XP Land, a firm that brings together creatives, experience makers, brand leaders, IP owners, and venues to tell live, immersive stories, has announced it is holding the first-ever experiential upfronts event this May in partnership with C2 Montréal.
XP Land is the ecosystem for creatives, live storytellers, event planners, brands, and world-class locations and venues that propel the experience sector. Established by industry professionals, XP Land offers carefully selected resources, events, and a community, along with consulting services, to help culture-shaping leaders and newcomers flourish in the experience economy.
The company’s founder and CEO, Erica Boeke, explains her philosophy:
“From as far back as I can remember, gathering people has been my thing. At 14, I was put in charge of (well, put myself in charge of) my eight-year-old sister’s birthday party — which, of course, I turned into a talent show, where I was the host and a contestant. At least I allowed one of the eight-year-olds to win.
“It was a hit with the kids and adults, and it wasn’t long before I became the neighborhood party planner. But even then I loathed the title. I wasn’t a party planner. My creative ambitions couldn’t be reduced to party hats and goody bags. I was bringing people together to do things they hadn’t done before. I was curating experiences. I was creating core memories.”
“And when it comes to gifts and celebrating milestones, my philosophy has always been: Who wants a big-ticket item when you can have a communal adventure to carry with you forever? Gathering people to create feelings and core memories is a passion I’ve turned into a career: Experiential Architect.”
Funflation
Last autumn, a report from Bank of America, “Funflation in Full Force,” found that Live Entertainment is the “brightest star in the broader media and entertainment universe” right now — a trend the authors of the report believe is here to stay.
According to the report, experiential should continue to outperform expectations. Here are a few of the most stand-out details:
- Continued spending shifts toward services and experiences
- Healthy pricing power amid increased demand
- Positive supply and demand trends as social media apps like TikTok boost global awareness and fan growth
- The allure of live events as virtual methods remain incomparable
- The explosion of experiential marketing
“My team and I have seen the ups, downs and literal shutdowns of the experiential industry over the years, which makes last year’s comeback even more meaningful,” says Boeke. “From the Sphere to Girl Summer, the most watched Super Bowl halftime show of all time to a fashion-forward wrestling surprise at Art Basel — we know that 2023 was a teaser for what’s to come this year, which we at XP Land are calling the Year of Experiential. And we’re not alone.
“These trends actually point to something deeper and more exciting for us experiential architects.”
During the global pandemic, people missed being able to gather together and share memorable moments:
“It turns out that sitting at home, letting ourselves obsess over everything we wanted to do when the world was normal again, was a pretty solid growth strategy for experiential creators.”
A new event for the experience economy
“Funflation” is not a fleeting trend, adds Boeke:
“This is not a moment in time. It’s not the pendulum swinging back after Covid. It’s a realization that gathering is core to the human experience. It’s a longing for connection, plus the fact that live experiences are getting better and better through innovation — plus, the ability to share (and the resulting FOMO) that comes from social media.
“There is an entire industry of creative, daring experience makers responsible for dreaming up live stories where people can find the connections they crave and producing moments that make people turn to the person sitting next to them (whether they know them or not) and say, “That was mind-blowing!” (while both simultaneously get goosebumps.)
“This is why we have decided to gather the gatherers—the people who dream up, perfect, launch, and house the world’s most incredible experiences. This spring, we’re convening a meeting of the minds at the XP Fronts, the first-ever experiential upfronts, May 21-23, 2024, in partnership with C2 Montréal. We couldn’t think of a better partner to launch the first-ever experiential upfronts than C2MTL. They’re a longtime collaborator, and I love the team.”
“The C2 event is inspirational and wildly creative. Together, we will shape the future of this booming industry. Unveil what’s new and what’s next. Explore the art, science and impact of experiential. And, of course, connect, collaborate, celebrate and close deals.
“The industry has never had an agenda-setting meeting of the minds like this before. It is time to gather senior-level experience makers, creatives, bold brands, visionary venues, and interesting placemaking destinations, all in one place to not only shape the future of the industry but also find their next collaborators, preview new experiences, IP, and tech, and really close deals, shake hands, and figure out what they’re doing next in their experiential agendas.
“The future is experiential. It’s time to buckle up, and we’d love to gather with you in Montreal.”
