Why Real-World Experiences Matter More in a Digital World

By Rob Pountney

You can watch a performance on your phone and enjoy it. Being there is different.

You can see what happens just outside the frame. Hear the person next to you react. Notice someone change their mind about joining in. The pace isn't set by an edit, and you don't entirely know what will happen next.

That's a large part of why I'm still interested in creating things people can experience together.

A lot of daily life now happens through screens. Work, shopping, entertainment, conversations with people we care about. Much of that is useful. I'm not interested in pretending we should go back to a world without it.

But when a brand asks for someone's time in person, it is making a different request from asking them to watch another post. People have to get there. They may bring friends, rearrange an evening or spend money. The experience needs to give them a reason to be glad they did.

Attention isn't the same as attendance

Getting people into a space doesn't automatically mean you have their attention. A room can be busy and the thing at the centre of it can still feel disconnected from the people standing around it.

I'd start by thinking about what people will actually do. What happens when they arrive? Can they see and hear properly? Is there something to explore? Does the event have a pace, or are people waiting for somebody to tell them what comes next?

Those questions sound practical because they are. They also shape the creative. An idea that depends on surprise won't work very well if everyone has been standing in the wrong place for twenty minutes.

Talent can help make the experience responsive to the people in front of them. A good host notices the mood. A performer can hold attention without explaining every detail of what they are doing. Someone leading a workshop can recognise when a group needs more time.

That is a different skill from looking good in a planned shot. When you're choosing people for an event, watch how they work with an audience, not just how they appear in a highlights edit.

Give people a way in

Participation can make an experience feel more personal. It doesn't have to mean pulling somebody out of a crowd and expecting them to perform.

It could be trying something with guidance, making a choice that changes part of the event, asking a question or simply being close enough to understand a skill they have only seen on a screen.

People should be able to take part without feeling trapped into it. Some will want to watch first. Others may need a different way to engage. Access, space and clear instructions matter just as much as the invitation.

I think the shared reaction is one of the most interesting parts. A room going quiet. People laughing at the same moment. Someone noticing that their friend is enjoying something they didn't expect them to like.

None of that guarantees a lasting memory, and I wouldn't promise that every event changes how people feel about a brand. There are plenty of forgettable events. But there is an opportunity to give people something they have done, rather than only something they have been shown.

For a brand, it helps if the role it plays is understandable. A product people can use, support that makes the event possible, or a contribution that improves the experience can give the relationship a clear purpose. The branding doesn't need to explain a connection that the event itself can't demonstrate.

Make room for the content, not just the camera

Of course real-world experiences can produce strong content. Someone discovering a skill, a crowd responding to a performance, a useful conversation with talent. There is a lot worth capturing.

The digital part can help people find the event in the first place and allow others to see something they couldn't attend. It can give the work a longer life. I see that as part of the opportunity, not something to resist.

Plan for it properly. Agree what needs filming, where the cameras can go and what permissions are required. If you need a particular shot for a campaign, give it time rather than repeatedly interrupting the experience to get it.

The problem comes when the people in the room start to feel like background for a video. A great-looking edit isn't much consolation if the actual event was frustrating to attend.

A useful check is to consider what would remain if no footage were posted. There should still be something worth having been there for. Otherwise it may be more honest, and more efficient, to plan a shoot.

Technology can help with plenty of this. AI and other tools can save time on preparation, organisation and the less interesting admin. That doesn't change the need to understand the space, brief the people involved and think carefully about the audience.

I don't think physical presence is valuable simply because it is physical. It becomes valuable when somebody has made a considered choice about what people can experience together.

That's the work I want Tribe's Events pillar to focus on. Good talent, a clear idea and enough care in the delivery that people can enjoy being there. The content should come from that, rather than being the only reason it happened.