18:55 – 20:25
Los Angeles: 09:55 – 11:25
Santa Fe: 10:55 – 12:25
Chicago: 11:55 – 13:25
New York: 12:55 – 14:25
São Paulo, Santiago & Buenos Aires: 13:55 – 15:25

R.E.V.E.A.L. – Why Value-Engineering Is a Creative Superpower
2025-12-17 09:55 - 23:30
When a £285K immersive experience became an £850 school-library prototype, experience designer Skye Von discovered that constraint can sharpen creativity rather than limit it.
From that experiment emerged The R.E.V.E.A.L. Framework – a creative pressure simulator that transforms limitation into clarity and confidence.
In this Campfire, experience designer and artist Skye explores how reducing scale and resources can expose blind spots, validate emotional logic, and amplify what connects most deeply with audiences.
“The R.E.V.E.A.L. Pressure Simulator isn’t about tearing down what you have,” says Skye. “It’s about proving what’s strong – and revealing what’s still waiting to emerge.”
Value-engineering isn’t about reduction – it’s about revelation.
What you’ll learn:

How to reframe value-engineering as a creative process of revelation, not reduction
What happens when you take an idea down to 1% of the budget and 25% of the space
How stripped-down prototyping becomes a pressure test that reveals the core mechanics and emotional spine of an experience
Why designing with less can validate your strongest ideas and sharpen their impact
Show how your event supports your organisation’s goals without turning it into a sales pitch

Who this Campfire is for:

Experience designers and creative directors
Brand strategists, marketers, and producers
Storytellers and educators exploring participatory design
Anyone using constraint, creativity, or story to move people through experience\n

About Skye:
Skye Von is an experience designer and artist with over 15 years’ experience shaping immersive environments, brand storytelling, and educational experiences that invite people to play, connect, and transform – from art exhibitions exploring human connection and belonging to family experiences that inspire curiosity and collaboration, and brand activations that spark wonder and shared meaning.
Her work – spanning collaborations with Paramount, Google, and Bulgari, as well as organisations like the Malala Fund and UNHCR – blends storytelling, design, and often emerging technology to create spaces where emotion meets innovation.

How to watch this Campfire:

Link to sign up for this Campfire (WXO members only)
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #1 is suitable for those in the APAC region or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 9:55 – 11:25 (BST)
Paris: 10:55 – 12:25 (CEST)
Dubai: 12:55 – 14:25 (GST)
Mumbai: 14:25 – 15:55 (IST)
Shanghai / Singapore: 16:55 – 18:25 (CST/SGT)
Tokyo: 17:55 – 19:25 (JST)
Sydney: 18:55 – 20:25 (AEST)
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25 (NZST)

What Is Experience Strategy – And What It Definitely Isn’t…
2025-12-17 17:55 - 19:30
When Dave Norton asked a very distinguished CX leader the question, ‘What is experience strategy?’ he looked at back at him and said, ‘It’s the part of the business strategy that the experience people execute against.”
He was serious. And, according to Dave, he was wrong.
Over to Dave to explain why and what he’ll be preaching at this exclusive Campfire:
“Experience strategy is not CX. It’s not the part of the business strategy that designers, solution providers, technologies, or operations gets done. No, experience strategy IS business strategy – or at least the part of business strategy that describes how value is created for the customer. Which is the most important part.
“The WXO community should remember that the basic premise of The Experience Economyis that experiences create value. Experience strategy, as I shall define it, is all about helping a company to create the most value possible for the customer and the company.”
Aimed at anyone who is or wants to be a better strategist, this session is essential for anyone launching, reimagine or running an experience business – and that means you.
You’ll discover

The four principles of experience strategy
How experience strategy is different from other forms of strategy
Why experience strategy is not design, innovation, creativity, or solutionising
How to articulate your role as a strategist in a business setting

About Dave
Dave Norton is the founder and principal of Stone Mantel, an insights consultancy focused on helping companies create meaningful experiences for their customers. For decades he has been at the forefront of experience strategy. His clients include Coca-Cola, Marriott, Disney, Nike, Walmart, Johns Hopkins, Blue Cross, Royal Caribbean International, and many other well-known brands.
He is also the founder of The Collaboratives, a subscription-based research program that companies participate in annually. The program is designed to conduct primary research into the lives of consumers and discover how technology, meaning making, human behavior, and design will continue to evolve and take shape.
As lead researcher and director of both Stone Mantel and The Collaboratives, Dave Norton has guided thousands of in-depth interviews and in-home observations that are the basis for these insights into modes. His research includes 10 years of quantitative research into the role of technology in consumers’ lives.
Dave is also the author of Digital Context 2.0: Seven Lessons in Business Strategy, Consumer Behavior, and the Internet of Things. Digital context is the data that resides in and between the wide variety of tools that people access. His book helps companies think about their strategy for smart homes, cars, and work environments.
Dave has lectured at Harvard, Columbia Business School, and other academic institutions. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2002 in Rhetoric, Scientific, and Technical Communications, and currently lives in Utah.
How to watch this Campfire:

Link to sign up for this Campfire (WXO members only)
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings
Campfire #2 is suitable for those in the US or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:
London: 17:55 – 19:25
Paris: 18:55 – 20:25
Los Angeles: 09:55 – 11:25
Santa Fe: 10:55 – 12:25
Chicago: 11:55 – 13:25
New York: 12:55 – 14:25
São Paulo, Santiago & Buenos Aires: 13:55 – 15:25

Unpacking The Uncertainty Toolkit: From kitchen table to Netflix documentary to behavioural change framework
2026-01-07 09:55 - 11:30
In this session, authors and neuroscientists Sam Conniff (Be More Pirate) and Katherine Templar Lewis (Kinda Studios) chart the journey of their new book The Uncertainty Toolkit.
From a kitchen COVID project to the world’s first interactive documentary, The Uncertainty Experts, funded by Netflix, scientifically proven to change people’s uncertainty tolerance (with an immersive neuroaesthetic soundtrack by Morcheeba) and finally turned into a book, Sam Conniff and Katherine Templar Lewis discuss the journey of bringing together unforgettable stories of smugglers and gangsters with cutting edge neuroscience to create an multimedia experience like no other.
What started as a passion project has now become a fully-blown, evidence-based behaviour change framework perfect for experience designers, whether you’re looking to understand your own audiences or testing your approaches to creativity and business.
Looking to grow your work in 2026? Uncertain of how to approach that challenge? The Uncertainty Toolkit can help.
Come along to a thought-provoking and practical session to kick off Season 15 of WXO Campfires.

About The Uncertainty Toolkit:
What can an ex-gangland boss, a recovering addict and a refugee teach you about thriving in the face of uncertainty?
It’s the ‘Do you have five minutes?’ message from your boss. The ‘We need to chat’ from a loved one. Those spiralling thoughts at 3 a.m. and buzz of yet another breaking news alert. The potential coming waves of AI, climate change and unstable governments.
For most of us, uncertainty is paralysing. But learning to navigate it effectively means more confidence, less anxiety and deeper connection with others.
The Uncertainty Toolkit is a pioneering, evidence-based guide to doing just that. Drawing on the world’s most extensive study into ‘uncertainty tolerance’, led with professors from University College London, it explains the science behind how we cope with the unknown. This research is combined with the radical expertise of an unlikely group of experts – former addicts, hostages, gangland bosses and prisoners – who’ve turned their experience of extreme uncertainty into major mainstream success.
The result is a detailed, practical blueprint that will help anyone turn unpredictability into personal and professional growth.

About Sam Conniff:
Sam Coniff is the author of the international bestseller and ‘modern life-bible’ Be More Pirate, and the writer and co-presenter of Uncertainty Experts. He was the Co-Founder of multi-award-winning social enterprise Livity, pan-African youth empowerment program Digify, and Bafta-winning content studio, Don’t Panic. Sam has won Entrepreneur of the Year, Agency of the Year, The Queens Award and turned down an MBE in 2020.

About Katherine Templar Lewis
Katherine Templar Lewis is a cognitive scientist, neuroscience consultant and science communicator. Co-presenter and lead scientist on The Uncertainty Experts and Audible Originals podcast Beyond Five Senses, she often appears as an expert and contributor across media outputs, including Sky, BBC, NBC, The TODAY show, Radio 4, VICE and the HuffPost. She is co-founder of women-led Kinda Studios and Lab, which translates neuroscience into design to drive wellbeing.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #1 is suitable for those in the APAC region or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 9:55 – 11:25 (BST)
Paris: 10:55 – 12:25 (CEST)
Dubai: 12:55 – 14:25 (GST)
Mumbai: 14:25 – 15:55 (IST)
Shanghai / Singapore: 16:55 – 18:25 (CST/SGT)
Tokyo: 17:55 – 19:25 (JST)
Sydney: 18:55 – 20:25 (AEST)
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25 (NZST)

Why Escape Rooms Are More Than You Realize (And How Everyone Needs To Learn From Them)
2026-01-07 17:55 - 19:30
Escape rooms have come a long way from the days of being locked in a room filled with padlocks and riddles.
So says David Spira, co-founder of RoomEscapeArtist.com and the escape room industry’s most prolific voice.
These live action, site-specific adventures are defying genres by cross pollinating with immersive theater, haunts, board games, and video games.
Join David for an exploration of the breadth and depth of escape rooms and a breakdown of the core lessons that creators across the immersive arts are ignoring at their own peril.
Who should attend

Experience creators and designers
Experience business owners
Aspiring business owners in the immersive industry

What you’ll learn

The lay of the land of the global escape room market
An understanding of the underlying business models of escape rooms
Exploration of the difference between art and product design
Tips for how to suck less as an immersive creator!

About David Spira
David is the co-founder of RoomEscapeArtist.com and the escape room industry’s most prolific voice. For over a decade, he has been shaping the immersive games ecosystem through his writing, event production, and podcasting.
He co-hosts the Reality Escape Pod and leads the Reality Escape Convention, a gathering for immersive creators. David’s work spans humanitarian design for the UN, to puzzle-led branding campaigns for tech companies, and designing educational escape rooms.
Known for his clarity of thinking and his deep respect for both creators and players, David brings expertise in the psychology, business, and mechanics of real-world games.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #2 is suitable for those in the US or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 17:55 – 19:25
Paris: 18:55 – 20:25
Los Angeles: 09:55 – 11:25
Santa Fe: 10:55 – 12:25
Chicago: 11:55 – 13:25
New York: 12:55 – 14:25
São Paulo, Santiago & Buenos Aires: 13:55 – 15:25

How Experience Design Can Transform Corporate Events (Early)
2026-01-14 09:55 - 11:30
Most corporate events consist of endless PowerPoint slides and business strategy that gets forgotten the minute the attendees remove their lanyards.
So what if we added experience design into the mix?
Projectory turns corporate events into interactive, strategy-internalizing, and smile-inducing fun experiences. By staying mostly analog, we help people get their heads out of their phones and into conversations with their peers.
Through in session facilitated sessions using individually controlled helium balloon devices (?!) to magic word spewing Venting Machine fridge-magnet-poetry gone wild, Projectory fosters the rarely seen at corporate events: Genuine Smiles.
This Campfire session is all about what happens when you combine distinctive expertise from three very different co-founders with a shared passion for experience design. It’s about how real magic is technology agnostic. And it’s about how corporate strategy doesn’t have to be mind numbingly boring.
Who should attend:

Corporate Event Planners
Heads of HR, People, or Culture
Strategy and Innovation Leaders
Learning and Development Teams
Experience Designers and Creative Producers
Corporate Communications Teams
Executives running Offsites or Retreats

What you’ll learn:

Why analog-first experiences unlock deeper engagement
How Projectory turns corporate strategy into something people actually feel
The surprising power of playful tools like helium devices and “Venting Machines”
What happens when three distinct disciplines collide around experience design

About Paddy Harrington:
Paddy is a design innovator and storyteller who helps organizations discover and express their core purpose and long-term ambition. He is the founder of Frontier, a Design Office that collaborates with clients to creates strategic stories, brand strategy and identity, and physical and digital experiences.
Paddy is also co-founder of Projectory, a live event engagement company. He is also a member of WXO, a global network of experience leaders and practitioners who shape the future of human experience.
With nearly 20 years of experience in the design field and degrees in literature and architecture, Paddy has worked with diverse and influential clients, like PepsiCo, Unilever, the Sacramento Kings, and the Holy City of Mecca.
He is design and brand strategist, an award-winning writer and filmmaker, and has spoken at Harvard, Brown, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He is passionate about creating strategic stories that inspire, guide, and empower businesses, people, and the planet to thrive.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #1 is suitable for those in the APAC region or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 9:55 – 11:25 (BST)
Paris: 10:55 – 12:25 (CEST)
Dubai: 12:55 – 14:25 (GST)
Mumbai: 14:25 – 15:55 (IST)
Shanghai / Singapore: 16:55 – 18:25 (CST/SGT)
Tokyo: 17:55 – 19:25 (JST)
Sydney: 18:55 – 20:25 (AEST)
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25 (NZST)

How Experience Design Can Transform Corporate Events (Late)
2026-01-14 17:55 - 19:30
Most corporate events consist of endless PowerPoint slides and business strategy that gets forgotten the minute the attendees remove their lanyards.
So what if we added experience design into the mix?
Projectory turns corporate events into interactive, strategy-internalizing, and smile-inducing fun experiences. By staying mostly analog, we help people get their heads out of their phones and into conversations with their peers.
Through in session facilitated sessions using individually controlled helium balloon devices (?!) to magic word spewing Venting Machine fridge-magnet-poetry gone wild, Projectory fosters the rarely seen at corporate events: Genuine Smiles.
This Campfire session is all about what happens when you combine distinctive expertise from three very different co-founders with a shared passion for experience design. It’s about how real magic is technology agnostic. And it’s about how corporate strategy doesn’t have to be mind numbingly boring.
Who should attend:

Corporate Event Planners
Heads of HR, People, or Culture
Strategy and Innovation Leaders
Learning and Development Teams
Experience Designers and Creative Producers
Corporate Communications Teams
Executives running Offsites or Retreats

What you’ll learn:

Why analog-first experiences unlock deeper engagement
How Projectory turns corporate strategy into something people actually feel
The surprising power of playful tools like helium devices and “Venting Machines”
What happens when three distinct disciplines collide around experience design

About Paddy Harrington:
Paddy is a design innovator and storyteller who helps organizations discover and express their core purpose and long-term ambition. He is the founder of Frontier, a Design Office that collaborates with clients to creates strategic stories, brand strategy and identity, and physical and digital experiences.
Paddy is also co-founder of Projectory, a live event engagement company. He is also a member of WXO, a global network of experience leaders and practitioners who shape the future of human experience.
With nearly 20 years of experience in the design field and degrees in literature and architecture, Paddy has worked with diverse and influential clients, like PepsiCo, Unilever, the Sacramento Kings, and the Holy City of Mecca.
He is design and brand strategist, an award-winning writer and filmmaker, and has spoken at Harvard, Brown, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He is passionate about creating strategic stories that inspire, guide, and empower businesses, people, and the planet to thrive.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #2 is suitable for those in the US or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 17:55 – 19:25
Paris: 18:55 – 20:25
Los Angeles: 09:55 – 11:25
Santa Fe: 10:55 – 12:25
Chicago: 11:55 – 13:25
New York: 12:55 – 14:25
São Paulo, Santiago & Buenos Aires: 13:55 – 15:25

Magic Memory: The Art of Memory as Experience Design
2026-01-21 09:55 - 11:30
For millennia, people used the art of memory to remember what mattered.
During the Renaissance, it converged with the Hermetic tradition, an esoteric knowledge stream that braided memory with ritual practice, natural magic, astrology and alchemy, forming what is known as Magic Memory.
This session shows how we can translate principles of Magic Memory into a contemporary method of designing experiences that stay with audiences.
On this Campfire, London-based creative producer, strategist and storyteller Victor Lander will unpack the core techniques of Magic Memory, reveal how they work and understand how they can be used in experiences nowadays.
Who should attend:

Experience designers
Experience strategists
Spatial designers
Architects

What you’ll learn:

Nine techniques from Ancient Greece to Renaissance
Their adaptation into modern methods
Examples of contemporary applications of these methods from around the world
A design toolkit for memorable experiences

About Victor Lander:
Victor Lander is a London-based creative producer, strategist and storyteller with focus on all things immersive.
Researcher into creativity, narratives and memory structures, he is the founder of Secret Society, a visionary circle of creatives, and Landerlander, a family partnership specialising in cultural placemaking and destination marketing.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #1 is suitable for those in the APAC region or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 9:55 – 11:25 (BST)
Paris: 10:55 – 12:25 (CEST)
Dubai: 12:55 – 14:25 (GST)
Mumbai: 14:25 – 15:55 (IST)
Shanghai / Singapore: 16:55 – 18:25 (CST/SGT)
Tokyo: 17:55 – 19:25 (JST)
Sydney: 18:55 – 20:25 (AEST)
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25 (NZST)

Magic Moments: How to Intentionally Engineer Transformative Experiences
2026-01-21 17:55 - 19:30
Every magic moment, every deeply positive experience, has psychological roots.

In this WXO Campfire, we explore how extraordinary experiences don’t happen by accident – they are intentionally designed.
Drawing from decades of expertise in Disney Imagineering and global UX leadership, authors Joe Lanzisero and Johannes Robier reveal how extraordinary moments can be crafted with intention and how anyone can apply these methods to business, leadership, customer relationships, and everyday life.
Grounded in scientifically proven research from psychology, behavioral science, and experience design, this session introduces the Magineering Framework, which brings all these insights together into one practical model.
You’ll discover the essential elements and dimensions to include in your stories, products, and experiences to intentionally create extraordinary, transformative moments with lasting emotional impact.
What you’ll learn:

Foundations to know before designing for a positive experience
The 5 Dimensions of Enthusiasm, a framework that helps you break down the complexity of human experience into practical levers you can use.
The 5 Experience Boosters, simple yet powerful tools to elevate ordinary interactions into extraordinary memories.

About Magic Moments:
Magic Moments: How to Intentionally Engineer Transformative Experiences is a groundbreaking book that blends storytelling, science, and strategy to show how unforgettable experiences can be designed – not left to chance.
Drawing from decades of expertise in Disney Imagineering and global UX leadership, authors Joe Lanzisero and Johannes Robier reveal how extraordinary moments are crafted with intention and how anyone can apply these methods to business, leadership, customer relationships, and everyday life.
Through a unique “two-sided” approach – magical narratives on one side, practical frameworks on the other – Magic Moments gives you the tools to transform ordinary days into memories that last a lifetime.

About Joe Lanzisero:
• 37 years at Walt Disney
• Started at Walt Disney Animation
• Grew to SVP of Walt Disney Imagineering
Joe’s creative career can simply be described as magical spectacular journey with 37 years at Disney, Joe began as an animator and worked his way up to the top of Imagineering. He’s served as creative lead on over $9B in marquis projects to date but more importantly his work inspires and brings joy to generations of guests around the globe.
Joe played a key role in bringing projects like Mickey’s Toontown, Toy Story Land, and Mystic Manor to life. Now retired, Joe continues his storytelling journey with Magic Moments and his new children’s book, Lemonade the Yellow Bear.

About Johannes Robier:
• Founder & CEO of youspi Consulting
• Organizer of the World Usability Congress
• 20+ years in UX/CX strategy & design
Johannes’s career is defined by his passion for human-centered design and innovation. As Founder of youspi Consulting and Organizer of the World Usability Congress, he’s spent over two decades helping global brands bridge creativity, business, and technology.
Johannes’s work unites leaders, designers, and thinkers to build more meaningful, inclusive experiences. Together with Joe Lanzisero, he co-authored Magic Moments, celebrating the power of empathy, creativity, and collaboration in shaping a better world.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #2 is suitable for those in the US or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 17:55 – 19:25
Paris: 18:55 – 20:25
Los Angeles: 09:55 – 11:25
Santa Fe: 10:55 – 12:25
Chicago: 11:55 – 13:25
New York: 12:55 – 14:25
São Paulo, Santiago & Buenos Aires: 13:55 – 15:25

Collaboration Campfire #1 (Jan 2026)
2026-02-04 09:55 - 11:30
Introducing WXO Collaboration Campfires

A confidential, member-led clinic to workshop live projects and share practical advice. Bring a challenge, leave with practical next steps.
Alongside toolkits, frameworks and case studies from the Experience Economy’s brightest minds, WXO Campfires are also valued for the quality of the attendees as much as the guest voices. Practitioners who are generous with their thinking and direct with their advice.
A community of creators coming together, sharing the air about their current projects before taking practical insights and inspiration from that week’s sessions away to solve the challenges they’re facing right now
We hear of so many collaborations born from our Campfires. Attendees going from a scribbled note in a breakout discussion to a post-Campfire partnership that simply would not have happened without that Campfire.
And so to Collaboration Campfires.
This week’s early Campfire session is a test of a brand-new format.
Think of it as a practical working session, led by attendees rather than guest speakers. The aim is simple: help each other move current projects forward.

How it works:
• No special guests – the expertise is in the room.
• Bring one challenge from a live project. Keep it specific: what you’re doing, what’s stuck, and the kind of help you’re asking for (ideas, references, critiques, introductions, etc.).
• Simply share your challenge and exactly what help you need.
• No deck required. A clear brief is enough.
• This is time-boxed, chaired discussion. Each challenge gets the time it needs, up to 15 minutes.
• We’ll go round the group until we reach the end of the list or the 90-minute limit.
• No challenge this week? Come anyway – the session only works if people bring their experience, judgement and candour. We’d love you to come along and contribute your expertise.

A note on confidentiality: Because we’ll be discussing live work that may need to stay behind closed doors, recordings will be shared only with attendees, not released to the wider WXO community.

That’s it. This is a pilot. If it works, we’ll make it a regular feature (without over-engineering it). If it doesn’t, we’ll revert to the standard Campfire format. Either way, we’d like to test it properly – by getting the right mix of challenges and contributors in the room.

We hope to see you there.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #1 is suitable for those in the APAC region or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 9:55 – 11:25 (BST)
Paris: 10:55 – 12:25 (CEST)
Dubai: 12:55 – 14:25 (GST)
Mumbai: 14:25 – 15:55 (IST)
Shanghai / Singapore: 16:55 – 18:25 (CST/SGT)
Tokyo: 17:55 – 19:25 (JST)
Sydney: 18:55 – 20:25 (AEST)
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25 (NZST)

The Future of Storytelling: How Immersive Experiences Are Transforming Our World
2026-02-04 17:55 - 19:30
Storytelling is currently undergoing a radical revolution, from narratives that are passively consumed to stories that you live.
It’s a shift that is already revolutionizing entertainment, communication, marketing, and more.
How can creators adapt to this change? Join Charles Melcher, founder of The Future of Storytelling and author of a new book with the same title, as he explores the key qualities of these “living stories” and explains how they can be used create more immersive, memorable, and transformative experiences.

Who should attend:
• Storytellers of all stripes
• Creative directors
• Producers
• Experience designers
• Marketers & communicators across industries
In this session, you’ll learn:
• How “the people formerly known as the audience” are evolving into an “actience” of co-creators, and why it matters
• A framework for understanding the six qualities that elevate an experience to a “living story”
• Practical pointers on how to tap into these qualities in your work, derived from the most successful examples to date
• How creating living stories has the potential to change the actience’s lives – and our world – for the better”

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:

Campfire #2 is suitable for those in the US or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 17:55 – 19:25
Paris: 18:55 – 20:25
Los Angeles: 09:55 – 11:25
Santa Fe: 10:55 – 12:25
Chicago: 11:55 – 13:25
New York: 12:55 – 14:25
São Paulo, Santiago & Buenos Aires: 13:55 – 15:25
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25 (NZST)

The Story Gap: Why Brilliant Experiences Fall Short and How to Fix Them (Early)
2026-02-11 09:55 - 11:30
Have you ever gone through a beautifully built experience—technically impressive and to all appearances flawlessly executed—that left you feeling nothing?
Drawing upon her experience pioneering narrative for global teams and experiences, writer and experience director Emma Oliver introduces a practical diagnostic tool to uncover why brilliant experiences fall short and how to fix them.
Designed for use across themed entertainment, live experiences, museums, and branded environments, her guide helps identify gaps between what an experience promises and delivers, arming creative stakeholders with narrative systems to close these gaps and create experiences not only immersive, but emotionally resonant, aligned, and repeatable.
Who should attend:

Creative Directors
Producers
Experience Designers
Marketing Strategists
Investors

What you’ll learn:

A diagnostic tool to identify story gaps undermining guest impact
Example narrative systems to help strengthen guest emotional engagement
Practical guidance for using story as a cost-effective design lever

About Emma Oliver:
Emma Oliver is a writer and director working at the intersection of story, space, and human experience. She creates narrative-driven entertainment designed to spark emotion, meaning, and memory—experiences that stay with audiences long after the lights go down.
With deep roots in themed entertainment and live experiences, Emma knows narrative is the system that makes moments unforgettable.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #1 is suitable for those in the APAC region or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 9:55 – 11:25 (BST)
Paris: 10:55 – 12:25 (CEST)
Dubai: 12:55 – 14:25 (GST)
Mumbai: 14:25 – 15:55 (IST)
Shanghai / Singapore: 16:55 – 18:25 (CST/SGT)
Tokyo: 17:55 – 19:25 (JST)
Sydney: 18:55 – 20:25 (AEST)
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25 (NZST)

The Story Gap: Why Brilliant Experiences Fall Short and How to Fix Them (Late)
2026-02-11 17:55 - 19:30
Have you ever gone through a beautifully built experience—technically impressive and to all appearances flawlessly executed—that left you feeling nothing?
Drawing upon her experience pioneering narrative for global teams and experiences, writer and experience director Emma Oliver introduces a practical diagnostic tool to uncover why brilliant experiences fall short and how to fix them.
Designed for use across themed entertainment, live experiences, museums, and branded environments, her guide helps identify gaps between what an experience promises and delivers, arming creative stakeholders with narrative systems to close these gaps and create experiences not only immersive, but emotionally resonant, aligned, and repeatable.
Who should attend:

Creative Directors
Producers
Experience Designers
Marketing Strategists
Investors

What you’ll learn:

A diagnostic tool to identify story gaps undermining guest impact
Example narrative systems to help strengthen guest emotional engagement
Practical guidance for using story as a cost-effective design lever

About Emma Oliver:
Emma Oliver is a writer and director working at the intersection of story, space, and human experience. She creates narrative-driven entertainment designed to spark emotion, meaning, and memory—experiences that stay with audiences long after the lights go down.
With deep roots in themed entertainment and live experiences, Emma knows narrative is the system that makes moments unforgettable.

How to watch this Campfire:

Campfires are available for WXO members only
To join the WXO, please head to our Application page
The WXO is a global home for the leaders, shapers and doers in the Experience Economy
As a member, you’ll get live access to Campfires like this one plus unlock an on demand library of over 100 Campfire recordings

Timings:
Campfire #2 is suitable for those in the US or Europe, but everyone is welcome! Here’s when we kick off in your time zone:

London: 17:55 – 19:25
Paris: 18:55 – 20:25
Los Angeles: 09:55 – 11:25
Santa Fe: 10:55 – 12:25
Chicago: 11:55 – 13:25
New York: 12:55 – 14:25
São Paulo, Santiago & Buenos Aires: 13:55 – 15:25
