What My Summer Has Taught Me About Memorable Brand Experiences
By Mairi MacLeod Gray on 7th October 2026
This summer, I've been lucky enough to spend time at festivals, sporting events and an exclusive beauty event.
On the face of it, they couldn't be more different, but they all had one thing in common. They each created experiences that made me think differently about a brand.
As marketers, we spend a lot of time talking about websites, social media, advertising and email campaigns, and rightly so. They're all hugely important parts of the mix. But in a world where we're constantly looking at another screen or scrolling past another advert, it's often the experiences we have in real life that leave the biggest impression.
So, what is a brand experience?
For me, a brand experience is simply an opportunity to bring your organisation to life in a way that people genuinely remember. It's not about putting your logo on everything or handing out branded merchandise for the sake of it. It's about creating a moment that encourages people to stop, engage, and leave feeling a little differently about your organisation than they did when they arrived.
The most successful brand experiences don't just communicate a message; they create a connection. They give people something to enjoy, something to share and, ultimately, something to remember. That's why so many of the world's biggest brands continue to invest in experiences that bring people together, even in an increasingly digital world. They understand that if someone has a positive experience with your brand, they're far more likely to remember it, recommend it, and come back again.
Why are they becoming so important?
Whether we're at work or at home, we're all becoming much better at filtering out marketing. We scroll past adverts without noticing them, skip videos after a few seconds and delete emails without a second thought. What we don't tend to ignore are experiences that make us feel something.
When someone chooses to spend time with your brand, whether that's five minutes at an exhibition stand, an evening at a launch event, or an afternoon at a community activation, they're giving you something incredibly valuable: their attention. That's an opportunity to tell a story, start a conversation, and create content that continues to work long after the event itself has finished.
Three experiences that stayed with me this summer
One of my favourite weekends every year is BST Hyde Park, and for the second year running I found myself back at the Casamigos House of Friends activation.
Casamigos House of Friends
Yes, the margaritas were excellent, but that isn't really why I remember it. The styling, the atmosphere and the people all made you want to spend time there. I followed Casamigos on Instagram afterwards and, like plenty of other people, even asked if I could buy one of the team's T-shirts. Looking back, that's probably the biggest compliment you can give a brand. I didn't leave thinking about tequila; I left wanting to be part of what the brand represented, and I'll happily queue to visit it again next summer.
Tennent's
Closer to home, I loved what Tennent's did with its official fan zone at Casa del Fuego during the World Cup. There was music, entertainment, free bucket hats and a brilliant atmosphere that made every match feel like an occasion. Did I need another bucket hat? Definitely not, but I still brought one home. More importantly, it reminded me how much I still enjoy a pint of Tennent's (maybe with a tops) and somehow managed to make me feel a little more patriotic while drinking it. That's clever marketing.
Vieve
The third experience was a Vieve event at Duncans. I already loved the brand and had spent time watching the make-up artists and the team on TikTok, so before I even walked through the door, I already felt like I knew them. The opportunity to get advice tailored to me, try products properly and chat to people I already trusted was a great example of digital marketing and real-life experiences working hand in hand.
They're not just for global brands
When people hear the phrase 'brand experience', it's easy to picture huge product launches or headline-grabbing campaigns from global companies with enormous budgets. In reality, the same thinking can work just as well for organisations of any size.
You might be launching a new tool to the energy industry and want people to remember more than just the specification sheet. You might be a retailer looking for a fresh way to turn your annual sale into something customers genuinely look forward to. You could be launching a health and wellbeing campaign that encourages people to stop, engage and start conversations, or working in education and trying to inspire the next generation to consider careers in your sector.
The audience might be different and the budget might change, but the principle is exactly the same. If you create something that's enjoyable, useful, or memorable, people are far more likely to connect with your organisation and remember it afterwards.
Bringing brands to life
For years we've delivered conferences, exhibitions, launches, PR campaigns and community events for clients across a wide range of sectors. Increasingly, though, we're finding ourselves looking at them a little differently. Rather than thinking about them as standalone events or individual campaigns, we're asking how they can become memorable brand experiences that give people a reason to engage, share their experience and continue talking about it afterwards.
It's an exciting way of thinking because it isn't limited to one type of organisation or one particular audience. Whether you're speaking to businesses, customers, local communities or future employees, creating something that people genuinely remember will always be one of the most powerful ways of bringing your brand to life.
Let's chat
We'll be sharing a few more thoughts on this over the coming months, along with some ideas and examples that we hope will inspire organisations to think a little differently about how they engage with the people who matter most.
If you’d like to chat about how we can create a memorable brand experience for you, get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.
