By Jay Kennedy, event producer at ASV
There’s a shift underway in how influence travels. While brands fine-tune their content calendars and polish every word of campaign messaging, the real action is happening elsewhere: around dinner tables, in group chats, and on sidewalks outside the event. In this campfire economy, people skip the wait for someone to tell them what matters. Instead, they trade stories peer-to-peer, building their own narratives from firsthand experiences. Experiential marketing plays a central role in this climate, acting as the kindling that helps community stories catch fire.
When institutional trust is low, and attention spans are even lower, there’s something magnetic about a story that comes from someone you know. It’s rawer, messier, more emotional. That’s precisely what makes it stick. Whether it’s a friend describing the goosebumps they got at a pop-up concert or a coworker reliving an interactive demo from a trade show floor, these shared experiences carry more weight than any brand-authored post ever could.
According to Edelman’s Trust Barometer, consumers are more likely to trust recommendations from people they know than messaging that comes directly from brands.
That’s because people trust people. Especially those within their own communities.
What makes a campfire story spread
A good campfire story tells you what happened in a way that makes you feel like you were there. These stories tend to follow a familiar pattern: a personal moment, an unexpected twist, and a lasting impression. And they spread not because someone was paid to share them, but because someone felt compelled to. There’s a difference.
Think of a brand that lets attendees write messages on a giant chalkboard wall or invites them to remix a slogan through digital kiosks. These small acts of contribution tap into emotional drivers: surprise, joy, a sense of belonging. Moments like these, where people feel seen and invited in, are what get shared and remembered.
Authenticity as the new measure of connection
In the context of experiential marketing, authenticity means two things: the experience is real, and the people in it feel seen. When that happens, audiences stop acting like audiences. They turn into storytellers. That’s the sweet spot.
Compare a glossy step-and-repeat with a live customization booth where people walk away with something they made themselves, like an animated GIF, AR photo, or personalized merchandise they can share or take home. One feels polished; the other feels personal. Moving from viewing to doing is what makes authenticity land.
Experiences that give the mic to the audience
When brands shift focus from showcasing products to spotlighting people, the results often speak for themselves. In one recent entertainment activation, a branded vehicle became the emotional centerpiece of a karaoke fan experience outside a major film premiere. More than just a backdrop, it offered fans an interactive space to create content, connect with each other, and remix the story in their own way through dances, costumes, and spontaneous moments that filled social feeds before the movie even began.
When people feel like co-creators, the experience lives on beyond the event. It circulates naturally, passed from person to person like a spark in dry grass.
New to participatory storytelling? Start here.
If you’re a brand venturing into this world for the first time, resist the urge to control the story. Instead, focus on what makes a moment worth retelling. Ask: Is there something here people will want to share with their friends later tonight? Will they bring it up next week?
Start small. Build one interactive element into your next activation that invites expression instead of observation. Maybe it’s a prompt that asks people to contribute, or a booth where they can physically leave their mark. Then listen. The response will tell you everything you need to know about what resonates.
Ultimately, the job of a brand in 2026 is to make space for stories to unfold: stories sparked by real experiences and carried forward by the people who lived them. In the campfire economy, meaning travels through moments shared in close circles, where connection matters more than performance.
About the Author
Jay Kennedy is the event producer at ASV, an event and experiential marketing outfit based in Torrance, California.
“Edelman’s Trust Barometer” — https://www.edelman.com/trust/2025/trust-barometer
