Building Brave New Worlds of Belonging with Abbie McCrisken

There is a craftsmanship that lies within each person’s career path. Whether it’s the precision in a surgeon’s hands, the guiding presence of a teacher, or the ways an accountant uses numbers to create equilibrium.

In the world of events and experiential, where producers wear more than one, and in fact many hats, what is their craft that they can show to the world?

Abbie McCrisken, the Western Australia born and raised director and head of production and experience at Sight, believes that the art of the producer is their ability to envision empty spaces, and transform them into whole new worlds that spark a sense of belonging. When speaking of her background, she’s done exactly that - in ballrooms, conference spaces, and in rainforests, even cane paddocks and North Queensland beaches with crocodiles.

Abbie’s entry into the world of events and experiential began with a degree in film, photography and PR, which then led to a marketing internship in the the world of Casino Marketing. When the SARs outbreak hit, international travel and events came to a halt. Where others saw disruption, Abbie saw opportunity - four and a half years later, Abbie had gone from Marketing Events intern, was programming and running events and experiences designed to attract major gaming players from SE Asia into Perth.

From this chapter onwards, she never left the experiential and events industry, spanning her career across Queensland, Macao, and beyond.

Abbie on-site at the Waldorf Astoria Osaka launch

The experiential marketing industry is now one that is a convoluted concoction of technology trials, brand stories, messages of 'less is more', yet contradictory metrics that show that in this world, 'more is more'. There is a demand for sustainability, a grapple for attention, competition to innovate, and a longing from our audiences to simply feel something when they step into a room.

So, how is success in the experiential world even measured?

Attendees at TOKEN2049 Dubai

“We track satisfaction with Net Promoter Scores, but feedback often focuses on surface details like food or aircon,” says Abbie. “At the end of the day, who really shares their true emotions through a Mailchimp form?”

What Abbie truly believes is the measure of success in the world of experiential, what separates a brand experience from an event, is the sense of belonging that can be evoked for the audiences.

“The role of an event producer is to activate a space with pockets of immersion, and to see what temporary worlds can be created through touch, taste, and sight. When you weave in a strong brand story that resonates deeply with the target audience, this creates a sense of belonging, and this is where communities are formed,” says Abbie, “The venue may be temporary, but the feeling of belonging can be permanent.”

A standout example was a ballroom transformed into the immersive experience of a cruise ship. “We had to think about how to take people on a journey without ever leaving the room,” says Abbie. Through carefully crafted pockets of space that mimicked the ship’s structure, guests were guided on an emotional journey that ended in a theatrical finale, offering a powerful sense of escape and belonging.

In a world that is sitting at the epicentre of a tech revolution, where brands and agencies are grappling with new tools, higher demands, and endless buzzwords, Abbie seeks to use her craft as a production director to ground the chaos in something real: authentic human stories that can create small pockets of escape, and a sense of belonging that each person can carry with them, long after the curtains close.