Lori Hall (left) and Jessica LanePhoto: Courtesy of Pop'N Creative
How they got their start: Hall and Lane both got their start at cable networks including TBS, TNT, and TCM, honing their skills before launching Pop'N Creative in February 2020. For Hall, her background in experiential kicked off when she was asked to lead marketing for Tyler Perry's 2006 sitcom, House of Payne, followed by its spinoff TV show, Meet the Browns. "In marketing that show, I did an experiential activation where we wrapped a city bus and gave free rides to people on certain routes," Hall remembers. "The activation was a hit, and it got viewers to tune in to the series. From there, I looked at experiential marketing as coming up with wild ideas I could execute in real life. It was such a freeing feeling to brainstorm things out of this world—and then actually do them."
Meanwhile, Lane's first foray into the world of experiential was as a trainee at Turner, now known as Warner Bros. Discovery. "The trainees were tasked with programming an outdoor lunch experience to introduce our priority initiative launching across the network, and I was assigned the Hispanic Heritage Month feature on TCM. At the time—22 years old and a typical overachiever—I wanted to capture people’s attention and make them participate. So I pitched a free, Latino-inspired lunch featuring cuisine across the diaspora. I got people locked in with a live DJ spinning reggaeton, salsa, and a bachata mix. Then, I got people dancing by hiring a local salsa team that taught quick tutorials so everyone could join in."
Once she got a taste of experiential marketing and its ability to deliver memorable experiences while cementing brand recognition, Lane adds, she knew she was hooked. "I added that to my experiential bag as I deepened my skill set, specifically around social and content production," Lane says, adding: "I quickly learned that social could extend the impact and reach of IRL events if you built something Instagram- or TikTok-worthy. And it was this blend of experiential, social, and content production that became the genesis of Pop’N Creative and our experiential division."
What innovation means to them: "Innovation, inspiration, creativity, all of the above, are literally the lifelines of our business," says Lane, adding that can sometimes be overwhelming. "If we don’t innovate and create, we lose business to the next brighter, shinier, and more cutting-edge group behind us. And, spoiler alert, I refuse to lose. As a founder, that pressure always exists in the back of my mind—but I allow it to manifest in a much less stressful way for our larger team."
Hall sees innovation as necessary to break through the clutter and make ideas stand out. "For me, it’s also the difference between a good idea and a great one," she says. "The only way to future-proof your business is to innovate, think of the next big thing, and execute it. Client RFPs are even starting to come with the request of 'an experience we’ve never seen before,' so it’s already becoming a requirement to win a bid."
Lane and Hall try to encourage this spirit of innovation in their team too. "We encourage our team to get out there, explore, and bring back all their findings," explains Lane. "For every activation we execute, we encourage the team to take a break, check out, and document the other experiences. Pay attention to what naturally interests people and which experiences keep people coming back."
The team also leans into group inspiration boards on Slack and Instagram, where employees can highlight stuff they love—no setup or context needed. They also host companywide retreats to bring together their entire remote team twice a year.
How they stay inspired: "I stay inspired by taking a break, letting my brain wander, and allowing ideas to come to me," Hall says. "Focusing too hard on trying to 'be creative' can be daunting and fruitless. But if you focus on getting outside, stretching your legs, people-watching, or whatever makes you feel alive, you can make room for great ideas and thoughts to enter your brain."
Lane agrees. "Most importantly, you have to live life. The biggest driving force to staying creative and inspired is having a dope-ass life," she says. "And I don’t just mean you have to go lots of places and live this enviable IG life—you have to put yourself out there to explore, wherever you are, and to do things that make you uncomfortable. And when you’re out there living your dope life, you must be willing to take a moment and take in the things around you. I’m a big advocate of taking pictures, videos, and screenshots, and cataloging them in my phone as inspo. Anything that piques my curiosity, I grab it, even if I don’t know why at the moment. And when I’m stuck, I pull out those moments and notes, walk through them, and let the creative muses guide me."
Memorable moments: One of the duo's favorite recent events was an IRL experience they created for Hulu at Essence Festival in 2022. The goal was to lean into the company's existing "Hulu Motel" brand while also positioning it as a leading entertainment streamer with content dedicated to Black consumers. The Pop'N team created a three-day pop-up skating rink called The Rink @ The Hulu Motel, which included interactive touchpoints such as an Abbott Elementary "Picture Day" photo experience, the "Woke Graffiti Wall" featuring graffiti artist Kentrice Schexnayder, and a Snowfall on FX gourmet snow cone station featuring Papa Ted's snow cones from entrepreneur and R&B singer Dawn Richard.
"The Essence Festival of Culture is a huge deal for us—it’s basically the Super Bowl for the African American woman audience," the duo says. "As an up-and-coming agency, we thought if we activated there, we made it. It took us two years, but we finally got the project of our dreams."
Another favorite project? When Amp, the new Amazon live-radio platform, enlisted Pop’N Creative to establish its brand presence across three HBCU campuses in Atlanta during homecoming week. The team took a two-phase approach, starting with The Ramp Up, an introduction to Amp at the Clark Atlanta University homecoming concert. The experience featured 56 linear feet of larger-than-life Amp programming, each with a QR code to drive downloads, along with a 360 photo booth, giveaways, and more.
Phase two of the project was called The Amp Zone, a homecoming tailgate activation for Spelman and Morehouse college (playfully known together as "SpelHouse"). The team leaned into the spirit of football and homecoming for the activation, offering catering, a "review booth" where guests could try out the app, a custom 3D backdrop for content capture, and custom swag like bucket hats and pins. Pop’N sourced a Morehouse alum, DJ Pnut, to spin before and after celebrity hip-hop entertainer Jermaine Dupri spun a special set during peak tailgate hours. Across the four days, Pop’N exceeded the goal of 200 Amp downloads by 180%.
Their vision for the future of experiential: "Honestly, I want to see more agencies of color and more vendors of colors enter this space, in everything from fabrication to food and beverage," says Lane. "The multicultural area is booming, and now more than ever, brands are laser-focused on connecting with this audience. They’re learning that authenticity is the key, and they’re willing to meet this audience with the experiences they cherish and love."
But, she continues, "When we activate, we’re often the only agency led by women and owned by people of color. This change is absolutely necessary, and we’ll continue pushing boundaries to ensure more agencies have a seat at the table."
This feature is sponsored by Spiro, the global brand experience agency for the new now. Spiro delivers culture-bending, out-of-this-world live brand experiences that give all your stakeholders a chance to experience your brand long after your event ends.
