Elevating Brands: From Events to Emotion.
Speaker at the 20.20 Conference, leading a seminar on “How to Work with a Global Giant & Take Their Design Event to the Next Level.” This article reflects the points I shared highlighting the importance of having a Creative Director envision your brand’s event.
“People come for the brand. But they stay for the emotion.”
The Role of a Creative Director
I describe myself as a creator of emotions. I take the DNA of your brand, translate it into a space, and make people fall in love with it.
And what I know for certain is this: you need the little magic of a Creative Director to elevate your brand’s event.
While most people are asleep at midnight, we are wide awake, sketching ideas. Our minds never stop, always buzzing, always building. We see beauty where others see blank spaces. We imagine the impossible, and we make it real.
It’s not just about creating something beautiful. It’s about making memories so powerful that people don’t simply buy the brand product they choose to belong to it.
“We make a brand tangible, unforgettable, and alive for the time of an event.”
When Brands Become Tangible
Moët & Chandon events offers a perfect example. Instead of creating “just an event,” they built an immersive champagne universe: rituals, theatre, and moments of wonder.
The champagne stopped being just a drink, it became a metaphor for joy itself. Guests didn’t simply taste Moët. They experienced the brand.
And here’s the alchemy: the brain remembers. So when faced with a choice in the champagne aisle, the brain will instantly recall the emotions and memories from the event a Creative Director has crafted.
The amygdala stores the emotions you felt at the event: joy, wonder, excitement.
The hippocampus remembers the details of the experience: the lights, the rituals, the atmosphere.
The prefrontal cortex uses this information to decide which champagne to pick.
The reward system links the memory of the Moët & Chandon event to pleasure, making you want to feel it again.
“It’s no longer just a drink it’s a feeling your audience lived through at the event. They will want to relive it again through the product. That’s the invisible thread a Creative Director weaves: turning an instant into loyalty.”
‘‘People who experienced true emotion at your event or brand activation will almost always choose your product over another.’’
The Venue as a Storyteller
The first creative decision I make is always the venue. I treat it as the lead actor in the story.
A venue can echo a brand’s essence: like Dior at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, where couture met heritage.
Or it can create contrast: like Prada in an industrial warehouse, where luxury was disrupted.
I personally love contrast. It’s daring. It challenges perception. It leaves a mark and a fresh vision of the brand.
Fashion has long embraced this language:
Chanel in a supermarket for their fashion runway = couture becomes lifestyle.
Dior in a desert = elegance blooms in raw survival.
Gucci in Roman ruins cemetery = fashion transcends time itself.
When chosen with vision, a venue doesn’t just host an event. It is the symbol.
Three Principles to Elevate Any Event
Immerse Yourself in the Brand’s Core
Don’t just know the logo, live the brand. Understand its values, voice, and vision. Every design decision must grow from its essence.Build a Story, an Emotion, Not a Stage
The space is the canvas. But what people remember is how they felt at your event. Every detail should tell a story that moves the audience.Curate Experiences, Not Entertainment
It’s not about flashy tricks or distractions. It’s about designing moments people connect with, memories that last.