Since VidCon’s very earliest days, content creators have connected with their fans in person at live events. But as our space has grown into a massive, multibillion-dollar business with creators themselves as the commanding entrepreneurs, the traditional convention meet-and-greet has been increasingly replaced with individual events.
Over the last year or so, creators like Kai Cenat, Jordan and Salish Matter, and Sam & Colby have all held major live events and/or introduced ongoing live installations that build their digital connection with fans into IRL experiences.
It’s clear they’re right on trend: Longtime entertainment/talent mogul Ari Emanuel just raised $2 billion for his new venture Mari, which is spending big to acquire live events businesses. And at the most recent Cannes Lions, brand and marketing executives said live events are a frontrunning method to connect with finicky yet passionate demographics.
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Now Night, the Dallas-based management company that got its start with MrBeast and currently reps creators like Cenat, Sam & Colby, Hasan Piker, Safiya Nygaard, and The Costco Guys, is making its own live events acquisition.
It’s buying Experiential Supply Co., the experiential/immersive marketing company that was responsible for swarming San Francisco with horseback-riding apes ahead of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and planting a 60-foot-tall Titanosaurus in front of New York City’s Rockefeller Center to promote Jurassic World Rebirth.
The duo told The Hollywood Reporter that they intend to blend Night’s position as a longtime creator manager tapped into the viral digital world with Experiential Supply’s live events expertise to “accelerate marketing results for media, entertainment and sports clients.”
“As consumer attention shifts more and more towards digital media, we believe that experiential marketing is one of the few traditional marketing channels that brands can still use to create unique and memorable moments that actually reach consumers,” Reed Duchscher, Night’s founder/CEO, told THR. “Marketing leaders tell us that in today’s media landscape it’s important that those experiential investments also translate into digital success and drive earned media virality online. That’s why we’re so excited to welcome Jasen and team to Night.”
The “Jasen” he refers to is Jasen Smith, who founded Los Angeles-based Experiential Supply Co. in 2017.
“Through the years we’ve been able to achieve really special organic engagements and virality with our experiences and marketing stunts,” Smith added. “With Night leading the pace in the creator and digital space we felt there was a silver bullet offering to have this all under one roof that couldn’t be ignored. I couldn’t be more excited to charge forward with Reed and his team at Night to transform how brands show up physically and on the internet.”
They didn’t give any additional details about what Night and Experiential have planned, but considering Night reps multiple creators who’ve been dominating live events, like Cenat and Sam & Colby, we expect to see Experiential Supply Co.’s dramatic flair added to their already well-attended shindigs.
