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Five decades of experiential marketing expertise for global B2B brands.

Impact XM is a full-service experiential marketing agency with over 50 years in the industry, specializing in immersive brand experiences for global clients. Their MarketScale channel covers event strategy, brand activation, and the role of live and hybrid experiences in B2B marketing programs. Content is relevant to marketing leaders, event professionals, and brand managers building in-person engagement strategies.

5 episodes
Channel Brief·Impact XM · 5 episodes
Updated Aug 22, 2022

Events survive disruption when leaders embrace flexibility and purpose

Impact XM documents how experiential marketers navigated pandemic shock through adaptive operations, diverse leadership, and humanistic values—grounded in interviews with hospitality and nonprofit executives.

Impact XM argues that event and hospitality businesses survive systemic disruption not by returning to old models, but by building flexibility into operations and connecting work to genuine purpose. The channel proves this through direct interviews with leaders who stewarded businesses through the pandemic: a hospitality VP explaining slower decision-making and heightened emotional labor, a food-and-beverage founder solving customer impact through innovation, and a nonprofit COO managing philanthropic events under constraint.

Drawn from Before, During, and After: How Hospitality Bus… and 2 more →

“You're really only seeing the tip of the iceberg when you see people on stage. You've missed the struggle to get there.”

Courtney Stanley, keynote speaker and coach

By the numbers

25

ImpactXM clients served at single ICSC Las Vegas event

25

ImpactXM clients at ICSC Las Vegas May 22-24 event

2012

Year Spookstock Foundation was established

2016

Year Aimee McGranahan stepped into higher-level foundation support role

What the channel argues

InsightHospitality businesses require flexibility in decision-making and cannot commit to final attendance or virtual options until immediately before events.→
InsightRepresentation and diverse voices in the workplace foster inclusive environments and challenge biases in experiential industries.→
InsightCrépes Á Latte operates as a turnkey hospitality provider delivering food and beverage experiences designed to help brands make customer impact.→
InsightSpookstock Foundation executes philanthropic fundraising events during pandemic constraints by leveraging headliner entertainment and community support.→
InsightUnderstanding the purpose of work is essential for overcoming imposter syndrome and sustaining entrepreneurial success in event marketing.→

What you'll learn

•Why hospitality workers need emotional intelligence and flexibility to adapt to mixed customer sentiments and last-minute event changes.
•How founding an event-adjacent business requires clarity of purpose beyond external markers of success.
•That representation in experiential industries directly shapes inclusion, bias reduction, and equal opportunity for all contributors.
•How food-and-beverage partnerships enable brands to deliver memorable experiences that deepen customer relationships.
•That philanthropic events can be executed successfully during crises by leveraging entertainment partnerships and operational discipline.

What to do about it

→Build operational flexibility into event contracts and staffing models so decisions on capacity and format can be deferred until immediately before the event.
→Ensure diverse voices and perspectives are intentionally represented in your event and hospitality workforce to challenge biases and foster inclusivity.
→Ground your event or experiential business strategy in clear purpose beyond shiny external markers, and communicate that purpose to teams and customers.

Who and what shows up

Courtney Stanley

Keynote speaker, event emcee, podcaster, and coach

Articulated how overcoming imposter syndrome and understanding work purpose sustain entrepreneurial success in event marketing.

Hailey Rosenstein

Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Crépes Á Latte

Demonstrated how a turnkey hospitality provider delivers branded food and beverage experiences to drive customer impact during pandemic uncertainty.

Marti Winer

Vice President of MGM Resort Events Production

Explained how large hospitality operators adapted through flexibility and emotional intelligence in response to pandemic-driven decision-making delays.

Aimee McGranahan

Chief Operating Officer, Spookstock Foundation

Demonstrated how philanthropic event execution persists during crises by leveraging entertainment partnerships and community fundraising discipline.

Lorre Crisswell and Holly Zalenski

Hosts, Experiential Experts (Impact XM)

Consistently surface inclusive perspectives and diversity conversations while interviewing leaders across hospitality, food-and-beverage, and nonprofit event sectors.

Questions this channel answers

Q

How did event and hospitality businesses adapt operations during the pandemic?

By embracing flexibility in decision-making, deferring final attendance and format decisions until closer to the event, and building emotional intelligence into customer interactions. MGM Resort Events Production and other hospitality operators learned to commit less rigidly upfront.

Before, During, and After: How Hospitality Businesses Re… →
Q

What role does purpose play in sustaining entrepreneurship in experiential marketing?

Understanding the purpose of your work helps founders overcome self-doubt and maintain resilience through difficult periods. Courtney Stanley cited this as essential to moving past the hidden struggle behind visible success.

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: How Event Marketers Can Em… →
Q

Why does representation matter in event and experiential industries?

Diverse voices and perspectives in the workplace foster inclusive environments, challenge biases, and promote equal opportunities. This directly strengthens event quality and organizational culture.

Experiential Experts: Why Representation Matters in the … →
Topics:Hospitality and food-and-beverage operationsPandemic recovery and flexibilityDiversity, equity, and inclusion in eventsPhilanthropic event executionImposter syndrome and entrepreneurship
Themes:Flexibility as operational survival strategyPurpose-driven leadership over external metricsRepresentation and inclusion as business imperative

Industry context

Workplace culture and leadership practices are increasingly central to organizational strategy. Industry observers are examining how hospitality-rooted approaches to employee experience and adaptability shape high-performance operations across sectors.