WINTER | AGENCY FOCUS
Jack of all trades
Jack Morton boasts more than two
generations of event innovation. Access
caught up with Mike Kunheim, its managing
director, London, to discover how the
company that coined the term ‘experiential
marketing’ remains on the cusp
When/why were you founded
and how has the agency
evolved?
We were founded 80 years
ago by Jack Morton himself.
Jack saw the opportunity
in providing music and
entertainment to business
meetings and conventions
and was one of the first to
fuse the worlds of Hollywood
and Broadway with big
business, pioneering what
came to be known as
industrial theatre. The
company quickly became the
US’ single largest buyer of live
entertainment.
Since then we’ve evolved
into a global brand experience
agency, where as a creative-
led agency we have a diverse
portfolio of skills – from
digital planners, content
strategists, social media
specialists and architects,
through to creative
technologists, experience
designers, data analysts and
AI and VR developers, many
of which are part of our
innovation practice, Genuine
X.
Together, we’re working
to create extraordinary
experiences so top brands
and organisations can
connect with the people who
matter most. We think Jack
would be proud.
What event trends have Jack
Morton pioneered?
In the 1990s we coined
the phrase ‘experiential
marketing’ – it was even
referenced in a Wall Street
Journal article about the
agency. We recognised that
live events have a huge power
to connect people, and that
business and organisations
could be using them far more
strategically than in previous
years.
Any company has to
innovate to stay relevant
and we ensure we’re on that
journey with our clients
– keeping at the cutting
edge of industry thinking.
Our innovation practice,
Genuine X, helps brands
harness the opportunities
presented through the
intersection of technology,
content and data. Genuine X
is a living, breathing space,
working genuinely in beta
and constantly evolving to
build, test, grow and release
strategic capabilities that
will help brands create the
experiences of the future.
How has the industry evolved
over the past year and what
trends are upcoming?
There’s been a lot of talk
over the past year about
immersive experiences.
Over the next year, the
challenge is going to be much
more about making those
experiences more responsive
– creating experiences that
sense measure and react,
anticipating user needs. The
focus will be on creating an
experience that people feels
custom-made.
How do you go about picking
suppliers and partners?
We’ve talked about how
innovation is important to
our and our clients’, success
– so we look for partners and
suppliers who can support
that. We want to work
and collaborate with the
greatest innovators in their
fields, but also the greatest
executors who can genuinely
help deliver on those
extraordinary experiences.
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