Alicia Richardson is the co-founder and managing partner of Crowd Access, the first independent measurement company creating a standard for experiential marketing. With 18 years of experience across advertising, media, sales, and measurement, Alicia has held roles at Undertone, OpenSlate, DoubleVerify, and Essence Ventures, where she helped lead sales across a powerful portfolio including Essence, Beautycon, Refinery29, and Afropunk. Today, through Crowd Access, she is helping bring clarity, accountability, and common language to an industry that has long relied on applause, attendance, and glossy recap reports instead of true performance measurement.

This episode we discuss:

• Alicia’s path from advertising and media measurement to building Crowd Access.
• Why experiential marketing has outgrown the language it borrowed from digital.
• The problem with measuring live events through attendance, applause, and surface-level engagement.
• Why brands need to define what success looks like before an activation is built.
• How Crowd Access is creating the first independent measurement standard for experiential marketing.
• The role of the Experiential Power Index, or EPI, in evaluating events and sponsorship opportunities.
• Why transparency, common language, and real-time measurement are critical to the future of the industry.
• How experiential teams can move from post-event “autopsy reports” to actionable insights while an event is still happening.
• Why agencies are often unfairly tasked with proving ROI without the right tools or shared metrics.
• How better measurement can help brands justify larger experiential budgets to CMOs, CFOs, and leadership teams.

Follow Alicia and Crowd Access at:
https://www.crowdaccess.co/
https://www.instagram.com/crowdaccess/

Thanks for tuning in. Check us out at https://www.instagram.com/markstephenagency/

In this episode, Mark Testa explores why the renewed excitement around live events is both an opportunity and a challenge for brands. Budgets are coming back, audiences are gathering again, and the energy around experiential marketing is real—but popularity alone does not make an event effective. In this SoloCast, Mark breaks down six key considerations every event marketer should keep in mind when investing in live experiences, from defining clear objectives to designing moments that create lasting impact.

This episode we discuss:

• Why the current momentum around events does not automatically translate into meaningful results.
• The importance of starting with clear objectives before investing budget, time, or creative energy.
• How audience alignment can make or break an event’s effectiveness.
• Why every dollar needs a strategic purpose—and how to avoid spending driven by ego or pressure.
• The difference between building a setup and designing a true brand experience.
• How live events should connect to a larger marketing strategy before, during, and after the moment.
• Why content, amplification, and follow-up are essential to extending the life of an event.
• How brands can think beyond attendance numbers and measure deeper forms of success.
• The role of emotion, relevance, and human connection in creating experiences that resonate.
• What event marketers should consider now as live experiences become a larger part of the marketing mix.

Thanks for tuning in. Check us out at:
https://www.markstephenagency.com/podcast

Thanks for tuning in. Check us out at https://www.instagram.com/markstephenagency/

Erica Boeke is the founder and creator of XP Land, a platform dedicated to connecting, elevating, and defining the experiential industry. With a background spanning journalism and brand strategy at Condé Nast and Fast Company, Erica has built some of the most influential experience-driven platforms, including the Fast Company Innovation Festival, Wired Store, and Teen Vogue Summit. She sits at the intersection of strategy, creativity, and community, helping shape how brands use experiences as a core business driver—not just an add-on.

This episode we discuss:

• Erica’s path from journalism to building some of the industry’s most influential experience platforms.
• Why experiential is no longer an “add-on” but the most powerful marketing channel today.
• The shift from events as media support to standalone revenue-driving businesses.
• The importance of community, fandom, and shared experiences in building brand loyalty.
• The lack of connection, measurement, and structure in the experiential industry and how XP Land aims to solve it.
• Why agencies need to get honest about their specialties instead of trying to “do everything.”
• How collaboration not competition is the key to unlocking bigger opportunities across the ecosystem.
• The role of experiential in a world saturated with AI-generated content—and why real experiences are the new source of truth.

Follow Erica at:

https://www.instagram.com/xpland/

Thanks for tuning in. Check us out at:
https://www.markstephenagency.com/podcast

Thanks for tuning in. Check us out at https://www.instagram.com/markstephenagency/