Founded in 2008 by Jeff Snyder, Inspira is a different kind of agency — one where relationships and doing the right thing are front and center, where people come before profits, and where the team is passionate about the work it does. 

Despite buzz around the cannabis industry reaching a crescendo in 2019, it was a tough year for many businesses within the booming category. While retail sales grew to over $12 billion in the United States, a number of challenges prevented the industry from further reaching its potential.

Last week, a number of Inspira team members made the trek into New York City to check out Showfields, the self-dubbed “most interesting store in the world.” While Showfields Co-Founder and CRO, Katie Hunt, made sure to point out that the tagline is partially tongue-in-cheek, there is a different quality to Showfields that separates it from your run-of-the-mill retail store. Located at 11 Bond Street in NoHo, Showfields is a retail concept that is designed to engage consumers’ sense of discovery through a revolving array of in-store brand experiences. Put simply, Showfields is a hub of experiential retail.

We all know that today's consumers are investing in experiences over material things, and the travel industry has been a direct beneficiary of this trend. In fact, a study of Millennial consumers found that behind only saving for an emergency and housing, banking money for a vacation is a top priority. Just as the desire to invest in bucket-list experiences grows, the way consumers evaluate and select destinations continues to evolve. As we enter the next decade, consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about the impact of travel on the environment and are endeavoring to forge deeper connections with the people and places they visit. Here, we explore the emerging travel trends of 2020.

Experiential marketing has become an essential part of the marketing mix for brands looking to create one-on-one connections with consumers. After all, there’s no better way to get to know a brand than through a personal experience where consumers are given the opportunity to interact with products and services first-hand. Of course, experiential marketers understand that dwell time in the footprint is an important piece of the puzzle. From an intuitive level, the more time they spend with your brand, the more likely it is that a long-term bond will be forged.

If you're unfamiliar with emerging platforms like Tik Tok and Twitch, you're missing out on the opportunity to connect with the millions of younger consumers who flock there on a daily basis. To learn how your brand can incorporate Tik Tok and Twitch into its next experiential marketing campaign, head over to PR Daily to hear from our very own Jeff Snyder.

If you've ever walked by a Cinnabon store and felt your mouth water from the scent of a freshly baked cinnamon bun, you've experienced just one example of the power of sensorial marketing. After all, the fact that their ovens are located front and center within the store is no accident.

From alcoholic beverages to travel and hospitality, the year of 2019 has marked a period of great change across industries. And, as we’ve discussed previously, beauty is one of the fastest-moving categories, with trends popping up and fading into the background at the blink of an eye. However, some of the changes in beauty are happening at a more macro level – many of which are made possible by continued advancements in technology.

When most people zig, they zag. Zagonists don't take a traditional approach to life and aren't afraid to shout it from the rooftop...or tattoo it on their arm. But it's not just about being different for the sake of it, Zagonists follow a different compass. Instead of asking why, they ask "why not?" Since they view themselves as influencers and love discovering new brands, experiential marketing strategies are key to authentically and organically engaging this consumer.

With consumers increasingly prioritizing experiences over possessions in recent years, experiential marketing has entered the mainstream. From direct-to-consumer pop-up shops to mobile tours, each form of experiential offers brands a chance to create one-on-one connections with their intended audience.