Hosted at the world-famous Guinness Storehouse, with an opening night at the Jameson Distillery Bow St., attendees left the event with one key message: when brand experience centres are accessible, purposeful, and led by passionate teams, they become much more than marketing touchpoints and instead grow into genuine community anchors.
Crafting community through story, space and people
From opening remarks to workshops and panels, one of the most prominent themes was the idea of community, both within the industry and between centres and their audiences.
While brand experience centres vary widely in size, ambition, and operating models, discussions repeatedly circled around a shared set of challenges and goals. The conference itself became a hub of shared knowledge, where attendees learned not just from the stage but from each other.
The first keynote saw the Guinness Storehouse’s former managing director, Paul Carty, in conversation with Catherine Toolan, managing director of Diageo Irish Brand Homes.
The pair spoke about Carty’s career during the Guinness Storehouse’s transformation, which has welcomed almost 28 million visitors since 2000, before discussing Toolan’s journey taking over the leadership of the brand home in 2020.
Both emphasised the importance of continual reinvestment and staying relevant within the local area, ensuring that brand homes evolve alongside their communities.
Carty told the audience to “unashamedly make a profit so you can keep everything fresh and sparkly.” One recurring topic was praise for the people working within these spaces.
Staff passion and collaborative culture were consistently cited as what separates the good from the great. Toolan explained that a brand experience centre should aim to hire people who “feel they own the story along with you,” as pride is the foundation of a successful team.
CEO session: leadership, longevity and community impact
The dedicated CEO session reinforced the conference’s core messages, highlighting the wider role of brand homes beyond commercial success.
Toolan was joined by Judith Owens, CEO of TBL International, which operates Titanic Belfast, and Jean-Luc Naret, president of World of Volvo, to discuss how experience centres can serve as long-term community assets.
They emphasised that meaningful community impact requires intentional leadership; accessibility and local engagement must be embedded into the core strategy, not left solely to marketing or CSR teams.
The session also acknowledged the balancing act many organisations face: maintaining commercial performance while delivering social value.
The consensus was that these goals are not mutually exclusive—in fact, strong community integration often strengthens long-term resilience.
Accessibility and responsible design
For many delegates, the standout session came from Paul J. Ralph, author and founder of Blindly Wheeling, and Eimear Gallagher, safety and compliance manager at Diageo Irish Brand Homes.
Moderated by BRC Imagination Arts’ chief creative officer, Christian Lachel, the session explored inclusive design frameworks and the real-world implications of accessibility.
Ralph shared a three-pillar framework for turning an experience from simply accessible to genuinely memorable: presence, integration, and belonging.
“Accessibility requirements let people through the door, but emotion will decide whether they stay," he said.
"If we can work together to design experiences that build confidence, protect dignity, and create belonging, we do far more than meet standards—we create places that people want to return to.”
Gallagher discussed the Guinness Storehouse’s journey to becoming a certified autism-friendly attraction, while Lachel highlighted the vital difference between being technically accessible and being genuinely inclusive.
Technology & innovation
Technology featured prominently, though speakers cautioned against using it for its own sake. The emphasis was on innovations that enhance the human experience—improving front-of-house interactions or making processes more efficient behind the scenes.
On AI, Malte Krohn from the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce stressed the importance of keeping technology human-centred and fair.
Stephanie Schaub, managing director at Chocoversum, explained how she fostered a culture that allowed AI to “actually work” by giving staff the freedom and budget to explore new tools.
Home is where the brand is
On the second day, Tottenham Hotspur’s commercial director, Alex Scotcher, provided a compelling case study on how brand experience centres can embed themselves within their communities.
Scotcher described how the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium operates as a year-round destination. Beyond matchdays and hosting global icons like Beyoncé, the stadium delivers educational initiatives and local regeneration projects.
He noted that even with global stardom and high-profile events, sports brand homes can still learn from the "hospitality-first" approach of established food and beverage brand homes.
Scotcher also emphasised that UK football brands are viewed as vital community assets: “Our brand is our fans. The brand home is the stadium, museum, and shop. We have to remain respectful to the communities we serve."
When asked about the importance of these spaces in elevating a brand, moderator Sam Feasey, Diageo’s global marketing manager for sports, answered: “The connection people have when they enter these buildings is super powerful, and that’s what they’ll pass on when they leave.”
See also: What’s in a name? Choosing the right language for brand & experience centers
Lessons for the wider visitor attractions industry
While the conference focused on brand experience centres, the insights have many implications for the wider visitor attractions sector, with theme parks, museums, and zoos facing similar challenges in staying relevant while balancing profit with social responsibility.
The key takeaway from Dublin was clear: when accessibility is embedded from the outset, when teams are empowered, and when leadership commits to the long term, brand homes move beyond storytelling and become anchors within their cities, creating spaces that actively shape and support the communities around them.
Love Between Fairy and Devil 
