WXO

Designing for Emotion: How Music & Sensory Storytelling Drives Subconscious Experience Design (Early)
2025-10-01 09:55 - 11:30 (Europe/London) | Zoom
What if you could subconsciously elevate audience emotions and create brand stickiness, seamlessly and beautifully?
Artist, wellbeing-tech entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, and experience designer Jeena Earthiva shows us how to use music and sensory storytelling, to make the audience feel like heroes in an immersive story.
Learn why emotional elevation matters more than the “wow” factor.
Who should attend
1. Experience Designers & Event Producers (who want to touch people’s hearts)

To discover new tools and approaches for creating multisensory, emotionally transformative experiences.
To turn their events into interactive story worlds – that evoke emotion and deepen audience engagement. Help audience feel that they stepped into a story – almost like in a game.

2. Brand Leaders & Marketers

To co-create subconscious and conscious design that creates positive emotional associations to drive loyalty, recall, and deeper brand love. (using music and sensory cues)

3. Innovators in Music, Entertainment, Wellness

To curate musical, sensory experiences, soundscapes blending high-energy electrifying moments with calm reflective ones.

4. Innovators in Tech & Gamification

To gamify (or enhance game design) player and user journeys with neuroscience-based engagement tools.
Creative direction that blends fun, artistic elements, music, science, mechanics and more.

What you’ll learn
1. Subconscious Design Blending Music & Sensory Storytelling: Creating Impact People Feel Without Realizing Why
Discover how to use soundscapes and sensory cues to positively influence people on a subconscious level – elevating emotions without them even realizing why.
2. How to Make Your Audience Feel “I Stepped Into a Story Where I Was The Hero”
Treat your events as an interactive story: make people the heroes. People remember experiences where they feel seen, heard, and actively involved. Learn the importance of designing events like immersive stories or games – where people feel like they can make autonomous choices, engage with fun, and leave feeling like the hero of the journey.
3. Why We Need More Experiential Keynotes – Layering Sound, Emotion, Mental Journeys
Ever sat through a long keynote wishing you could escape for coffee? Experiential keynotes change that. Discover how combining soundscapes, emotional cues, and guided mental journeys can turn a typical keynote into an immersive experience that engages the mind, heart, and senses. Don’t just listen, experience through your senses.
4. Emotional Elevation vs. The “Wow” Factor: Designing Moments That Last
You can create moments that make people go “Oh wow” – and yes, that can be memorable. But will it make them do something, feel something deeper? Or are they just impressed, with the feeling fading the next day?
Explore the impact of intentionally generating positive emotional associations with your brand/experience, beautifully and seamlessly.
5. Why Events Need Both Excitement and Calm: Adding Wellness Without Boring-ness!
Ever been at a high-energy event with no space to breathe, connect, or have a meaningful conversation? Now imagine the opposite: a beautifully slow-paced wellness event that drifts into abstract ideas, leaving you restless.
The neuroscience is clear – we need the balance of both excitement and calm.
How to create events that balance electric, high-energy moments with calm, reflective pauses.
About Jeena
Jeena Earthiva is an artist, wellbeing-tech entrepreneur, TEDx speaker, and experience designer who creates immersive, multisensory experiences that elevate mental fitness and wellbeing.
Founder of Conscious Music Code, she blends music, soundscapes, storytelling, and sensory design to craft experiences that inspire & energize audiences. She is also a co-founder of startups across gaming, corporate wellbeing, events and conferences, working at the intersection of experience design, neuroscience, technology and mental wellbeing.
As an Indian-born, Belgium based entrepreneur, she works with diverse teams across the globe, committed to make deep global impact through creative experiences that enrich minds.
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)

How to Design Experiences for Gen Z (Late)
2025-09-24 17:55 - 19:30 | Zoom
How often have you been in a brainstorm or been sat on a webinar where a Millennial or Gen Xer starts talking about how to appeal to Gen Z?
Designer and illustrator Mia Thatcher from Creative Principals says this need to stop – now!
Why? Because Mia is a Gen Z experience designer and she is fed up of being told what she is meant to like.
Join Mia as she offers a genuine Gen Z perspective on experiences based on both her love of theme parks and her work on projects like Space Center Houston and College Football Hall of Fame.
The idea for today’s Campfire session was born when a boomer volunteered Mia to prepare a presentation on what every experience designer should know about her generation. As he said, “We are all talking about how to design for young people, but you are the only one in the room under the age of 23!”
And thus a Campfire was born.
Mia will explore:

What “old people” get wrong about Gen Z
Gen Z’s well-documented love of nostalgia​
Why they’d rather spend four hours watching a video essay instead of reading one…
Why they want to feel like they are part of something bigger (kind of like the WXO).
What bugs Gen Z (and what excites them)
Plus she’ll share ways to find common ground without pandering

The Campfire will include practical tips based on both personal experience and on-the-job research.
As well as Gen Z, Mia will explore the latest experience trends on the generation that’s coming up next – Gen Alpha (or, as she calls them, ‘Sticky iPad babies’…)
About Mia Thatcher and Creative Principals
Mia interned for three summers at Creative Principals before joining the company full-time as a designer and illustrator in June 2024 after graduating from Savannah College of Art & Design.
From concept art for the Temple Square in Salt Lake City to storyboards for Qiddiya’s Mercedes-AMG World of Performance, Mia has quickly proven herself as one of the rising creative voices in the experience industry.
Other projects have included designs and storyboards for the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, the FM Claims Experience, J. Kruse Education Center and Abu Dhabi’s Winterfest.
Mia also just closed a deal to design and write a graphic novel with a major American publisher.
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

How to Design Experiences for Gen Z (Early)
2025-09-24 09:55 - 11:30 | Zoom
How often have you been in a brainstorm or been sat on a webinar where a Millennial or Gen Xer starts talking about how to appeal to Gen Z?
Designer and illustrator Mia Thatcher from Creative Principals says this need to stop – now!
Why? Because Mia is a Gen Z experience designer and she is fed up of being told what she is meant to like.
Join Mia as she offers a genuine Gen Z perspective on experiences based on both her love of theme parks and her work on projects like Space Center Houston and College Football Hall of Fame.
The idea for today’s Campfire session was born when a boomer volunteered Mia to prepare a presentation on what every experience designer should know about her generation. As he said, “We are all talking about how to design for young people, but you are the only one in the room under the age of 23!”
And thus a Campfire was born!
Mia will explore:

What “old people” get wrong about Gen Z
Gen Z’s well-documented love of nostalgia​
Why they’d rather spend four hours watching a video essay instead of reading one…
Why they want to feel like they are part of something bigger (kind of like the WXO).
What bugs Gen Z (and what excites them)
Plus she’ll share ways to find common ground without pandering

The Campfire will include practical tips based on both personal experience and on-the-job research.
As well as Gen Z, Mia will explore the latest experience trends on the generation that’s coming up next – Gen Alpha (or, as she calls them, ‘Sticky iPad babies’…)
About Mia Thatcher and Creative Principals
Mia interned for three summers at Creative Principals before joining the company full-time as a designer and illustrator in June 2024 after graduating from Savannah College of Art & Design.
From concept art for the Temple Square in Salt Lake City to storyboards for Qiddiya’s Mercedes-AMG World of Performance, Mia has quickly proven herself as one of the rising creative voices in the experience industry.
Other projects have included designs and storyboards for the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, the FM Claims Experience, J. Kruse Education Center and Abu Dhabi’s Winterfest.
Mia also just closed a deal to design and write a graphic novel with a major American publisher.
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)

Bompas & Parr: The Future of P-Leisure 2026 | Nightlife
2025-09-17 17:55 - 20:00 | Zoom
Bompas & Parr presents a vital new chapter of their Future of P-Leisure series, diving into the uncertain future of nightlife.
P-Leisure reimagines pleasure in the public realm – from museums to placemaking – and now turns to nightlife for the latest findings around what we do together in public.
As 65 clubs closed in 2024 alone, this timely and urgent discussion is framed to decipher the emerging new forms of togetherness and ‘public leisure’.
Originally presented at the Barbican Centre on 8th July 2025, the latest Future of P-Leisure report continues Bompas & Parr’s mission to map how we gather, party and connect in the 21st century.
Download report here >> Link
About Bompas & Parr
Bompas & Parr is a creative studio made up of artists, architects, chefs, designers, marketeers, strategists and technologists.
Through consultancy, delivering Location Based Experiences (LBEs) and writing publications, the studio challenges the world around us with radical creativity and a thirst for provoking innovation. The studio works with cultural institutions, attractions, governments, developers and brands to deliver this work.
Bompas & Parr works with brands such as Coca-Cola, Johnnie Walker, Mercedes, and LVMH as well as cultural institutions such as The Barbican, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. The studio is based in The Barbican, but has realised projects on practically every continent.
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

How Immersive Experiences Are Creating a Better Future | Luna Park Sydney
2025-09-17 09:55 - 11:30 | Zoom
Luna Park Sydney is a multi-layered immersive experiences transformation looking backwards to the original 1935 identity and ethos of Luna Park Sydney, to then build a direction forwards for future generations.
Join Luna Park Sydney’s CEO John Hughes and Head of Strategy & Experiences Lucy Keeler to discover the secrets of the transformation of this iconic theme park – and what’s coming next.
You’ll discover:

For the technical minded: What is the optimal tech-stack for an immersive space to maximize capability?
For brand identity professionals: How do you get locals to re-engage with their iconic park, when they’ve overlooked it for many decades?
For the designers: How do you balance a site’s heritage with technology-driven attractions? What do you keep? What do you abandon?

About John & Lucy:
John Hughes was engaged to transform Luna Park Sydney from a rare, iconic, heritage amusement park to the number one experiences destination in APAC. John and Lucy have created, commissioned and produced seven immersive experiences in the past two years and developed a multi-experience partnership with Netflix. Squid Game: The Experience at Luna Park was designed and developed by Lucy and her team was sold out for 5 months and according to Netflix, ‘the best performing, best reviewed Squid Game Experience in the world’.
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)

Engage or Fade: Why Cognitive Design is the Future of Events
2025-09-10 17:55 - 19:30 | Zoom
There is immense competition at the gateway to the minds of audiences in the events industry.
We are at a critical inflection point where attention is fragmented, cognitive overload is the norm, and conventional approaches are no longer enough.
Ben Moorsom is leading a global movement to rethink how we engage. As the creator of Neuroscaping® and a 25+ year pioneer at the intersection of behavioral science and experience design, Ben helps organizations stop wasting effort on legacy tactics and start designing for what really matters: the mind.
In his eye-opening discussion, Engage or Fade, Ben challenges outdated event practices and exposes how many well-intentioned design choices actually drive adverse engagement. For example, branding every surface doesn’t increase brand recall—it teaches the brain to ignore you. And he will reveal what sound level, common at many events, actually reduce comprehension and memory.
Drawing from hundreds of Behavioral Experience AuditsTM, Ben demonstrates how small, strategic changes can lead to profound behavioral impact. This isn’t about more tech, more hype, or louder environments. It’s about making it easier for attendees to engage by reducing cognitive friction and aligning with how the brain processes information. It’s about replacing outdated KPIs with behavioral ones—so that events don’t just feel successful, they are successful in driving meaningful outcomes.
Ben shares practical frameworks like the ALIGN® System, the Audience Priming EffectTM, and the Cognitive ResonanceTM Checklist to equip event professionals with tools they can use immediately to create smarter, more resonant, high-impact experiences.
If you’re still measuring what was easy to count—instead of what truly counts—it’s time to rethink. Reach out to explore how this presentation can elevate your event, your audience, and your outcomes.
About Ben Moorsom
Ben Moorsom is Founder, President and CEO of Debut Group. He is the creator of Neuroscaping® and author of Engagement: Decoded™.
Ben is passionate about audience engagement. He began his career in marketing communications as a producer but early on, he noticed that corporate communications efforts were so often missing the mark and at times, even causing harm. There had to be a better way to reach the hearts and minds of audiences.
Since 1997, Ben has been pioneering the fusion of behavioral science with creative and communications to drive engagement and behavior change. As the founder, president and CEO of Debut, Ben boldly leads debut’s team towards meaningful engagement outcomes for our clients and their audiences. His work has spanned across neuroscience, event psychology, change management, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and even the metaverse.
Ben is a seeker who thrives on discovering and decoding new knowledge and a disrupter who’s made it his life’s mission to deconstruct, recalibrate, and engineer engagement.
To learn more about Ben, visit: www.benmoorsom.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

Awe: A Shortcut to Insight, Connection & Creativity
2025-09-10 09:55 - 11:30 | Zoom
Ever catch yourself asking:
“What am I putting all this effort in for?”
You’re not alone. In fact, moments like this may signal a deeper need: to reconnect with purpose, spark new thinking, and re-ignite your curiosity.
Because when we stop learning, we get stuck.
But when we learn — really learn — our wellbeing improves. Our relationships strengthen. Our work has meaning. We find our why.
And nothing supercharges this more than experiencing awe.
Awe: A Shortcut to Insight, Connection & Creativity
In this live, interactive Campfire, Dorchess de Koning, founder of Awe Academy, invites you to explore how awe fuels personal growth, team synergy, and performance — especially in the workplace.
Instead of long presentations, you’ll take part in experiential exercises designed to spark insight and enhance connection, drawn from Dorchess’s work designing neuroscience based team workshops across government, education, and corporate sectors.
She’ll also share frameworks like Theory U, insights from neuroscience, and the power of embodiment and systemic constellations work — all in a dynamic group format that’s both experiential and evidence-based.
Who Is This For?
This Campfire is ideal for those interested in:

Professional development retreats that combine science and soul
Experiential learning that improves communication and creativity
Outdoor retreats for team building with real personal transformation
Workshops that use awe to reconnect teams with their purpose
Anyone seeking to enhance their impact through purpose-driven work

About Awe Academy
Awe Academy designs immersive, outdoor learning experiences — including offsites, retreats, and workations — that blend personal development with professional growth. Each experience is crafted to help individuals and teams step away from the grind and step into their full potential.
About Dorchess de Koning
Dorchess is a globally sought-after experience design consultant, embodiment coach, and founder of Awe Academy. With a background in mental health science, art direction, and systemic work, she creates neuroscience based team workshops and transformation programs for organisations across sectors.
From the Department of Education to tech innovators and hospitality giants, she’s helped teams rediscover their purpose, improve collaboration, and make sustainable impact. Her approach harnesses group dynamics, creative expression, and deep personal insight to fuel breakthroughs.
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)

7 Science-Backed Rules for More Impactful Experiences (Late)
2025-09-03 17:55 - 19:30 | Zoom
What makes an experience truly worth it?
Ask James Wallman – author of Time And How To Spend It (A Financial Times Bestseller) and, of course, CEO of the WXO!
Join us by the Campfire this Wednesday for ‘7 Science-Backed Rules for More Impactful Experiences’
The STORIES checklist is the central idea in James’s book and offers a powerful framework for testing whether an experience delivers meaning, memorability, and transformation.
For the first time ever, James will share it with the WXO community.
You’ll discover

What the STORIES checklist is – and why it matters
Which experiences pass the test
Other practical tools for experience designers, including DARG FUNC and AWESOMER
How to use these frameworks to design more impactful experiences for your audiences

Who should attend?

Experience designers & strategists
Facilitators & workshop leaders
Marketers, CX & EX leaders
Anyone creating experiences that aim to inspire, connect & transform

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 E.M.O.T.I.O.N.A.L Framework For Making Experiences
2024-10-09 10:00 - 23:30 | Zoom
Can we interrogate the commonalities between creating experiences?
At the WXO, we definitely think there are processes and frameworks that can be transferred between experiences and sectors. But what does it look like when you take more than 20 years of creating standout experiences and attempt to codify it in one framework…?
Creative Director SERMAD BUNI has been making experiences for over two decades. In this Campfire, he’ll share some of what he’s learned in spearheading experiences – particularly within IP and ticketed experiences – for Icons (The Up House, Polly Pocket House), Squid Games: The Trials, Bravocon, and many, many more, and use it as a jumping-off point to interrogate how we design our own experiences.
He’ll share his E.M.O.T.I.O.N.A.L framework for creating experiences, broken down across a previous experience. The first three stand for Empathy, Motivations, and Obsessions – but you’ll have to join us to hear the rest…
In anticipation, consider these 3 questions:

Do you have an existing experience design framework or methodology?
Can you apply the E.M.O.T.I.O.N.A.L framework to what you are creating?
Are there pieces of the framework missing?

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
This earlier Campfire 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: 09:55 – 11:25
Paris: 10:55 – 12:25
Shanghai & Singapore: 16:55 – 18:25
Dubai: 12:55 – 14:25
Sydney: 18:55 – 20:25
Auckland: 20:55 – 22:25
Mumbai: 14:25 – 16:55
Tokyo: 17:55 – 19:25

7 Experiences Summit
2022-10-12 - 2022-10-15 | Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, United States
This October experience researchers and professionals will gather at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, USA from 12-15 October 2022 for the first in-person 7 Experiences Summit. The summit is sponsored by the Experience Research Society, whose vision is “understanding life, promoting well-being and increasing societal impact through research into the fundamentals of experience.”
It will draw a diverse audience of experience experts from around the globe from four days of keynotes, research presentations, and workshops, and a variety of exciting experiences ranging from canyoneering to taco crawls.
The highlight of the summit is sure to be hearing from seven different keynote speakers who exemplify experience expertise and a diversity experience related topics and industries:

Gary David – Professor of Sociology at Bentley University, Host of Experience by Design Podcast
Jim Gilmore – Co-Author of The Experience Economy, Co-Founder of Strategic Horizons
Karen Melton – Associate Professor of Child and Family Studies at Baylor University
Sonia Rhodes – Founder of The Experience Lab
Aga Szóstek – Author of The Umami Strategy: Stand Out by Mixing Business with Experience Design and Co-Host of the Catching the Next Wave Podcast
James Wallman, CEO of the World Experience Organization, Author of Stuffocation and Time and How to Spend It
Haian Xue, Assistant Professor of Industrial Design Engineering at TU Delft.

After three days of engaging content and networking the summit will end with a choose your own adventure selection of curated experiences. Attendees will be able to select from a list of Saturday experiences that are included in the price of admission, including canyoneering, fly fishing, mountain biking, hiking, cultural tours, taco tours, and attending an American collegiate football game.

Campfire 80: Using Crypto & NFTs To Fuel Immersive Experiences
2022-10-05 17:55 - 19:25 | Zoom
Bobby Kunta is the Co-Founder of Nonfungible (NonFun) Events, which crafts IRL and metaverse experiences through NFT community building and blockchain play-to-earn gaming and esports.Kunta will reveal how NonFun developed their “Party-to-Earn” platform for gamified, tokenised events, a subscription-based platform-as-a-service tool for immersive, experiential marketing in the form of an event guide mobile app.It represents just one example of how we can use crypto and NFTs to incentivise the kinds of behaviours we hope to see from our target audiences. Together, we’ll discuss how else we might apply the principles behind Party-to-Earn to add value to our own experiences and make them a party for everyone.
To get in the zone, ask yourself:

At your experiences, is there a party who typically doesn’t stand to gain as much as the others?
What use cases have you considered for your own digital assets (or those of other parties) in adding value to members of your community?
What kind of value (perks, privileges, accessibility, etc) would you like to see made more available to members of your community?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfire 79: The Science Of The Extraordinary And Customer Happiness
2022-09-28 17:55 - 19:25
What if we told you there was a formula for creating extraordinary experiences?

Neuroscientist Dr Paul Zak will be returning to the WXO Campfire to reveal the principles you can use to create extraordinary experiences, based on his measurement of 50,000 brains.

As he launches his new book, Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and Source of Happiness, Zak will share how:

There’s a scientific formula to consistently create extraordinary experiences.
The data shows that those who use this formula increase the impact of experiences tenfold.
You can guess if your experience will be extraordinary – or you can apply his insights to ensure it is.

In the words of experience impresario and WXO Co-Founder Joe Pine:
“Staging engaging experiences has long been an art, but in the great Paul Zak’s capable hands, you will learn how to apply science to the task, tremendously enhancing your ability to create extraordinary experiences for your customers, your employees, and even yourself.”

In anticipation, think about these 3 questions:

What is the neurologic basis for extraordinary experiences?

What design principles increase the likelihood of the extraordinary occurring?

Why do people crave repetition of the extraordinary, and how does this affect their happiness?

Campfire 78: The Science Of The Extraordinary And Customer Happiness
2022-09-28 09:55 - 11:25 | Zoom

Campfire 77: Field Data From The Front Lines
2022-09-21 17:55 - 19:25 | Zoom
When it comes to measuring the impact of our experiences, we’re often limited to the qualitative data that comes from asking people what they thought.But this approach has its limitations. Firstly, people lie! And secondly, our conscious answers don’t always reflect our unconscious emotional state.We believe that having quantitative data that tells a compelling story about our experiences is one of the key things that will help people take the Experience Economy seriously. It’s why we invited neuroscientist Paul Zak – who’ll be hosting a new Campfire on 28 September – to share his groundbreaking system for measuring immersion.And it’s why we’re delighted to announce performer and director Leah Ableson as our Firestarter for 21 September, with another bold approach to capturing feedback.
Ableson has worked as a performer and director in the immersive theatre space for nearly a decade, leading audiences through highly intimate experiential performances like Bottom of the Ocean and Whisperlodge. She’ll draw on this experience and her academic work in behavioral study to discuss how performers can collect field data on audience interaction and leverage it to meet your guests’ needs – without them ever having to ask. We’ll also explore how effective knowledge shares between performers and creative teams can up the efficacy of your playtesting.
In anticipation, think about these 3 questions:

How can we better facilitate conversations between the “front end” and “back end” members of a creative team?
In what ways in the past have you, as an audience member/consumer, provided feedback via your behaviour to a performer of an experience?
What questions about an experience can an audience member answer that the creator of the experience can’t?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfire 76: Field Data From The Front Lines
2022-09-21 09:55 - 11:25 | Zoom

Campfire 75: X Thinking With Michael Lai
2022-09-14 17:55 - 19:25 | Zoom
We’re living in the era of experience, where commodities compete for the attention of consumers in a ruthless retail landscape, and brands survive and succeed based on the experiences they create.
Yet too few companies embrace these values at a strategic level.So Michael T Lai, co-author of one of China’s best-selling books on the Experience Economy, X Thinking, has created a crystal-clear roadmap for any business that wants to leverage experience to deliver a better brand, better customer relationships, and better shareholder returns.
Join Lai for the return of the WXO Campfires, as he introduces the Holistic eXperience Model to analyze the dynamic relationships between customers and brands, and how it has enabled eXperience innovation in China.

Expect:

Engaging personal stories that make you think – like when Lai’s grandma let him try her cigarettes!
Models that are easy to understand – including the Experience Masterplan, the X Thinking Relationship Model and X Thinking Maturity Model.
Case studies that bring it all to life – such as how Xiao Guan Tea turned transactions into memorable moments.

In anticipation, think about these 3 questions:

Who is the most valuable customer for your brand? What makes them the most valuable customer?
What value do you provide this customer? Is it functional, emotional, or even meaningful?
How can this customer perceive this value from your brand – that which sets you apart from your competitors?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfire 74: X Thinking With Michael Lai
2022-09-14 09:55 - 11:25 | Zoom

Campfire 73 (Season Finale): The Transformative Power Of Time Well Designed
2022-07-20 17:55 - 19:25 | Zoom
Forget superfoods. It’s time for super-experiences.
Some experiences are like junk food: spending too much time indoors, alone, scrolling Facebook or watching TV, for example.
Others are like a superfood: getting offline and outside, doing things for or with others, and staying active.
​​Of course, these experiences require that we actually take time off – not easy in a culture obsessed with productivity. After all, 55% of Americans don’t use all their paid vacation time.
However, researchers at Columbia, Harvard and Georgetown universities have found that a “functional alibi” can be helpful: we’re more likely to go camping if we acknowledge it will be good for our productivity at work. Read more about this in a column our CEO James Wallman wrote for TIME magazine.
So when we design and promote our experiences, if we can convince people that they will emerge smarter, better, transformed, we have a much better chance of persuading them to book that time off and trust us with their hours – and their wallets.
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang is a Silicon Valley consultant and author of the bestselling book Rest. In it, he shows that if you – and your target audience! – take more time off and use it well, you’ll be better both in AND outside of work as a result.
Ahead of our summer break, join him and other experience experts to discuss how to design experiences that provoke creativity and curiosity, expand people’s minds, and make them more likely to spend their precious time and money with you.
In anticipation, think about these 3 questions:

What was the last “super-experience” you attended or designed?
How did it increase your creativity, curiosity, productivity or wellbeing?
How might you turn your experiences into “super-experiences” – and promote the potential health / human benefits of your next experience?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfire 72: Hooked! How To Turn Your Experience Into A Habit
2022-07-20 12:55 - 14:25 | Zoom
Acquiring a new customer costs five to 25 times more than retaining an existing one (Harvard Business Review).
So, if we can create experiences that people return to again and again, we’re not only designing a more satisfying experience, but a more profitable experience – and more sustainable business.
So how can you turn your experience’s customers into experience addicts?
The key is this: to design “habitual experiences” – experiences that people come to through habit.
Nir Eyal is the author of the bestselling book Hooked, which has an average rating of 4.6 from over 4,600 Amazon reviews.
In it, he explains how to build habit-forming tech products – but we don’t think his ideas are limited to the likes of Facebook or Google.
Whether you work in CX, theme parks, wellbeing, or any other area of the Experience Economy, knowing how to turn someone into a habitual, loyal customer who keeps coming back to your experience is priceless knowledge.
In our penultimate Campfire of season 5, join Eyal and experience experts as we investigate the ideas in Hooked and experiment with how we can use them across the Experience Economy.
In anticipation, think about these 3 questions:

What “triggers” do you use to inspire your customers to take action? Are these external or internal? And how can you turn external into internal?
Do you already deliver intermittent variable rewards?
What investment do people make in your experience to hook them into coming again?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfire 71: Tech That Takes You There Before And After
2022-07-13 17:55 - 19:25 | Zoom
The travel summer season is in full swing – but remember when it wasn’t?
In recent years, travellers were forced to seek their thrills from the confines of their own homes.
And even though IRL travel is back on the cards, as a result the time before and in particular after a vacation has become far more important. This doesn’t just apply to travel, but to all experiences.
So what can museums, attractions, hotels and all other experience creators do when their audiences are not on site to increase those most overlooked of the “five Es” of experiences: entice and extend?
How can you take your experiences into customers’ living rooms and remind them of the beautiful moments they had?
And how can you merge the digital and physical worlds to create something far more impactful than yet another newsletter?
Barbara Prodinger is a lecturer in Experience Design in the field of Tourism at the University of Applied Sciences in Salzburg, Austria.
During the pandemic, she asked herself how a travel destination might get in touch with its guests in times of travel restrictions. This is how her startup, LIVIAR, was born. By merging the physical with the digital world, travellers can now dive into their holiday memories.
In anticipation, think about these questions:

What new ways could you engage with your clients before the actual experience?
How about afterwards?
How might you create a tailored experience in your customers’ living rooms?
How might you merge the digital and physical worlds?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfire 70: Tech That Takes You There Before And After
2022-07-13 09:55 - 11:25 | Zoom

Campfire 69: The Nowhere Office With Julia Hobsbawm
2022-07-06 17:55 - 19:25 | Zoom
“Everyone wants jobs but they want something else too: meaning. Work-Life balance. In other words, a workshift.”
– Julia Hobsbawm
Presenteeism. Low productivity. Stress. The world of work was sick long before Covid arrived.
So why should a return to business as usual also mean a return to the office?
Best-selling author and consultant Julia Hobsbawm‘s latest book, The Nowhere Office – an FT “Book to Read in 2022” – helps companies understand how to use this extraordinary moment in time to completely rethink the way they do business.
Hobsbawm has spent over 30 years working with organisations to develop strategies for better outcomes – what she calls “Social Health”. She was awarded an OBE in 2015 for Services to Business and is a founder of the US-led Workforce Institute.
In anticipation, ask yourself:

How might you improve your own happiness in the workplace? How might you extend this to your team?
If happier employees are more productive, should employers take an interest in their wellbeing outside of work?
When working autonomously, how can you create a shared sense of purpose and community among employees?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfire 68: Here, Boy! Meet The Petaverse ????
2022-06-29 17:55 - 19:25 | Zoom
In January 2022 UK-based Tiny Rebel Games closed US$7m to build the Petaverse Network. Its aim is to create a web3 open standard where virtual pets can follow you through the metaverse and be passed down through generations.
According to creative director Lee Cummings:
“I don’t see an AR wearables future without pets. I see people changing their virtual pets to match their outfits and moods. Pets have a positive effect on mental wellbeing, so why not augmented pets to make the world a better place?”
Tiny Rebel Games is building a wide variety of games and experiences for mobile, web and XR for these unique, intelligent digital pets. They are focused on composability with a cross blockchain strategy built around interpretable data, and plan to welcome the community to use their assets and technology to build experiences of their own.
So what does this mean for experience designers like you?
Tiny Rebel Games’ CEO and Co-Founder, Susan Cummings, will share her thoughts on interoperability, open standards and cross-blockchain functionality as it pertains to the building blocks of the metaverse.
She’ll be in conversation with experiential marketing guru Max Lenderman, who gave us an overview of web3 for experientialists in Campfire 44 – excellent reading material to get you prepped for this session.
In anticipation, think about these 3 questions:

How might your experiences translate to the metaverse?
How could you link or extend your experiences across devices and blockchains?
How could web3 technology elevate your experience to new heights?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfire 67: How Meow Wolf Makes Art Accessible
2022-06-22 17:55 - 19:25 | Zoom
“The disability market is the largest untapped market in the world.”

So says Beth Rypkema: accessible arts expert, art guide for Meow Wolf’s Convergence Station, and our next Firestarter. Rypkema specialises in making art experiences accessible to the visually impaired and those with other disabilities. Her work to create an accessible tour of Meow Wolf’s latest experience, Highlights of the Convergence, was a groundbreaking project in the immersive arts.As well as making good commercial sense and helping Meow Wolf to fulfil their commitments as a BCorp, it opened up new worlds to the accessibility community – many of whom had thought they would never be able to experience something like this.As a creator looking to trigger transformation, you already know that art should be for everyone. So it’s time to ask yourself: why is accessibility often the last thing that immersive experience creators think of?
Rypkema will share how by designing to accommodate disability, you can enhance the experience for everyone. As Arthur Zards commented in Campfire 55:“Accessibility isn’t a constraint. It’s an opportunity.”In anticipation, think about these 3 questions:

At what point in the experience design process do you usually start thinking about accessibility – if at all?
How might you adopt multisensory elements to make your experience more accessible and enriching for all?
How many different ways could you impart the same information or tell the same story?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfires 65 & 66: The Quest For The Experience Design Triple Diamond
2022-06-15 17:55 - 19:25 | Zoom
Prepare to cross the threshold of your known lands on a Hero’s and Heroine’s Journey to a mysterious island called Experience Design.Your destiny: to gain unexpected insights, gather new frameworks, and deepen your understanding of the transformative power of designing experiences.Your guide: Pigalle Tavakkoli, an experience designer and teacher with over 15 years’ experience in producing cross-disciplinary experiences that bring the arts and sciences together, and developing immersive storyworlds that merge live and digital platforms.Since 2012, Tavakkoli has co-developed and taught the UK’s first short course in Experience Design at Central Saint Martins University in London. She has also now founded the online School of Experience Design.In her quest to define the meaning of experience design and map a clear process to deliver transformation, Tavakkoli has travelled to lands far and wide. Now, she’s opening her treasure chest of insights so you can explore this hidden island together.Nuggets will include the Experience Change Equation and Experience Design Building Blocks. As you reach the final destination on the island, Tavakkoli will reveal her jewel in the crown: the Experience Design Triple Diamond process.
To get in the zone, ask yourself:

How do you define an experience and a transformation?
What are your key guiding principles when designing an experience?
Do you design through intuition, follow an established process, or have your own process for transformation?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfires 63 & 64: Curb Experience Enthusiasm
2022-06-08 17:55 - 19:25 | Zoom
Overly perfectionist or passionate clients can have us all quaking in our boots. Not to mention that sometimes our own passion can be a blocker. How many times have you struggled to let creative projects go, or broken your own boundaries when it comes to fees, deadlines and scope?But less is more. Completion is better than perfection. And killing your darlings isn’t just for novelists.So when passion threatens to get in the way, how can we manage our clients’ – and our own! – expectations to build engaging experiences that we can be proud of?Themed experience expert Cynthia Vergon may have the answer.
Vergon has worked with some of the most prestigious marketing and design firms in the themed experience industry. She was recently commissioned by experience design firm and lead creative designer Jora Vision to work on Quake, a new immersive experience at Lisbon Earthquake Centre that allows audiences to see, feel and understand the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 using a blend of narrative and technology.Based on her experiences, Vergon will tell you how to:

Work with passionate experts to find the balance between historical “fact” and storytelling
Navigate working with passionate clients, multiple changes and shifting deadlines
Manage your own passions to gracefully let go of projects that feel like your baby

To get in the zone, ask yourself:

Have you ever felt that your passion (or your client’s passion) was getting in the way of a project?
Is there a moment when a project no longer belongs to you? How do you know when that point is reached?
Is perfection possible? If not, how can you explain to your client that at some point, completion is better than perfection?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfire 61: Mind The Experience Design Gap
2022-05-25 17:55 - 19:25 | Zoom
Some of us are designers. Some of us are producers. Some of us even do both. Therefore, we all understand the value of what we do at each step of the experience creation process.However, the point at which experience designers hand over to operations is the part of this journey that often gets overlooked. And if you don’t know which questions you should be asking each other and which design elements are important for both teams to be involved in, you might be headed for disaster…Carolene Méli, Experience Strategist and Founder of Brands of the Med, will lead a discussion on how to build better relationships between creators and producers when designing new experiences, drawing on a recent VIP project for Cirque du Soleil.
To get in the zone, ask yourself:

If you’re a designer, what are three questions to ask the producer?
If you’re a producer, what are three questions to ask the designer?
What tools do you use to ensure everyone on your team is on the same page during the handover?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfyre 60: Top Flops & Epic Fails
2022-05-18 17:55 - 19:25 | Zoom
Bad experiences are bad for all of us.
When so many firms claim to offer ‘experiences’ today, how can consumers know what’s true and what isn’t? How can they choose between experiences that are really well designed and good, and those that aren’t?
And how can clients distinguish between firms who claim to create great experiences, and those who really deliver?
Friction like this is bad for consumer and client confidence. If a person or a firm is burned when they spend money and time in the Experience Economy, next time
they’re likely to hesitate, to choose an option that seems safer, and to spend somewhere else.
We need to find a way to make it easier for people and firms to avoid the ‘experience’
creators who cut corners on the experience, spend their money on hype, and so put people off from spending more on experiences in the future.
So for CampfYre 60, we’re on a mission to smoke out failure. Together, let’s figure out why bad experiences happen – and how we can make sure we don’t make the same mistake twice. If we don’t, we’ll only end up with more Fyre Festivals in all experience sectors.
In anticipation, think about:

What’s the worst experience you’ve ever attended?
What’s the worst experience you’ve ever designed?
What did you learn from both?

*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfire 59: The Expectation Effect
2022-05-18 09:55 - 11:55 | Zoom
Your last chance to catch award-winning science writer David Robson’s brilliant talk on The Startling Ways That Expectations Shape Experience, now at an APAC-friendly time.
It turns out, all sorts of expectations – what we think about ageing, what we think about the food we eat, if we think something will be easy or hard – have a significant impact on outcomes. Far more powerfully than most of us realise.
We think there’s many insights that experience designers can borrow from Robson’s research to craft customers’ / guests’ / visitors’ / employees’ / audience’s expectations and create better experiences.
Expect to hear radical, evidence-based discoveries on how expectation can have profound impacts on experience – and, together with the experience pioneers at the Campfire, figure out how to apply these in the experiences you create.
*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*

Campfire 58: The "New You" Business
2022-05-11 17:55 - 19:55 | Zoom
Our very own Experience Economy Godfather, Joe Pine, returns to share his latest thinking on how to design for the next revolution in our economy: transformations.
Transformation is what happens when companies use experiences as the raw material to guide people to change.
Many businesses are naturally already in the transformation business. Think fitness or healthcare centres, where you transform your body.
Universities or coaching sessions, where you transform your mind.
Or management consultants of all stripes, who transform companies.
However, most other businesses – particularly b2b ones, and including experience designers – could greatly benefit by thinking how they could elevate their offerings to the transformation level.
Enter Pine, and his revolutionary thinking on how to consider transformative experiences, design for aspirational jobs to be done, and stride into the “New You” business with confidence.
*NB: This event is for WXO Members ONLY. To attend Campfires, click here to apply to join the WXO.*
