“More Powerful than Leading with Film”: Jason Kreher on Joining Experiential Studio DE-YAN

“We all know the industry feels uninspired right now. Everybody seems paralysed, the work seems familiar and safe.”

The above is part of a quote from Jason Kreher in a press release about his new job. The former chief creative officer of Maximum Effort and Accenture Song North America, and long-time creative at Wieden+Kennedy, last month joined DE-YAN, a leading US studio in experiential brand work. Founded in 2014 by CEO Dejan Jovanovic, the appointment of Jason as CCO comes on the heels of investment in DE-YAN from Shamrock Capital. This marks a nod to the potential value of the experiential industry at a time when spend in more traditional advertising and marketing sectors dwindles.

“If I’m being cynical,” says Jason, speaking with LBB and reflecting on the above comment, “I’d say the current industry trajectory ensures that most creative work will be efficient, commoditised and absolutely ineffective. If I’m being optimistic, I’d say there’s always a bit of stasis before a sea change.” The tools and talent are there, he adds. The necessary business problems are abundant. “I genuinely think some incredible new work is about to flourish. Either that or this whole thing collapses and I’ll wind up somewhere on the Croisette, manically typing on one of those fake plastic display computers they put on desks at Best Buy.”

A recent study by experiential agency Gradient found that 80% of companies have increased their experiential budgets over the past three years - now making up between 10% and 30% of total marketing spend.

In retail specifically, that number rises to 82%. And globally, the upward trend shows no signs of slowing: a Freeman/SSI survey of 1,000 CMOs across Europe, North America and Asia found that 51% plan to dedicate over 20% of their budgets to experiential within the next five years - up from 31% today.

In the retail sector specifically, 82% of companies have boosted their experiential marketing budgets within the same timeframe, similarly allocating 10-30% of their total marketing budgets to these initiatives. 

None of this surprises Jason. “Within the last year, it has suddenly become very cheap and very easy to make mediocre advertising. Which, to be honest, is most advertising. So it is not surprising that spend is dramatically increasing in the experiential space,” he says. “However, I think this is as much a culture shift as it is a business one. The efficiency of being fed exactly what we expect at all times leaves very little room for actual human connection.

“There is something so valuable - marketing wise, sure, but I mean human-wise - about being surprised by something wonderful. By being able to feel something in the real word you did not expect to be feeling.”

Creatively, this is where Jason sees the most potential, and is a key factor in his decision to join DE-YAN. As is the company’s deep commitment to great work and purity of purpose. “[DE-YAN founder and CEO] Dejan did not have a website or even an email address for the studio for most of their existence. Every project they got was from word of mouth, built on a reputation of delivering beautiful, effective work. This strategy is illogical and insane,” jokes Jason. “And yet, just as Dan Wieden used to say, ‘If you do good work, the money will follow’.

“At a certain point this place became unmissable, no matter how under the radar they had been. Consistent, excellent work is so rare and you cannot fake it. It’s built into the DNA.”

“Job number two is to bring a few brands into this magical chocolate factory, with the goal of making beautiful, inspiring work that nobody's seen before. That's the bar for elite marketers, and that's the bar for me creatively."

I ask Jason if working within what seems like a more fixed medium - experiential - might shape how he solves business problems for clients. But he gently rejects the idea that it’s fixed at all. His thesis? "In 2025 launching a big brand idea through an IRL experience is more powerful than leading with film.

“Think about it,” he adds. “If you make something that resonates one on one, it is exponentially easier to scale that up than it is to take a film (video or an ad) and try to retrofit that insight to all the different places a brand needs to go these days.

“Experiences give marketers the opportunity to see how their idea resonates with customers - visible, personal insight into what’s hitting hardest, and where the idea should go next.”

Despite that, he adds that experiential is by no means replacing traditional forms of brand communication. In fact, those distinctions make less and less sense as the landscape evolves and intertwines evermore. “The only truly effective brand work I’ve seen uses the right tool for the right message, and the more those silos can break down the more freedom we will all have to break through,” he says.

At DE-YAN, Jason is immediately focused on two things. Job number one, he says, is to not mess up the “incredible work” that the studio is famous for.

“Job number two is to bring a few brands into this magical chocolate factory, with the goal of making beautiful, inspiring work that nobody's seen before. That's the bar for elite marketers, and that's the bar for me creatively. (Hey Addison, can you print this part real big?),” he jokes. Naturally, I’ve obliged.

“If you are a brave, exciting client who wants to make next level work that will have a notable impact on your business, email me at jason@de-yan.com. Nobody else, though.”