Where to Next with Experiential Marketing:
A Year-Long Journey

Where to Next with Experiential Marketing: A Year-Long Journey

Once the fastest growing brand activation discipline, Experiential Marketing has been upended by the advent of COVID-19. Many marketers shifted their strategies in the immediate and short term but as vaccination rates are rising and infection rates dropping, what are brands doing next? What is the next step on this return to “normal.”

Building on the success of our April panel, we’ve created a year-long series; each quarter, we will feature the biggest brands and the brightest minds as they share their thoughts on the future of the industry and share some highlights of their plans over a tumultuous year-long period.

July Panelists: (see executive bios below)

Bob Bejan
Corporate Vice President: Global Events, Production Studios and Marketing Community
Microsoft

Ryan Djabbarah
Head of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship Governance, Global Marketing Team
Citi

Ronnie Yoked
Head of Experiential
Anheuser-Busch

Panel Moderators:

Dee Hall
Executive General Manager
Advantage Marketing Partners

Cliff Rigano
Creative Director / Head of Culture, Content & Experiential Marketing
Jägermeister

Panelists

Bob Bejan - Microsoft

Bob is responsible for the development, production and execution of global events and experiential marketing for Microsoft. For the last 7 months, Bob and the team have transformed from a global live events organization into an interactive television network broadcasting globally until at least the end of 2021. In addition, he is responsible for the Microsoft Production Studios delivering hundreds of hours of programming and training around the world on behalf of the company. Bejan is also leading our work to train and develop our marketing talent and capabilities as well as nurture and grow communities across the company.

For 30 years, Bob has been a creative business person consistently landing or inventing senior level positions in a variety of industries and mediums both established and emerging. Including: Writer/Composer/Co-Producer of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Albums and Tour, Inventor/Co-Founder of Interfilm (The world’s first interactive movie/game), Founding Executive Creative and Production: Warner Bros. Interactive, Founding Executive Producer; The Microsoft Network, Founding Executive; Microsoft Advertising.

Ryan Djabbarah - Citi

Ryan is the Global Head of Sports Sponsorships at Citi. As part of Citi’s Global Marketing Team, Ryan works with partners and colleagues across the enterprise ensuring efficient and effective management of Citi’s sponsorship investments, focused on purposeful partnerships that engage clients, consumers and colleagues at their passion points. In addition to leading major sports sponsorships like Citi Field, International Paralympic Committee and the PGA TOUR, Citi Open Tennis Tournament and Manchester City F.C., Ryan also oversees Citi’s Sponsorship Governance, recently implemented to create more opportunities for collaboration and effectiveness in Citi’s sponsorship investments in all verticals across the globe.

Before joining Citi in 2013, Ryan was the Vice President of Strategic Consulting for Genesco Sports Enterprises. In this role, Ryan lead teams focused on saving clients’ money in sports sponsorship acquisition while effectively leveraging those sponsorships to drive brand and business objectives. Ryan led the account teams that worked on some of the largest brands in sports including Pepsi, MillerCoors and Sirius Satellite Radio. Ryan has also worked extensively with North American sports properties like the NFL, NBA, NCAA, NHL, PGA TOUR and NASCAR while expanding to more global partnerships like the IPC, City Football Group and Formula 1 as Citi diversifies its portfolio in sports.

Ronnie Yoked - Anheuser-Busch

Ronnie Yoked joined Anheuser-Busch with a knack for innovation and a love for experiences. In her previous role with Bud Light, she redefined their presence at festivals, by thoughtfully devising and implementing programs with her consumer top of mind. Ronnie unveiled Bud Light’s Dive Bar Sessions, where she created a space to showcase over 50 emerging artists across SXSW, Lolla, Panorama and more. As Head of Experiential for Michelob ULTRA, Ronnie was behind the first-ever sunset mass meditation for over 2,000 people at SXSW with The Big Quiet and Grammy-nominated Miguel and the evolution of the successful ULTRA Movement events that continue to evolve in the current environment. In her current role as Head of Experiential for all of AB, Ronnie brings her deep love of consumer-centered experiences and strategy to help define the future of what experiential marketing should be, ensuring AB will lead the way, as evident in the programs and work executed in the midst of a pandemic when the team shifted their real-life events to some of the most-watched livestreams like Bud Light Seltzer Sessions Presents NYE with Post Malone as headliner.

Moderators

Dee Hall - Advantage Marketing Partners

Dee began her career at Leo Burnett where her lifelong passion with advertising, albeit with a twist, was born. Her 30 plus-year career has spanned media, retailtainment, promotions, sports and experiential marketing. Combined with her 13-year stint at agency ownership, she leverages her multi-disciplinary expertise to consistently deliver integrated marketing best practices and solutions.

When her agency launched Coca Cola's Fruitopia beverage in the mid 90’s, her boutique shop was lauded in the industry as being pioneers of experiential marketing. In 2005, her agency then joined forces with FCB Chicago, to enhance their more traditional advertising offerings. While there, Dee was instrumental in the development of multiple award-winning experiential marketing campaigns.

More recently, Dee is leading agency services for the Advantage Customer Experience division of Advantage Marketing Partners and its collective of award-winning general market and multicultural brand activation agencies. Her team spearheads a diverse client portfolio including, consumer package goods, entertainment, retail, beverage, adult beverage, pet specialty and QSR.

Dee brings an entrepreneurial and collaborative spirit to everything she does. She embraces building agency culture, teams, and people—all while retaining her zealous belief in the power of creating human experiences.

Cliff Rigano - Jägermeister

Cliff is the Creative Director and Head of Culture, Content & Experiential Marketing at Mast-Jägermeister US. As part of the brands’ Marketing and Commercial Leadership teams, Cliff is responsible for driving conceptual thinking, vision and interpretation of brand strategy, creative, content and design through internal teams and agency partners. His creative oversight includes Brand Marketing, ATL Advertising, Innovation, Social and Digital Marketing, Commercial Programming and Distributor engagement.

In addition, Cliff is also responsible for delivering a global brand strategy focused on entertainment, lifestyle & pop culture content & conversation. This comes to life through strategy development, talent relations, sports partnerships, content creation & experiential marketing.

Prior to joining Jägermeister in 2012, Cliff was Director of Marketing for Universal Motown Records and Republic Records, leading the marketing campaigns which broke some of today's largest artists including Lil Wayne, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Black Sabbath and many more. In addition, Cliff ran label partnerships for some of the largest songwriters in the industry including Linda Perry, Thurston Moore, Pete Wentz and many others.