Creating Memorable Experiences Through Interactive Marketing

The world preaches loyalty, but how many brands actually live it? Last month, I got an invite to something called Summer Smash, 1st Phorm International's invite-only community event in St. Louis. Think three days of HQ tours, private pre-parties, high-energy workouts, rides, and live music from artists like Ludacris, Lil' Jon, Pitbull, and Steve Aoki. The whole thing sells out in under a minute each year. Pure community building at it's finest. I couldn't make it due to personal obligations, but here's what blew me away: they still sent me a surprise box packed with over 10 of their top products (proteins, apparel, energy drinks, protein sticks), plus a handwritten note that felt genuinely personal, not like a marketing ploy. We've gotten so caught up in digital tactics that we've forgotten about the power of high-touch moments that forge actual emotional connections. This kind of follow-through is almost unheard of in today's brand world. Most companies would've moved on to the next person on their list. But 1st Phorm gets something that a lot of brands miss: real loyalty isn't built through campaigns or offers, it's built through experiences that make people feel like they belong to something bigger. That's where lifetime value really takes off. Summer Smash is far beyond just an event; it's the kind of experience that flips the loyalty script entirely, where customers don't just buy, they simply belong. Here's what I think other brands can learn from this approach: ➟ Send unexpected value for no reason. A surprise product or handwritten note shows customers they matter beyond their purchase history. ➟ Build exclusive communities around shared values, not just products. Whether it's in-person events or virtual experiences, give your best customers something they can't get anywhere else. ➟ Create moments people actually talk about. A few hours with A-list talent or behind-the-scenes access beats another discount code every time. ➟ Lead with gratitude, not growth metrics. When thank-you moments drive your strategy instead of the other way around, authenticity follows naturally. The bottom line: loyalty is earned through emotion, experience, and belonging. If your brand isn't building that, you're just another transaction in someone's day. When did you last surprise your customers with something that wasn't even on your roadmap?

Respectfully, I've been doing this. This video from 13 years ago is proof of it. Here's the story... In 2010, I challenged the conventional music video formula with a simple question: "What if viewers could choose what happens next?" We shot "Attack of the Five Foot Hipster" in Brooklyn using DIY camera rigs made from PVC pipes and iPod Nanos (yes, those devices in the photos). No fancy equipment, just creative problem-solving. When we uploaded the standard version, the reception was brutal: • "Don't quit your day job" • "This is garbage"    One week later, we uploaded the EXACT SAME footage but added interactive elements—a choose-your-own-adventure interface letting viewers control the story. The transformation was immediate: • "This song is a hit!" • "When's the album dropping?" • Views increased 10X • People started BUYING the track they'd trashed days earlier    This wasn't just a cool experiment. YouTube had no interactive features back then, so we had to hack together a solution that made traditional content interactive. That's when I realized: We don't have a content problem. We have an engagement crisis. Passive content has a ceiling. Interactive content has a ladder. Soon after, Fortune 500 companies started calling: "How can we use this technology?" That experiment evolved (over years) into Adventr—now powering interactive experiences for major brands: • Personalized ancestry journeys for 23andMe • Choose-your-path storytelling for NBC • Gamified commercials for Paramount    The lesson wasn't about having fancy equipment (clearly, from our PVC pipe rigs). It was about reimagining the relationship between content and audience. Years before Netflix, HBO, and YouTube invested millions in interactive content, we were pioneering it with creativity and resourcefulness. I've been doing this for 10+ years, and I'm excited that the industry is finally catching up. -DH P.S. Check the comments if you want to see the video (keep in mind this was ~2012!)

✨Startups: Here’s how to make marketing events POP — on a limited budget. ✨ As founder and CEO of ⚡Orum.io ⚡, I get it: When you’re a young, venture-backed company, you do NOT have infinite dollars to spend on marketing. Yet you can still make a splash. 🍾 Here’s how: 🤟 Emotional connection. 🤟 Experiential marketing is centered on memory and moments, because these are powerful human emotions. 🎭 I’d argue consumer brands inherently have an easier time with this; something like our space, B2B payments infrastructure, is a bit tougher. So you have to think more creatively. 🤔 For example, I loved Orum’s Money20/20 event in the fall. We transformed The Venetian Resort Las Vegas’s new donut shop, Donutique, into a fully functioning portrait studio. 🍩📸 We invited people to come enjoy craft donuts, a full coffee bar — and the opportunity to receive a complimentary photo shoot with famous   photographers who had previously photographed Taylor Swift, Spike Lee, Lady Gaga, and many other notables . Your headshot, we explained, is your most valuable networking currency. We promised: “We’ll upgrade your headshot and do it faster than Same Day ACH.” ⚡ 🤑 People want to have fun and obtain value. 🤑 And the best marketing events combine both. The fun part is obvious: a lovely part of the human experience is doing something enjoyable and memorable, particularly if it’s something you’ve never done before and couldn’t easily do yourself. 🆕 But anyone can throw a fun party. 🎉 The key is to drill into: How can we add value for our target audience? 🎯 At Nacha's Smarter Faster Payments conference last week, we focused on the value of your professional network. We held a chic, invite-only cocktail event with bank executives, network leaders, and fintech customers. We timed the event to be near the start of the conference when attendees were at their most energized and our invite list was small enough that everyone could make real connections with people who have an impact on the work they’re doing. 🤝 I can’t think of anything more valuable. 💲 But don’t take my word for it — ask Mark Gould, Tony Hayes, Alex Gillette, Jane Larimer, Carl Slabicki, CTP, AAP, Christine O'Reilly-Stewart,Michael Bernabe, Keith Vander Leest, Walt Cox, Dennis Becker, Reed Luhtanen, Brian Holbrook, Kylie DeBord, Peter Davey, Julián Alcázar, Dawn Smith, Jordan Bennett, AAP, APRP, Rob Abrams or Daniel Baum what they thought! 🤓 😅The details really matter 😅 People might be surprised just how much time we spend on the  details: the location of the venue, the colors in the decor, the casting of the talent, the design of the signage, and more. We do that to ensure it all ties back to Orum’s products and mission. 🪢  Our guests might not consciously recognize it, but the cohesion and strong brand identity make an impact. 😄 Sound off in the comments: What’s your best advice for creating marketing events with a WOW factor? 🎤

I was at Bloom Nutrition's Energy Bar pop-up in Austin today, and it felt different. This wasn’t just an influencer-driven marketing stunt. It was an experience — one where the brand didn’t just want to be seen but wanted to be felt. For years, brands poured millions into influencer campaigns, chasing clout through sponsored posts and paid shoutouts. But the smartest brands are pivoting from influencer-driven to community-first marketing. Influencer marketing isn’t fading, but it’s evolving. Brands now realize that digital buzz alone isn’t enough; they need real-world engagement. Here’s why Bloom’s pop-up worked, and why more brands need to be thinking like this: 🔥 Exclusivity without exclusion – Anyone could sign up, yet the long lines created buzz and demand. Making an event open to the public while maintaining an exclusive feel is the sweet spot for community engagement. 🎯 Hyper-localized branding – They didn’t just drop a generic activation; they spoke Austin’s language. From ATX-branded hats to signage that read “Bloom loves Austin,” the event felt personal and intentional. When brands embed themselves in local culture, they foster deeper connections. 📷 UGC at scale: Live experiences generate way more organic content than a single paid post. Instead of relying on a few big influencers, they turned every attendee into a brand ambassador. 🙌 Participation = ownership – A photobooth, a charm keychain station — small, interactive moments made attendees part of the brand experience. People don’t just want to see a brand; they want to engage with it, create with it, and share it. Your audience doesn’t just want to be marketed to — they want to be included. The future of marketing is experiential, participatory, and community-driven. If you’re not building real-world experiences that make people feel something, you’re missing out.