NAME:
Katie Kirwan
JOB TITLE:
Head Of Content & Website
COMPANY:
DesignMyNight
BIO:
Katie is a digital marketing expert with over 11 years in the industry, 9 of those so far spent at DesignMyNight. Managing the brand, content strategy, website development and digital drive of the company, with over 80 million page views a year under her belt. Whilst she's not obsessing over algorithms and competitive ranking, she's mostly talking about tacos, tattoos or Below Deck.
Coffee, black with two sweeteners. Sweet but still a lil’ moody.
I don’t think it’s just about IRL experiences, I think it’s about shared experiences. It’s clear that leftover lockdown anxiety isn’t going anywhere any time soon, but I think we’re way less inclined to turn down a social experience with friends because we’ve seen that taken away so easily.
As a brand that did also attempt to help hospitality lovers pivot to online experiences during Covid, they will NEVER be the same. Most people now strive for something new, not just something familiar, so IRL is really helping people to thrive again.
Immersive events are definitely back. The lockdown forced a lot of event organisers in to the tricky position where they either had to completely close, or really stump their creativity when it came to trialling new concepts simply because the risk of investment was too high, especially when BOJO was playing whiff whaff with the freedom of staying in or going out.
I’m seeing a real obsession with the Wild West, which I certainly don’t mind, but there’s not been as many new events as we’d hoped, which makes me think 2023 will be the YEAR for big productions to return. Definitely still on everyone’s agenda? Brunch. I truly have a theory that come the apocalypse, the only two things left will be cockroaches, and brunch.
Thanks to my job, I’ve been lucky to try most of London’s immersive experiences over the last few years, from dining in a faux hot air balloon to running away from martians at a VR meets live acting War Of The Worlds adventure, but there are two that really stand out in my mind as the creme de la creme of what immersive performances should be.
Trainspotting Live, for starters, was a grim, gritty and incredible adaptation of an already difficult story. It was held in the railway arches of Waterloo in a really intimate and raw setting, and that toilet scene? Well, it’s safe to say there was splashback.
Secret Cinema are obviously also up there when it comes to performance value, and while I’ve been tempted by some of their other shows, I was lucky enough to go to their now legendary 28 Days Later experience. Naturally, sprinting out of the way of zombies gets the adrenaline going, but from their recreation of the family flat, to watching the final movie in a body bag, they mastered how uncomfortable, cold and creative the British storyline was.
NGL, working in hospitality has always had its perks. It’s definitely a ‘swing by’ industry that knows you have to be there, to really know what it’s like to be there. But the best work freebie I’ve received? So okay, curveball, it was a lot of shower gel. Don’t know how I got on that press list but never too bad to be squeaky clean.
Good question, because I’ve been here nearly 10 years now and the evolution is real. We’ve just launched down under, which is an exciting new step for us, and while I don’t think we’re quite there in being the event organisers themselves, we do plan on helping people find something new and something unusual to do… globally. Oh and restaurants, we’re coming for you.
And there you have it! You heard it here first...it's all about the Wild West so grab your Stetsons and get yourself on DesignMyNight to check out all the best IRL stuff you can experience right now.
A huge thanks to Katie once again for sparing time to have a tête-à-tête with the EDNAEDNA team.
Keep your eyes peeled for future instalments with more inspirational people, and if you'd like to put yourself or someone you know forward, get in touch!
Yeehaw!
NAME:
Katie Kirwan
JOB TITLE:
Head Of Content & Website
COMPANY:
DesignMyNight
BIO:
Katie is a digital marketing expert with over 11 years in the industry, 9 of those so far spent at DesignMyNight. Managing the brand, content strategy, website development and digital drive of the company, with over 80 million page views a year under her belt. Whilst she's not obsessing over algorithms and competitive ranking, she's mostly talking about tacos, tattoos or Below Deck.
Coffee, black with two sweeteners. Sweet but still a lil’ moody.
I don’t think it’s just about IRL experiences, I think it’s about shared experiences. It’s clear that leftover lockdown anxiety isn’t going anywhere any time soon, but I think we’re way less inclined to turn down a social experience with friends because we’ve seen that taken away so easily.
As a brand that did also attempt to help hospitality lovers pivot to online experiences during Covid, they will NEVER be the same. Most people now strive for something new, not just something familiar, so IRL is really helping people to thrive again.
Immersive events are definitely back. The lockdown forced a lot of event organisers in to the tricky position where they either had to completely close, or really stump their creativity when it came to trialling new concepts simply because the risk of investment was too high, especially when BOJO was playing whiff whaff with the freedom of staying in or going out.
I’m seeing a real obsession with the Wild West, which I certainly don’t mind, but there’s not been as many new events as we’d hoped, which makes me think 2023 will be the YEAR for big productions to return. Definitely still on everyone’s agenda? Brunch. I truly have a theory that come the apocalypse, the only two things left will be cockroaches, and brunch.
Thanks to my job, I’ve been lucky to try most of London’s immersive experiences over the last few years, from dining in a faux hot air balloon to running away from martians at a VR meets live acting War Of The Worlds adventure, but there are two that really stand out in my mind as the creme de la creme of what immersive performances should be.
Trainspotting Live, for starters, was a grim, gritty and incredible adaptation of an already difficult story. It was held in the railway arches of Waterloo in a really intimate and raw setting, and that toilet scene? Well, it’s safe to say there was splashback.
Secret Cinema are obviously also up there when it comes to performance value, and while I’ve been tempted by some of their other shows, I was lucky enough to go to their now legendary 28 Days Later experience. Naturally, sprinting out of the way of zombies gets the adrenaline going, but from their recreation of the family flat, to watching the final movie in a body bag, they mastered how uncomfortable, cold and creative the British storyline was.
NGL, working in hospitality has always had its perks. It’s definitely a ‘swing by’ industry that knows you have to be there, to really know what it’s like to be there. But the best work freebie I’ve received? So okay, curveball, it was a lot of shower gel. Don’t know how I got on that press list but never too bad to be squeaky clean.
Good question, because I’ve been here nearly 10 years now and the evolution is real. We’ve just launched down under, which is an exciting new step for us, and while I don’t think we’re quite there in being the event organisers themselves, we do plan on helping people find something new and something unusual to do… globally. Oh and restaurants, we’re coming for you.
And there you have it! You heard it here first...it's all about the Wild West so grab your Stetsons and get yourself on DesignMyNight to check out all the best IRL stuff you can experience right now.
A huge thanks to Katie once again for sparing time to have a tête-à-tête with the EDNAEDNA team.
Keep your eyes peeled for future instalments with more inspirational people, and if you'd like to put yourself or someone you know forward, get in touch!
Yeehaw!
