Martin CoddPhoto: Courtesy of Martin Codd
How he got his start: Martin Codd was the first employee hired by Pixis to bring the global tech company to life. He says starting on the ground floor at day one was a "terrific experience."
Codd emigrated to the U.S. from the U.K. after college. For several years, he worked in the nightlife industry and eventually opened a nightclub in New York City, Webster Hall, where he produced shows for Madonna, Mick Jagger, and Prince, just to name a few.
He then started to produce events for brands on a national basis.
"Back then we called the 'experiential' trend 'influence marketing' and had a blast connecting event properties with brands and key influencers to create one-of-a-kind experiences," Codd says.
He's worked for several agencies, most recently with RedPeg Marketing. Highlights for him there include being at the ground floor as the Dos Equis "Most Interesting Man in the World" campaign was launched, and producing the Niantic Pokémon Go Festivals from 2017-2019.
"I love creating experiences, and that journey also led me to a side hobby building out classic Airstream trailers as bespoke environments," he adds.
What innovation means to him: "In nightlife, I always lived by the principle that you’re only as good as your last event," Codd explains. "So for me, innovation means staying curious, always pushing the boundaries to find unique areas of exploration, and pushing the envelope in terms of what’s possible."
He adds that you can never rest on your laurels. "That’s why I love the drone light show industry: We are constantly innovating in our space introducing lighting, video, audio, special effects, and even augmented reality to the experience," he says. "Our goal is to bring the show in the sky back to the audience to create an interactive and immersive connection."
Memorable moments: Codd says the last event is always the most memorable, especially for Pixis' audience, so he cites the Bank of Montreal show at the Los Angeles Football Club—"not because of my passion for soccer or because of the stunning location above the LA Coliseum, but because it was a multi-agency transnational effort to coordinate the logistics," Codd explains. "The show celebrated the BMO sponsorship of the team, the LAFC 2022 Championship win, and looked forward to the 2023 season. It also included an image of Gareth Bale—man bun and all—scoring the winning goal in the '23 season. Definitely one to remember!"
His vision for the future of the events industry: "Experiences such as the Van Gogh exhibition are trailblazing; they show what’s possible in terms of immersive entertainment," Codd says. "That is the future of the industry. The thirst for new, authentic, and original experiences has never been greater. Having the opportunity to be in the forefront of bringing drone light show technology to life is amazing. Each and every show just gets better and better."
