Judy Lee has a knack for creating the kinds of brand experiences people can’t stop talking about. As the senior director of global brand experiences at Pinterest, she’s behind some of the most buzzworthy activations at major festivals like Coachella and Cannes Lions—immersive, interactive environments that reflect both Pinterest’s mission and the cultural moment.
Since joining Pinterest in 2017, the Brooklyn-based Lee has led teams that bring the platform to life for audiences around the world, crafting experiences that are inclusive, innovative, and co-created with attendees. A passionate advocate for representation in the creative and tech industries, she also serves as the executive sponsor of Pinterest’s Asian employee community. Prior to Pinterest, Lee held marketing and experiential roles at Facebook, Pandora, AOL, and CNET.
How her role has evolved—and stayed consistent—over the past 25 years:
"I’ve spent the majority of my career as a marketer who loved the creative parts of the job. As you can imagine, there have been major shifts in the industry from the rise of digital to mobile to social to present day. It’s been critical to keep up with shifts in media consumption and culture, as that’s a big part of my job. It’s difficult to be relevant to your audiences if you don’t know what’s relevant with them. Even when I was working on B2B marketing, being culturally aware and creative helped the programs and campaigns cut through all the noise.
Events and experiences have always been part of my remit, but just one of the many channels I used to engage audiences. Developing experiences and promotions were the favorite part of my job. And then, nearly six years ago, I pitched a new role to my then boss—the Pinterest CMO—to focus only on experiences and events. While I was ecstatic she said yes, I didn’t expect the whole world to shut down due to COVID. As usual, I had impeccable timing.
Over the past few years, my leadership team and I have transformed our team to evolve with the Pinterest brand and think bigger to redefine what people should expect from a Pinterest experience. We continue to sweat the details along with the big picture so we can overdeliver to our audiences—consumers, businesses, creators, press, and investors. We want people to have the same positive experience they have on Pinterest in real life. In other words, people have the same experience from URL to IRL.
What has stayed consistent for me is being hyper-focused on over-delivering for audiences through creative storytelling and engaging experiences that inspire or delight people. I’ve always been focused on making every touchpoint feel intentional and personal by placing the audience at the center of the experience, and this remains the heart of my work—no matter how the industry or technology changes." 
"We want people to have the same positive experience they have on Pinterest in real life," she says.Photo: Courtesy of Judy Lee
What trends/tech have had the biggest impact on events today:
"I often think about the Mark Twain quote: 'There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations.'
So I would say that the 'technology' with the biggest impact is human creativity. There is so much talk about AI, and while I do think it’s helpful in certain areas, nothing will top the human brain’s capacity to think and solve problems creatively. AI can inform it, but humans make the final call. And if they aren’t, you should have a chat with the team developing your experiences."
Advice for her younger self:
"Understand your audience—their needs and wants—and the environment or landscape you’re operating in. For example, the B2B advertising industry is a giant sea of sameness that focuses mostly on what a company wants to say versus what their audience's value. Being able to uniquely fulfill a need and 'unboring B2B' has been our overall strategy, which continues to yield results and shift perception." 
"I’ve always been focused on making every touchpoint feel intentional and personal by placing the audience at the center of the experience, and this remains the heart of my work—no matter how the industry or technology changes," she says.Photo: Courtesy of Judy Lee
An event she'll never forget:
"Out of all the experiences and events I’ve worked on, the Pinterest Manifestival at Cannes Lions stands out the most. This year was the third year we built upon that concept in a creative way to engage our audiences, drive revenue, build buzz, and then some.
From concept to execution, it was a true manifestation of everything we believe about experiential at Pinterest. The space was designed to feel like stepping into the Pinterest universe in real life; full of energy, color, and layers of discovery inspired directly by the trends our users, especially Gen Z, were excited about.
What made it special was how every detail was rooted in actual Pinterest user behavior and Predicts insights, and attendees were able to personalize things based on that data. This year, we developed a visual search experience that gave everyone a personal style reading based on their inputs. People were wowed by the accuracy and personalization of the results.
Throughout many of our activations, attendees became co-creators, and you could see the pride and excitement on their faces as they took ownership of their Pinterest experience. For me, the Pinterest Manifestival is proof that when you build a world where community drives the experience, the impact lasts well beyond the event itself." 
"Out of all the experiences and events I’ve worked on, the Pinterest Manifestival at Cannes Lions stands out the most," says Lee.Photo: Courtesy of Judy Lee
What she hopes her legacy will be:
"I hope to inspire a new standard for experiential, where we move from passive events to immersive experiences that are co-created with the audience. It’s my desire to create brand worlds that are data-driven, inclusive, innovative, and always evolving—considering and matching culture along the way.
People often ask me if I’m bothered by copycats, and I say no. Because if the end result is a more creative experience, then audiences will continue to raise their expectations and participate more. Which also means that budget and investment will follow where people are spending their time.
Long-term, I hope my legacy means that people will see themselves reflected in every experience, are empowered to shape trends, and feel inspired to take action. I want to be known for developing the most inclusive experiences, which will then inspire others to do the same. I think about inclusivity from the teams and partners we work with to brand ambassadors to talent capabilities (i.e., does a hair stylist know how to work with different textured hairs?) to accessibility to body types (i.e., does our furniture work for all different body sizes?)."
What excites her most about where the industry is headed:
"As more people are engaging with experiences, the expectations are higher for what people want out of them. When people invest their time to wait in line and actually show up, they’re showing quite a bit of effort, and it’s important for us to over-deliver on their expectations.
I’m excited to push the creativity for how we engage people in real life. What are the new cultural realities? How do we place our bets on the right trends? What is going to actually resonate with people? And how do we have a surprise-and-delight moment when audiences are savvier than ever? To me, these are exciting challenges to tackle."
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This feature is sponsored by Convene, a global hospitality company that manages a growing portfolio of brands that design and operate premium event venues, meeting spaces, and flexible office.
