What if the real power of your event isn’t hiding in your spreadsheets… but in your attendees’ feelings?
In this episode of Fresh Take: Events Unscripted, Jen sits down with the incomparable Liz Lathan - co-founder of Club Ichi, master gatherer, and the undisputed “What-If” queen of experiential marketing. And together, they flip the industry’s favorite question on its head: how do we measure success when the metrics we’ve been using don’t tell the full story?
Liz breaks down her groundbreaking Return on Emotion framework - a research-backed system revealing the five emotional states that predict whether people will do business after an event: hopeful, active, accepted, adventurous, and motivated.
Yes, ROI still matters… but ROE might be the difference between a forgettable program and a career-defining one.
From:
• building community when there’s no rulebook
• reimagining panels that put audiences to sleep
• “secret family reunion” trips that drop attendees into Tuscany
• inflatable-unicorn think tanks on Croatian yachts
• AI hackathons that rethink the future of planning
• and audacious pitches (private-jet dinner party, anyone?)
…Liz invites us into the wild, strategic, deeply human world of events done right.
If you're an event pro who’s tired of vanilla, allergic to performative networking, or just craving a smarter way to connect impact with intention, then this conversation will hit you right in the marketing cortex.
Tap in, take notes, and maybe ask yourself Liz’s favorite question:
“What if we made this unforgettable… on purpose?”