Future Fuzz - The Digital Marketing Podcast Ep. 168 - The Real ROI of Experiential - Erica Wiggins
In this episode of Future Fuzz, Vince Quinn sits down with Erica Wiggins, Director of Marketing and Communications at George P. Johnson (GPJ), to unpack what it really takes to stand out at major global events like CES and South by Southwest.
Erica shares how brands can move beyond surface-level activations and photo ops to create meaningful, measurable experiential marketing strategies. From setting clear goals and defining audience segments to building attendee journeys and leveraging new measurement technologies, she explains why strategy must come before spectacle.
They explore the realities of planning timelines, budgets ranging from guerrilla activations to multi-million-dollar campaigns, and how GPJ audits events to bring competitive intelligence back to clients. Erica also makes the case for why in-person experiences are becoming even more critical in an AI-driven, increasingly mistrusted digital world.
If you’re considering investing in a major event—or wondering how to prove ROI from experiential marketing—this episode is packed with practical insight.
Guest Bio
Erica Wiggins is the Director of Marketing and Communications at George P. Johnson (GPJ), a global strategic experiential marketing agency with over 111 years of history. Headquartered in Detroit, GPJ began in the automotive space and has since expanded to serve leading B2B and B2C brands across technology, retail, CPG, insurance, and beyond.
At GPJ, Erica helps shape how brands connect with audiences through world-class live experiences at major global events. She works closely with strategy, creative, and new business teams to ensure experiential campaigns align with brand objectives, drive measurable results, and deliver meaningful attendee journeys.
Takeaways
- Start with clear goals before committing to any event.
- Define your segmented audience and understand why they’re attending.
- Align your activation with the event’s vibe and structure.
- Build a strategic attendee journey—not just a booth.
- Measurement is critical—track leads, engagement, sentiment, and behavior.
- Smaller budgets require bigger creativity.
- Photo ops alone aren’t enough—especially for B2B brands.
- Experiential marketing is becoming more important in an AI-driven world.
- Auditing events provides competitive intelligence and future opportunity.
- In-person brand experiences build trust in ways digital alone cannot.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Erica Wiggins and GPJ
01:16 What GPJ Does and Its 111-Year Legacy
02:16 How Brands Stand Out at Major Events
03:28 Why You Must Understand the Event Before Showing Up
05:10 South by Southwest vs. CES Strategy Differences
06:28 Parallel Events and Creative Event Positioning
07:49 How GPJ Approaches Client Strategy
08:54 Planning Timelines: 6–12 Months in Advance
11:55 Budget Ranges: Guerrilla to Multi-Million-Dollar Campaigns
14:10 How GPJ Promotes Itself at Events
16:11 What an Event Audit Actually Looks Like
17:01 Common Mistakes Brands Make
18:30 Why Photo Ops Aren’t Enough
19:24 The Case for Experiential in an AI World
20:39 Where to Learn More About GPJ
Follow Erica Wiggins on LinkedIn
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