2025 Watchlist
For our 2025 Watchlist with Event Marketer, we shone the spotlight on 24 brand-side leaders who are shaping the future of all things experiential.
During our Watchlist livestreams, our Senior Producer Emily Daniels and VP of Strategy Henry Evans were joined by Sigourney Hudson-Clemens (Head of Global Experiences at Meta), Justin Tabas (Sr. Experiential Marketing Manager at Bosch), and Jessica Blake (Sr. Director, Strategic Events at Salesforce), plus host Rachel Boucher (Head of Content, Event Marketer).
They discussed six core factors shaping the events space right now — the ideas that are quickly becoming the new industry baseline.
1. AI (and authenticity)
AI is everywhere in event strategy conversations, BUT... so is the pushback against its excesses.
Justin said it well: “There's more clutter and competition and noise than ever before,” and amid the AI hype, “that creates scarcity or desire for more authenticity.
“Audiences are smarter. They know more when they're trying to get sold to. So, being more transparent, being more authentic, being more real about it.”
AI may be accelerating content, but it’s also sharpening the appetite for human-led, emotionally grounded experiences.
2. Collaboration
One of the strongest threads from the live panel was the shift toward deeper internal and cross-team collaboration, especially when timelines are short.
Emily said: “This year is really about momentum and collaboration, leaning into our teams' strengths, operating full steam ahead for projects that have had very little runway.”
Jessica echoed the same pattern, but on a global scale: “This year, we really focused on looking at what teams were doing across the globe with their world tours.
“We need to start looking at what everyone else is doing and stop being siloed, and work together.”
3. Enhancing guest experiences with wearables
Remember when selfie walls became ‘the next big thing’? Now, with the rise of smart glasses, the camera is turning back around again.
With the new wave of first-person POV content in mind, Henry posed the question: “What does that do to our ‘Instagrammable’ moments? What does that do to our backdrops? It's a shift in how we're designing events now. How do we create these immersive experiences that aren't just for selfies, they're now for front-facing capture?”
Sigourney gave an example of how, with augmented reality, this tech can be taken even further, with exciting visuals overlaid on top of the event experience in real-time. “I think the sweet spot is where culture, curiosity, and technology collide.”
4. Emotional connection
Those first two points — authenticity and collaboration — are a solid formula for emotional resonance.
Justin explained: “Experiential marketing is uniquely positioned to maximize these deeper emotional connections with the audience. You have the ability to leverage all of the senses.”
So, how? “You need to know that audience very deeply, what makes them tick. What's the local vibe? What are people’s lifestyles like?”
Rather than another generic spin-the-wheel-get-a-prize approach, Justin added, “tune into what the audience wants out of your product and provide that for them in a space that's tied back to the product.”
Sigourney also noted how wearables, rather than being a barrier between guests and the experience, could actually reduce that barrier and enhance the emotional connection. “All of the participants who came to one of our music events, they received a pair of Meta Glasses.
“We encouraged them to capture photos and videos in the concert with the glasses, and it was completely phone-free,” enabling them to wave their hands in the air while capturing the memory.
5. Cost savings and efficiencies
We’re all feeling the pinch on budgets right now. But our Watchlist panelists shared some great solutions.
Jessica said: “We hadn't been reusing carpets and, oh my gosh, we saved a lot of money when we realized we can roll these carpets up and just vacuum them and cut out the bad parts and keep using them ‘til they're falling apart, right? Not only is that great for sustainability. It saved us a lot of money!”
Emily echoed this, noting that, at Proscenium, we’ve been “purchasing chairs instead of renting” and “consolidating our AV or creative partners early so we can have shared efficiencies,” creating cost savings through clear alignment and communication.
6. The return of hybrid
And then, the hybrid conversation resurfaced!
Jessica said: “Hybrid is back, which I never thought I would say! At least it's not totally virtual, with the COVID PTSD that we still all have!
“But I do know that we are leaning more into looking at ways of augmenting, when people don't get travel budgets, or can't get away from the office. How do we stream? how do we provide things for a hybrid audience?”
Though budgets may feel tighter heading into 2026, it’s clear that experiential marketing — the demand, and the events themselves — is growing, and not just in scale, but in soul, too.
As our work becomes increasingly streamlined by automation, the outcome must become more human, if we want it to leave a lasting impact.
Seeing our Watchlist winners for 2025 talk about the intersection of tech-forward thinking and intentional, emotional resonance makes us incredibly excited for the year ahead.
Here’s to 2026!
