In this episode of Experiential Alchemy, we explore the "hero’s journey" of event production with Adam Walden, VP of Global Brand and Marketing at GitHub. Adam discusses how his background in acting and agency production helped him transform GitHub Universe into a story-driven, "Coachella-style" festival that prioritizes human connection and world-building over traditional tech conference tropes.

Meet the Guest

Adam Walden is the VP of Global Brand and Marketing at GitHub. With a career spanning from acting in New York to leading production at Gen Art, Adam brings a multifaceted "left-brain/right-brain" approach to experiential marketing. For the past eight years, he has spearheaded GitHub’s event strategy, focusing on how to blend technical depth with theatrical whimsy to engage the global developer community.

What You’ll Learn

• The Power of World-Building: Why the "intro" and "outro" of an event are just as critical as the main content for cementing memories.
• The "Boulder" Analogy: Navigating the transition from a year of meticulous planning to the high-speed, unpredictable reality of a live event.
• Personalization at Scale: How GitHub uses various session formats—from "Dungeons and Deployments" LARPing to hackable badges—to meet different learning styles.
• The Art of Wayfinding: Why "timing signage" and physical orientation are the most overlooked but essential elements of large-scale event design.
• Agency-to-Brand Transition: Lessons learned from moving from the high-volume production world to leading a global brand’s marketing strategy

Connect with Us

• Website: ⁠agencyea.com⁠
• Instagram: ⁠@agencyea⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠Agency EA⁠
• YouTube: ⁠Agency EA