What we'll share
We believe in putting the fans back in the spotlight. Brands must enhance the fan experience, not hinder it, to genuinely connect with their audiences in the realm of sports.
To unravel the passion of sports enthusiasts, we conducted an exclusive survey of 2,000 fans from both the UK and the US. We delved into their thoughts on the increasing commercialisation of sports and the evolving role of sponsors in their favourite games.
Join us for an exclusive first look at the research findings. Discover how your brand can not only captivate but genuinely engage the fandom through innovative activations and experiences.
Our expert panel, composed of luminaries from X, Y, and Z, will delve into the results, dissecting the implications and charting a course for authentic fan engagement.
Don’t miss out on the unrivalled opportunities to inspire and engage fans - join us on DATE.
Sports, a timeless passion igniting the hearts of millions, have evolved into a powerful stage for brands to forge connections with their audiences. Yet, as commercialisation tightens its grip, the very essence of sports - the fans - can feel overlooked in the pursuit of profits. It's time for a change.
Brand Fit
How do you know if a paid-for brand experience is a right fit for your brand? We’ll look at the sectors and brands prime for these experiences and share the opportunities for each sector.
Creative Execution
How do you create an experience that is worth paying for? We’ll go into the insight from our research to understand what makes an experience worth paying for in the minds of consumers.
We’ll deconstruct all the key elements brands should consider when designing paid-for experiences.
Value Exchange
What are the commercial and non-commercial opportunities for brands? We’ll explore how to measure the return on investment and look beyond the ticket price alone to share how brands can optimise every element of the experience.
Imagination is an Experience Design Company headquartered in London, with 13 studios worldwide. Founded over 50 years ago on a principle of Independent Creativity - we bring together diverse groups of strategic, creative and practical people to find creative and inspired answers to client challenges. We remain independent to this day.
We have earned a reputation for consistently challenging and changing the status quo, through our core offers of Consulting, Destinations, Content and Live. Imagination’s clients include Ford, LVMH, Samsung, Jaguar Land Rover, HSBC, Major League Baseball, Turkish Airlines, Shell and Telstra.
Imagination was awarded silver at Campaign’s Global Brand Experience Agency of the Year Awards 2022, ranked 38 in Newsweek’s UK Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces 2022 and won the Grand Prix award at Campaign Tech Awards for their recent work with Visa Masters of Movement.
For more information, please visit imagination.com.
The Power of Fandom
Leveraging experiences for authentic fan engagement
Once you register you will receive your digital joining link. This is unique and will admit you to the event on the day.
If you have any problems or would like to speak to someone please don't hesitate to contact – ben.antcliff@imagination.com
This is a virtual event for brands who want to tap into the power of unique immersive experiences to captivate and engage with their customers.
Cary has been at AB inBev for 4 years and leads the Procurement Team responsible for the Live and Experiential Events within Marketing. With the experience economy changing rapidly, Cary is responsible for finding the best partners to build experiences for AB inBev and has found a focus in the Web3 and Metaverse movement. Oh, and his favorite beer is Busch Light!
Josh Smith
Senior Marketing Manager, North Division Sports
PepsiCo
VIRTUAL EVENT, THURSDAY 18 APRIL
10 AM BST // 11 AM CEST // 1 PM GST
Christophe Castagnera
Head of Strategy, EMEA
Imagination
Christophe is a Strategist with 23 years experience for clients and agencies, specialising in experiences, communications and technology. Through working with leading global brands including Pernod Ricard, Rolls-Royce, Expo 2020 Dubai, Vodafone and Jaguar Land Rover he brings breadth and depth to his work. Christophe is also a member of the IPA Effectiveness Council, a judge for WARC and has been featured in publications including the Wall Street Journal and Campaign Magazine.
Anton C E Christodoulou
Group Chief Technology Officer
Imagination
Responsible for overseeing Imagination's global technology strategy, project and service delivery execution; to deliver immersive, engaging and measurable, smart connected experiences to clients including Mastercard, Ford, Major League Baseball, Jaguar Land Rover and Shell. Anton is continually exploring and integrating emerging experiential and exponential technologies, such as VR, AR, AI, Blockchain, and the productisation and ongoing development of Imagination’s Connected Experience Toolkit, XPKit.
Grace Charge
Director of Brand Experience and Partnerships, Europe
Unibail Rodamco Westfield
Grace leverages the strength of the URW’s assets, media inventory, data and event spaces, Grace heads up a team that connects brands and consumers through innovative and engaging consumer experiences and partnerships. Delivering major brands to Westfield centres in the form of short and long-term brand partnerships, experiential activations, event sponsorships and creative solutions, Grace has worked with global brands including Disney, Clearpay, Samsung, Netflix, Dior and Givenchy. She now leads the global team working with event and communication agency experts to define strategies and driving multi-region deals.
Amanpreet Singh
Global Media Lead - Brand Partnerships
Unilever
A full stack Marketing technology professional, Amanpreet is someone who loves building ideas, brands and teams from the ground up. A proponent of power of Web3 - Digital Marketing, Gaming and Tech Strategy are his true calling areas. Harnessing his passion for gaming and prior experience as an ex-pro gamer, he switched to the media domain as the Global Media lead for emerging media technology spaces like Gaming, Metaverse, Social Commerce and OTT. He also handles sponsorships & partnerships for Unilever brands in passion marketing spaces like sports , music & sustainability
Sascha Uzzell
Managing Director, Imagination New York & Houston
Imagination
Sascha is responsible for all office activity, development and growth of Imagination’s New York and Houston offices. She brings a wealth of experience leading global business teams and developing innovative and strategic programs for clients across both corporate and consumer markets. During her 20+ years in the industry, Sascha has held senior executive roles at global marketing agencies and media companies where she has helped drive significant growth for some of the world’s largest financial, technology and lifestyle brands including Wells Fargo, SAP, PepsiCo and Unilever.
Laura Parkinson
Global Head of Enterprise Brand Experience
Laura shapes bold visions into reality through strategy and deep operational experience, having created and managed internal and external programs from concept to completion. She’s passionate about building and supporting teams that visualize and bring to life magical brand experiences that drive both market and mind share. Her experience at LinkedIn is focused on building and leading world class teams that create the company's most influential brand experiences driving impact and opportunity across different audiences. The work she does guides the vision and direction for how LinkedIn shows up in physical and virtual mediums across the company.
Brands are transforming retail space into more immersive brand worlds, offering rich cultural experiences whilst building stronger connections, community and belonging.
Recent reports highlight a compelling narrative: physical retail is not only surviving, it's thriving. Leading brands like Prada, North Face, Westfield, and Canada Goose are investing heavily in physical spaces, while 'born online' brands such as Warby Parker are embracing brick-and-mortar stores and pop-ups to enhance direct customer engagement and deliver unforgettable experiences.
The essence of this transformation lies in shifting the focus from mere transactions to immersive experiences, steering from traditional revenue per square foot to a more dynamic, experience per square foot metric. This crucial pivot is not just a strategy; it's a necessity. It drives visitation, forges deeper brand connections, and crafts lifestyles around the brand.
So, what lessons can brands glean from the realms of entertainment, leisure, and the burgeoning Experience Economy to create retail spaces that serve as launchpads for fun, memorable, and share-worthy experiences?
Join us as we delve into these questions, harnessing insights from the experience economy, placemaking, and destination design principles. We’ll share strategies for transforming retail spaces into magnetic hubs that attract visitors not solely with their products but with the rich experiences they offer.
From immersive pop-up experiences to the integration of technology and personalisation into the shopping experience, we're redefining what retail spaces can – and should – be.
Retail is making a comeback, driven by consumer demand for in-person experiences.
REDEFINING RETAIL
Creating destinations, not just stores
The collision of commerce, culture and connection
VIRTUAL EVENT, THURSDAY 18 APRIL
10 AM BST // 11 AM CEST // 1 PM GST
Join us as we delve into these questions, harnessing insights from the experience economy, placemaking, and destination design principles.
We’ll share strategies for transforming retail spaces into magnetic hubs that attract visitors not solely with their products but with the rich experiences they offer.
JOIN US AS WE SHARE
The launch of our exclusive sports fan consumer research, with findings supported by behavioural science insights
The new rules for successful fan engagement
A view from the brands: Hear how X,Y and Z are approaching sports activations
The growing role of experiential in sports sponsorship
MEET THE SPEAKERS
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Stu Gower
Senior Manager, Brand Marketing – Sports
Adidas
Patrick Fagan
Behavioural Scientist
Jiri Bures
Executive Creative Director
Grace Wright
Global Chief Growth Officer
Imagination
Imagination
Tom Gray
Chief Strategy Officer, Board Member
Imagination
MEET THE SPEAKERS
Sara Parrish
Experience Strategy Director
Grace Wright
Global Chief Growth Officer
Imagination
Imagination
Ewald Damen
Creative Director – Managing Partner
Virgile + Partners
JOIN US AS WE SHARE
The renaissance of physical retail: We’re debunking the myth of physical retail's demise, showcasing how top brands and digital-first companies are revitalising brick-and-mortar spaces.
Experience per square foot: We’ll discuss the strategic shift from prioritising revenue per square foot to focusing on experience per square foot, explaining how this shift not only drives foot traffic but also deepens brand connection.
Learning from entertainment and leisure: We’ll examine what retail can learn from the entertainment and leisure industries to create compelling, shareable, and fun in-store experiences.
Personalisation and technology integration: We’ll share examples of how data and personalisation can transform the retail environment, making every customer's experience unique.
Applying behavioural science: We’ll explore how retail experiences can leverage behavioural science principles such as scarcity, exclusivity, and interaction to drive interest and create memorable encounters.
Embracing culture and community: We’ll discuss strategies for embedding your brand into culture through retail experiences to deepen engagement and foster a sense of belonging and community.
From immersive pop-up experiences to the integration of technology and personalisation into the shopping experience, we're redefining what retail spaces can – and should – be.
