New report asks brands to think about experiential marketing a little differently

“Brands are stuck between wanting to stand for something and constantly needing quick wins,” Jim Babb, CEO of Part and Sum, says, detailing the contemporary state of brands, marketing and strategy. “Marketing has become a bit like fast fashion, cranking out disposable content for short-term clicks,” he continues. “It’s often a lot of pretty decks that never impact the real world,” Jim adds, “it can all feel like a race to the bottom.” Undeterred, however, Part and Sum – a Brooklyn-based marketing consultancy – has sought to approach the industry and its numerous niches with an altogether different approach. “We help brands make things people actually want and prove they are actually worth investing in,” he says, making a real-world impact on their clientele by taking their creative work – and creative collaborations – seriously. 

This approach has led Part and Sum and experience design studio VTProDesign to create the Return on Experience (ROX) report, a framework for measuring branded experiences in a way that considers the wider, less tangible value of brand activations and marketing. Where Return on Investment (ROI) reports typically focus on costs and conversions, ROX takes into account the emotional, cultural, and long-term business impact of experiences – whether they’re immersive pop-ups, large-scale installations, or hybrid events that bridge the physical and digital worlds.

The report itself outlines five key shifts for marketers, including how simple transactions can be transformed into experiences that leave a lasting emotional mark, and how passive audience engagement can be transitioned into active participation. Moreover, it suggests that models blending both physical formats and digital models extend their reach – a sentiment shared with the insight that collective sharing elevates a brand over something experienced solo. Its final, more all-encompassing analysis is that, despite the unfathomable amount of data collected, personal memories and individual impressions of a brand activation drastically outlive passive clicks, shares and likes.

The report’s commentary is not without on-the-ground experience, with Part and Sum being the dab hand at impactful marketing. “A lot of ‘experiential marketing’ still means handing out free samples under a branded tent,” Jim explains, “and to us that’s not really an experience, that’s a coupon with better lighting.”

For Jim and the team at Part and Sum, real experience is when people get in on the action. “It’s immersive, participatory, and it shows your values in action, not just in a tagline,” Jim says, “instead of pushing a message at people, you’re creating a memory,” and, indeed, something worth sharing. “If done right,” he adds, “an experience makes them feel like they were part of the story.”

As such, the practicality of experiential marketing is a big part of the pitch. The ROX framework helps brands map the value of their experiences across five dimensions – brand strength, audience engagement, sales impact, PR and storytelling, and organisational insight – while also looking at the entire event lifecycle. Case studies demonstrate how the model works in practice, and so-called cheat sheets provide tailored measurement tips for both B2C and B2B marketers, ranging from gauging memory recall to tracking conversions through customer relationship management tools. 

Residence – the global network that encompasses Part and Sum and VTProDesign – positions the ROX approach as a way for brands to better understand, justify and scale their experiential investments. Part and Sum brings analytical rigour and strategy expertise, while VTProDesign adds deep knowledge in experience design and production. Together, they and the report encourage brands to see experiential marketing not just as a series of impressive moments, but as a driver of sustained cultural relevance, insight and growth.

“The future of design and marketing isn’t going to be about trend chasing, it’s going to be about making fewer, better things that earn their place in culture,” Jim says, explaining how – with AI speeding up the act of making – the bar is raised for original ideas and real craft. “In a sea of AI slop, brands won’t win by adding to the sea,” he continues, suggesting that the line between ‘design’ and ‘experience’ will completely blur and rely on people caring about a brand long before they visit its store. “The sweet spot will be working to make things memorable,” Jim concludes, “not just being loud,” looking to help brands correctly invest and, importantly, drive business and culture forward.