Celebrating 25 Years of Innovation in Experiential Marketing with Proof Experiences

These days, it feels like everyone is trying to get in on the success and growth of the experiential marketing (XM) sector. Since the pandemic ended, investment has been on the rise, and it seems like there’s been global recognition of the opportunities afforded to brands that, with the help of strong agencies, work to deliver authentic and immersive experiences.

Of course, not every shop can deliver equally in this regard. In the Canadian market, XM agency Proof Experiences (Px) has been leading the way for the past 25 years, striving to reimagine how people and brands connect by transforming everyday moments into meaningful, lasting memories.

Yes, you read that correctly. While 25 years is a notable milestone for any business, given the fact that XM is a relatively new practice, Px holds the honour of being one of the country’s original experience agencies – a pretty awesome claim to fame.

“We are really excited and proud to be growing and leading the [XM] industry in Canada right now,” says Lisa Barrans, president and CEO, while reflecting on this major milestone. “Our ongoing success reinforces that our strategic business plans are aligned with our clients’ needs and consumer expectations (that's corporate speak for ‘we wouldn’t be around and thriving if we weren’t helping our clients grow and deliver business results’).”

So, just what does it take to become an XM industry leader? Did the team at Px have an omniscient vision that this would be the next big thing when it opened its doors all those years ago? According to Lorne Cooperberg, SVP, growth and innovation, the answer to the latter question is no; initially, all the team focused on was doing great work and growing. 

In fact, it wasn’t until about 10 years in that Px’s leaders realised just how powerful this tool could be, and began investing in a longer-term business plan – placing a laser focus on exactly where the agency needed to go while contemplating how the amalgamation of technology, measurement, strategy and creativity could bolster its arsenal for future offerings.

“Proactively identifying and leading many of these changes has helped us stay ahead of the competition and enjoy growth that has outpaced the industry,” Lorne explains. “We were early investors in live measurement technology, pre and post concept testing and strategy, and insights-led programming. Our growing focus on experiential education, B2B and internal events has allowed us to expand our services and bring experiential-based marketing to new and emerging industries and clients.”

But, while being ahead of the curve is one thing, the ability to remain on top, as Px has, is a great achievement of its own. For Lisa, Lorne and the team, their confidence in the agency’s position as an industry leader is bolstered by several factors, not least of which are its ‘Purpose’ and ‘Vision’ statements. 

Here, what started as a year-long thought process about defining experience principles quickly grew into six core company values, which, today, serve as the foundation for how the team approaches work, partners, business, and each other.

“Our ‘Purpose’ and ‘Vision’ statements have a big influence on the type of work and client partners we choose, AND how we show up in the industry,” Lisa adds. “For example, our vision of leading the experiences industry by reimagining how we care and connect with people has completely shifted how we do business during the past decade. Not only has it created a North Star for our whole team to understand our ‘why and what’, but it has become a rallying cry for engagement, retention and team building.”

Building on this, Lorne describes this particular vision as a “guidepost” for the types of programming and innovation Px seeks to bring to its consumers and clients every day. Ensuring that the team asks itself who the work will impact and interact with ensures results, no matter the category, every time.

A great example of this can be seen in Px’s commitment to leading sustainability initiatives within the industry. In addition to the appointment of Kelly Power as executive vice president of ESG, as well as investments in sustainable testing, measurement tools, and internal training, the agency has used this emphasis on ‘caring for people and planet’ as consideration for future initiatives – such as the soon-to-be-announced ‘Sustainability in Events Summit’ (an industry first) – and other client and internal ESG in events training workshops 

“It’s the moment of truth for everything we do both internally and externally,” Lorne reflects. “By asking ourselves how our work will connect with people and demonstrate caring, we find the difference between good and great campaigns and programmes that have a lasting impact.”

With all that said, purpose and vision mean very little without the creativity to innovate and stay on the cutting edge. Px’s team knows this, and, in an act of putting its money where its mouth is, has invested heavily in this.

“We have always believed that creativity and innovation should be agency wide, not just the mandate of the creative team,” Lorne says, noting that it can originate within any department, from strategy and planning to research, operations, or even finance. “Because of this, we have a dedicated growth and innovation team which works cross-functionally to drive and share innovation.”

What this means is that on any given day, the consumer group might use technology developed by the conference team, insights gleaned from an educational campaign might be utilised at a B2B event, or the people and culture team might carry out its group innovation training by sending employees from other teams on ‘field trips’ to encourage the exploration of creativity. In short, divisional cross-pollination is everywhere, and it’s all for the better.

In many ways, the sum of these parts is the throughline which binds together the projects of which, historically, the Px leadership team is most proud. For instance, the ongoing work that the experiential education team is doing for Health Canada in the fight against opioids and vaping (see here) represents the power of a ‘people-first’ approach. 

“Working to understand our target audience and the impact this crisis is having on communities across the country led to a revamped campaign to engage with teenagers and young adults,” Lorne states. “As a result, we shifted our engagement approach and messaging recommendations, which have had powerful and positive results.”

Meanwhile, Px’s award-winning Metro campaign saw the team develop the ‘Metro Retro Drive-In’ – a cross-province campaign that the team activated in the brand’s parking lots during/post pandemic as an innovative way to engage and interact with consumers and staff safely.

A final example is the ongoing campaign developed for the CRA to address the rise in online scams in Canada, especially those targeting older adults. 

“We developed a creative and interactive escape room that travelled across Canada and educated and tested Canadians on their ‘scam awareness’,” Lorne adds. “This was picked up by media outlets across the country, and was such an overwhelming success with consumers that the tour has been extended.”

If all this wasn’t enough to sell the merits of the Px model, there’s also the fact that the agency is able to boast its corporate and annual growth rates (which continue to outpace that of the local industry), while simultaneously maintaining record-low turnover with employees.

A big part of this, according to Lorne, has been the implementation of EDI and sustainability initiatives over the past three years – both with clients and internally. While he observes that these are still relatively new sectors for the XM space to explore, what was immediately clear from was that weaving these into Px’s corporate business plans via a clearly defined strategy, action plan and resource allocation systems would be imperative for the future health of the company, and the wellbeing of its employees.

“In the past year, we have integrated these plans with our ‘People and Culture’ initiatives to ensure that all employees are trained and equipped in both sustainability, and current EDI practices,” he continues. “This is an ongoing year-over-year investment that considers the latest global best practices and shifts in consumer sentiment, and their impact on brands and experiences.”

It seems as though everyone benefits from this setup. Px’s commitment to people and the planet allows it to attract and retain individuals who care deeply about the work and subject matter, ensuring work is created that not only makes clients’ brands happy, but leaves a lasting impact on consumer’s lives. Everyone wins.

Of course, it doesn’t just end there. Even as a category leader with a body of great work and an equally epic history to back it up, business will continue to evolve. The blank slate of 2025 provides an interesting canvas for the Px team to play upon, and it’s for that reason which Lorne asserts, “it feels like things are just getting started.”

“We have ambitious plans for both the short and long term,” he expands. “We’re starting to work in the US, and hopefully, in a few years, we will have grown to a level that we can brag about. We are also currently working on several new product/service offerings that we’re hoping to share with clients in the next 24 months, building on our existing strong relationships to continue to offer more.” 

Sure, the future may not be certain, and it might take a little while to accomplish everything on the hit list, whether it’s collaborating with industry leadership to support and engage the workforce of the future, or match the evolving needs of the conference and event space, but with 25 good, successful years behind them, the team only has reason to believe in another successful quarter century to come.

Concluding, Lorne says, “If we speak again in 25 years, I hope to share that we have successfully led our industry to a point where sustainable practices have become standard practice.”