This document discusses how experiences have become the new consumer currency as people seek status through experiences rather than material possessions. It explores key questions about why consumer habits are changing and how the world of content will need to adapt. Examples are provided of emerging experience trends like extreme sports, user-generated content, escape rooms, and immersive virtual and augmented reality experiences that blend the physical and digital. The future appears to be shifting towards prioritizing experiences and storytelling over acquiring material goods.

1. THE FUTURE IS HERE

2. THE FUTURE IS HERE
@JAMESWALLMAN
JAMES@THEFISH.CO

3. EXPERIENTIAL CONTENT

4. EXPERIENTIAL CONTENT
THE NEW CONSUMER CURRENCY

5. KEY QUESTIONS
In a world where people seek status through experiences…
• WHY are consumers changing their habits?
• HOW will the world of content adapt?
• WHAT does this mean for Disneyland Paris?

6. KEY QUESTIONS
In a world where people seek status through experiences…
• WHY are consumers changing their habits?
• HOW will the world of content adapt?
• WHAT does this mean for you?

7. HOW WE WORK

8. William Gibson
“The future is already here,
it’s just not very evenly distributed.”

9. THE FUTURE IS HERE
1. Understand the
macro-trends
2. Investigate the
innovation
3. Use Diffusion of
Innovations curve

10. THE FUTURE IS HERE
1. Understand the
macro-trends
2. Investigate the
innovation
3. Use Diffusion of
Innovations curve

11. THE FUTURE IS HERE

12. THE FUTURE IS HERE

13. THE FUTURE IS HERE

14. THE FUTURE IS HERE

15. EXPERIENTIALISM

16. THE FUTURE IS HERE

17. THE FUTURE IS HERE
CONNECTED LIVES
“Facebook has more people than God on
this planet, and can reach them on a
mobile phone”
Scott Galloway, NYU Stern

18. THE FUTURE IS HERE
CARBON
CONCERN
To hit the COP 21
target of <2°C,
humans must become a
carbon sink by 2070.
Source: Danny Dorling & Mark Maslin

19. “Shoppers are passing up the cashmere sweaters or leather
handbags and instead shelling out for experiences such as a beach
vacation, a dinner out on the town or a concert”
Washington Post

20. “Travel and leisure shares outperforming traditional retailers…
Experiences trump stuff for generation born between 1980-2000”
Bloomberg Business

21. “We believe that a major decoupling within retail sales is now
occurring, with consumers choosing to spend on
“experiences” rather than “things.””
KKR

22. THE FUTURE IS HERE
STILL HUMAN
“Human minds are the
product of evolution,
shaped by millions of years
of natural selection.”
Jason Collins, Evolving
Economics
• Mastery
• Autonomy
• Relatedness
• Safety, security, status

23. HOW will the
world of content adapt?

24. THE FUTURE IS HERE
5* EXPERIENCE
RATING
• Flow
• Mastery
• Awesomeness
• Relationships
• Story

25. THE FUTURE IS HERE
EXPERIENTIAL
CONTENT
• Flow
• Mastery
• Awesomeness
• Relationships
• Story
+ Status
+ Sharing

26. Content driven by
STORY + STATUS + SHARING

27. THE FUTURE IS HERE
EXTREME SPORTS
More are taking part in extreme
sports.
• Wing-suit flying
• Parachuting
• Obstacle course racing

29. Short from Rise of the Sufferfests featuring James Wallman:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2uFPH8T0JU

30. THE FUTURE IS HERE
PRO + AMATEUR
UGC
Startup Seenit helps
brands co-create
content around events.
Seenit curates a mix of content.

31. Video that shows how Seenit works:
https://vimeo.com/187175175

32. Content driven by
FLOW

34. Secret Cinema does Star Wars:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7bouwv3YME

35. THE FUTURE IS HERE
ESCAPE ROOMS
• People are locked in
a room
• They solve brain
teasers, puzzles,
challenges to escape
• 63 countries
• 616 cities
Source: Escape Room Directory
Handmade Mysteries’ Lady Chastity’s Reserve

36. THE FUTURE IS HERE
R.I.P.
EXPERIENCES
• teamLabs’
installation responds
to you
• IBM Watson for
personalised
learning
• Magic Leap’s AR
creatures
teamLab’s DMM.Planets Art

37. THE FUTURE IS HERE
REAL VIRTUAL
The most effective VR
experiences blend
physical with virtual.
• Mr Robot at Comic
Con, San Diego
• Westworld at Comic
Con, NY
A synthetic human greets
experientialists to Westworld.

38. WHAT does this
mean for you?

39. SPRINGBOARDS
Now that people seek status through experiences, how might we…
create R.I.P., COGNITIVE EXPERIENCES?

40. SPRINGBOARDS
Now that people seek status through experiences, how might we…
create EXPERIENCES that are “From MARS”?

41. THANK YOU!
This presentation was possible thanks to:
• Joe Pine, author, The Experience Economy
• Lucie Greene, worldwide director of trends, JWT
• Miriam Rayman, cultural intelligence strategist, Flamingo Group
• Jim Whyte, formerly head of insights, Fitch
• Dan Chapman, head of digital, MediaCom

42. THANK YOU!
This presentation was possible thanks to:
• Mark Fallows, founder/partner, Curious NYC
• Vicky Roberts, head of communications, vTime
• Alison Holberton, head of commuincations (UK, Ireland), Airbnb
• Keith Swiader, senior account exec, Moxie Communications Group
• Anthony Batt, cofounder, WEVR

43. THANK YOU!
This presentation was possible thanks to these experts:
• Ben Tucker, co-owner, Handmade Mysteries
• Tanya Goodin, founder, Time to Log Off
• Emily Forbes, founder, Seenit
• Alison Leu, producer, Seenit
• Nick Rainey, business development, Seenit

44. THANK YOU!
This presentation was possible thanks to these experts:
• Tom Cheesewright, applied futurist, Book of the Future
• Giovanni Donaldson, CEO & co-founder, SideStory
• Siena Morrell, operations & social media, SideStory
• Katie Griffiths, producer, The Future Is Here
• Gregory Popov, visual researcher, The Future Is Here

45. EXPERIENTIAL CONTENT
THE NEW CONSUMER CURRENCY

46. THE FUTURE IS HERE
@JAMESWALLMAN
JAMES@THEFISH.CO