Yesterday marked the 18th annual celebration of the Ex Awards, the world's premier recognition program for the experiential marketing industry. 

Recently, the HR Leaders podcast invited Inspira's VP of People & Culture, Steve Winkel, to join them to discuss how StandOut has shifted the company's approach to employee engagement and performance management. He is joined by the podcast's host, Christopher Rainey, and Amy Leschke-Kahle of the Marcus Buckingham Company.

As states across the country continue to loosen restrictions stemming from the pandemic, consumers are grappling with how they feel about returning to restaurants – especially when it comes to indoor dining. According to a study from Datassential, 42% of Americans feel truly comfortable and safe dining in at a restaurant. While that accounts for a significant portion of the population, there’s still plenty of ground to make up relative to options like curbside pickup (80%), drive-thru (80%), and delivery (75%).

Though many Americans have declared war on sugar in recent years in an attempt to adopt a healthier lifestyle, that doesn’t mean all sugary items have suffered. According to Nielsen sales data, candy and chocolates grew 2.5% and 2.8% in 2019, respectively. While the growth itself is modest, it goes to show that candy’s place in consumer routines remains secure.

Aside from a few select categories, consumer spending has stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as states continue to loosen restrictions and consumers head back out into the world, we'll see an uptick in spending in areas outside of food and household goods. Below, we take a look at where the pandemic has changed consumer attitudes on spending and evaluate where we could see long-term changes in behavior.

Across the globe, sports fans have been missing out on the action with their favorite teams sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though restrictions are beginning to loosen and leagues like the NBA and NHL have announced plans to return, the reality is that things are going to be drastically different at first. Seventy-two percent of Americans said that they wouldn’t feel safe attending live events without a coronavirus vaccine, which only further cements the notion that athletes will be playing in front of empty arenas for the foreseeable future.

As consumers have shifted to online shopping to avoid trips to the grocery store, brands such as Pepsi and Clorox have begun investing in direct-to-consumer sales. But, to do it well, big CPG brands will have to master e-commerce and the myriad logistics that come with it. While diversifying channels is an essential part of growing business, they have to ask themselves, “If we build it, will they come?”

For agencies and event organizers, there's a lot of work to be done to assuage consumers' concerns when it comes to returning to live events. In fact, a study from Performance Research found that 60% of consumers have long-term fears about attending large events.

Experiential marketing is one of many industries that has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the interim, agencies and brands have been working diligently to create virtual experiences that bring joy, value, and entertainment to consumers during a difficult time.

With Americans largely confined to their homes over the past few months, most haven’t been getting much use out of their automobiles. Additionally, those who were planning to buy or lease a vehicle have largely postponed their plans to do so; of the 39% of respondents to a CarInsurance.org study who were planning to buy or lease a car between March and May, 71% said they had decided to wait until later on. In this infographic, we take a look at consumers’ auto habits during the pandemic and what they might prioritize in their purchases going forward.