12 Comments

I felt terrible for not taking my family entertainment company online during the pandemic, but I cannot believe how much people have shown up and booked better & more experiences in the last 2 years!! And we sell so much merch at our IRL events!

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Amazing! Another sign that people want to connect with one another - not behind screens.

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They do! We ended up starting a Taylor swift tribute band after the Ticketmaster debacle, and we could not believe how many people came, and they kept saying over and over again how they wanted to be in a room with other people that loved her music too, and sing and dance together. There is no virtual experience that can replace that feeling. There is a flow state experienced in person that cannot be replicated online. Whether it’s a concert, fitness class, etc, there is a special energy of connection. Even virtual things like “Barbie” owe its massive successive to an in person event and being a part of the premiere. 💕

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💯 in a related note, I’m sad that we haven’t had a movie like Barbie this summer - missing that feeling of being part of something really big like that. I’m still hoping we’ll have something like that again. But so far, the box office has been 🙈 lol

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I know!!! I was hoping for Deadpool X Wolverine to be that… but def hasn’t been the same hype. Maybe Wicked? The strikes did some major damage 😅 but hey! Chappell Roan has some amazing themes for her shows!

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I have been thinking a ton lately about the great exhaustion that Amy wrote about and my hopes for what will come from it. I remain optimistic about some of the things you wrote about when it comes to IRL experiences and a changing way of working with influencers. Then again, part of me feels annoyed thinking of how brands can better reach customers when what we really need is people to have richer offline lives.

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I am thankful for online communities because they have given me insights and perspectives that growing up in a more sheltered hometown would have never given me. But, I find myself almost addicted to these insights and can see myself scrolling for hours! Lately, I have been yearning for the days of my childhood when I was more disconnected from online spaces and connected to people and nature.

With the pendulum swinging towards AI, we'll also see it swing towards a deeper desire for human experiences.

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"With the pendulum swinging towards AI, we'll also see it swing towards a deeper desire for human experiences." 100% agree. And I hear you on yearning for childhood days - life was much simpler then. I make an effort to get out in nature as much as possible. Whether it's a walk in the park or doing some gardening, I'm in my happy place in nature 😊

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“brands need to let creators do what they so best: create! Love it 👏🏻the ones that open to adapt to change will make it

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hacking IRL is going to be so hard for brands after the era of influencer events buuuuut a handful will be really, really good at it

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💯 Exciting (though scary) times for brands. It's a new era.

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I hear you! For me, I it’s a Catch-22: I work in marketing (though I’m also a journalist), so it’s often hard to work for an industry that I love, but that is ultimately all about selling people more stuff, while I’m simultaneously part of the problem (the big marketing machine). On the other hand, I like to think that in some small way, I can help sway brands to do good things and be good corporate citizens. One can hope!

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