August 21, 2025
Experience-Led Marketing: Creating Joyful Brand Connections That Last
At First Event, we know that events have the power to do far more than fill a room, they can spark conversations, build communities, and create lasting change.
Our Tackling Loneliness Through Events report, created with cultural insights agency Canvas8, shows just how important that is: 33% of UK adults feel lonely at least once a week, and younger generations are most affected. Loneliness doesn’t just impact wellbeing – it shapes confidence, creativity, and the likelihood of engaging with brands in person.
Well-designed, experience-led marketing can be part of the solution. Done right, it’s not just a campaign, it’s an opportunity to bring people together, connect them through shared moments, and leave them with a story they’ll tell again and again.
It was a theme echoed at SXSW London 2025, where the shift towards participatory, community-driven experiences was clear. The message: audiences want to co-create their experiences, not just consume them.
Why Experience-Led Marketing Matters Now
Our research found that 72% of attendees at community-focused events feel more positive about a brand after participating. Experiences connect with people on a deeper, emotional level – something increasingly valuable as traditional advertising loses its impact.
SXSW speakers, including Jackie Jantos, President and CMO at Hinge, reinforced the urgency of creating real-world opportunities for connection:
“Gen Z spends a thousand less hours in the company of someone else, and that is really impacting the way this group is feeling and the confidence they have in showing up in person”.
Our own data shows 39% of 18–34-year-olds want more opportunities to meet like-minded people at events – a clear opportunity for brands to integrate community-driven experiences into their strategy, something we explore in depth within our report.
Designing Experiences That Build Loyalty
For us, experience-led marketing is about more than attendance numbers. It’s about:
- Making people feel seen and understood.
- Aligning with values that matter to them.
- Creating memories that outlast the campaign.
These moments don’t just drive engagement in the moment, they fuel advocacy long after.
First Event’s Experience-Led Marketing Principles
1. Design for Relevance
The best experiences speak directly to the values and interests of your audience. This means creating tailored, meaningful activations rather than chasing generic reach.
2. Build in Connection Points
From structured networking to spontaneous conversation starters, we design events to make it easy for people to meet, talk, and collaborate. Our research shows 65% of people are more likely to attend an event if they know they’ll have the chance to connect with others.
3. Engage All the Senses
Immersive experiences – whether through interactive tech, live music, food, or tactile elements, create moments that stick in the memory and strengthen brand recall.
The Brand Impact of Experience-Led Marketing
Experience-led marketing isn’t just about standing out, it’s about building brand love. When people feel part of something, they’re more likely to advocate for it.
That’s why we take a human-first approach to every brief. We combine strategic insight with creative design to ensure every activation is relevant, inclusive, and built to connect.
As SXSW reminded us, the brands that will thrive in the future are those that prioritise relevance, community, and sensory immersion. We’ve been putting that into practice for years and in our latest report Tackling Loneliness: Re-establishing a sense of belonging through events,
we share the insight, tools, and inspiration to make it happen.
