Recorded live at Ministry of Sound in London, this episode is in partnership with London Experience Week and the studio dressed by USED Creative., a circular Marketplace.

Dr Amna Khan is a Senior Lecturer in Consumer Behaviour at Manchester Metropolitan University, a PhD researcher, and one of the UK's most recognisable consumer behaviour commentators, with over 400 appearances on BBC Breakfast, ITV, and Netflix.

Amna turns a decade of consumer research on the experience industry, and the picture isn't always comfortable. She makes the case that designers are building experiences without truly understanding the people they're designing for, unpacks why the emotional dimension of trust is twice as powerful as the cognitive dimension, and connects this directly to what the industry keeps getting wrong.

We cover the P. Louise pyjama crisis, why the retail assistant is still the most powerful person in any physical experience, what Lush and Fortnum & Mason do differently, Gen Z's relationship with brands, and why showing up brilliantly in three places beats showing up badly in fifteen.

Chapters

00:01:16 — Welcome to London Experience Week: Amna's first impressions of LXW and, what brought her to the stage.

00:02:52 — The Science of Trust: What trust actually is, how it develops, and why the emotional layer matters most.

00:08:28 — Service Recovery and Critical Moments: Why getting it wrong can actually strengthen trust — if you show up.

00:10:31 — How Trust Has Fragmented in a Social World: The shift from institutional trust to personal, founder-led relationships.

00:19:28 — The Role of Physical Retail and Human Connection: Why the human element in stores remains the most underutilised asset in retail.

00:26:32 — Popups, Brand Experiences and Memory: Why showing up in the right moment is one of the most powerful trust-building tools.

00:32:28 — Generational Shifts and the Empowered Consumer: How fragmented consumption and social media have changed who holds the power.

00:38:15 — Live Shopping, Belonging and the Future of Connection: Why TikTok live shopping is less about transactions and more about community.

Bio

Dr. Amna Khan is a Senior Lecturer in Consumer Behaviour and Retailing at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. She holds a corporate PhD from Alliance Manchester Business School, awarded via a prestigious scholarship from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, where she studied the mechanics of trust — including the guanxi relationship networks that shape business and consumer behaviour in Chinese markets.

A leading media commentator, she has made over 400 appearances across BBC Breakfast, ITV, BBC Radio 5 Live, Morning Live, The One Show, Watchdog, and Netflix, and is a regular expert on Channel 5 retail documentaries covering Tesco, Primark, M&S, Aldi, Deliveroo, and Coca-Cola. She speaks internationally on consumer psychology, cultural identity, diversity in experience design, and the future consumer, and is represented by London Speaker Bureau (USA).

Connect with Dr. Amna Khan: www.linkedin.com/in/dramnakhan

Credits

Special thanks to USED Creative for dressing the studio: https://www.linkedin.com/company/used-creative/

Grateful to The World Experience Organization for the collaboration at LXW26 :https://www.linkedin.com/company/wxo/posts/?feedView=all

Dean Rodgers is the Experiential Director at Secret Cinema, one of the world's most iconic immersive entertainment companies. With over a decade of building some of the UK's most beloved live experiences, including the Crystal Maze Live Experience, Time Run, and now Secret Cinema's ambitious Studio arm, Dean has watched the experience economy grow from an underground art scene into a global industry.

In this episode, Dean makes a bold case: the experience sector has spent the last five years playing it safe, and that era is over. He breaks down the four phases of experiential entertainment, explains why audiences are moving away from their screens and craving genuine human connection, and reveals why creative excellence, not commercial formula, is the only real path to survival in what he believes is the biggest boom the experience economy has ever seen.

We also go deep on Secret Cinema's creative process, the hospitality principles behind their most successful shows, what it actually feels like to build an X-wing for a live audience, and why Dean thinks the next wave of experiences is already arriving from an unexpected corner of the world.

Chapters

00:00:00 — The Accidental Experience Designer: From theatre director to escape rooms to Secret Cinema — Dean's unlikely twelve-year journey to his dream role.

00:07:35 — The Four Phases of the Experience Economy: Dean maps the evolution of experiential — and why the fourth phase will separate the bold from the comfortable.

00:10:33 — Why Audiences Are Changing Faster Than the Industry: Screens, AI slop, and a hunger for real connection. The cultural forces the sector is failing to keep up with.

00:15:40 — The Projection Show Problem: Why the sector became saturated with investor-driven, low-risk formats — and what that gap is costing the industry.

00:20:24 — How to Design for Creative Excellence: Dean's core creative process — one big idea, the audience as protagonist, and why novelty is non-negotiable.

00:29:45 — Inside Secret Cinema: Grease, Greenwich and What's Next: Behind the scenes on their most successful show ever, the new permanent venue, and the Studio arm's ambitions.

00:41:50 — The Future of Experiences: Boom, Survival and the Next Wave: Why the best days are still ahead — and what a Chinese phenomenon called Jubensha signals about where audiences are heading.

Bio

Dean is a creator of live immersive experiences. A pioneer with over a decade of leading in the sector.

He has designed many of the UK’s acclaimed escape rooms, including Time Run, and was co-founder and creative director of The Crystal Maze Live Experience.

He led the immersive department at the multi-award-winning creative agency Bearded Kitten, where he worked with brands including LEGO, Disney, Warner Bros and Netflix. He is currently the Experiential Director at Secret Cinema, where he leads the development of their in-house agency Studio Secret Cinema. There, he oversees new projects, including large-scale brand activations and IP partnerships.

Connect with Dean

https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanjrodgers/

In this episode, we sit down with immersive experience designer Frances Vieras Blanc in the heart of Paris to explore the "atomic unit" of human connection: presence. Dressed in Marie Antoinette-era attire to embody the power of anchoring and immersion (whilst in Paris!), Frances shares her journey from politics to creating the Oracle of Immersion, a tool designed to help brands move beyond the "Instagrammable" into the transformation economy. They discuss the five pillars of immersive design—multi-sensory engagement, agency, story, space, and feeling—and how theatrical techniques like "Yes, and" can bridge the gap between creative art and corporate impact. It is a grounded conversation on how intentionality and "micro-magic" can foster genuine human transformation.

Episode Chapters

0:00 – The Atomic Unit of Experience: Presence: Exploring how being fully present with others forms the foundation of all immersive design.

8:50 – Defining Immersion: The Five Pillars: Introducing the Oracle of Immersion as a framework for building multi-sensory and participatory worlds.

16:35 – Designing for Feeling and Impact: Why starting with the desired emotional "peak" is essential for both creative and business success.

19:10 – Navigating the Transformation Economy: How experiences are moving beyond mere entertainment toward deep, meaningful personal shifts.

23:43 – Thinking Outside the Booth: Brand Immersion: Reimagining trade shows and retail spaces by replacing functional design with lived storytelling.

31:35 – The "Yes, And" of Collaborative Growth: How theatrical improv skills and adaptability can unlock innovation within corporate cultures.

Frances biography

Frances Vieras Blanc is a creative director and immersive strategist with over 30 years of experience in entertainment. Founder of Eat the Cake Studio, an immersive entertainment studio based in France, she crafts and curates immersive experiences—from bold brand activations to original narrative worlds—helping audiences connect deeply while making brands impossible to ignore.

A recognized leader in the immersive space, Frances is a founding member of the World Experience Organization (WXO) and its Global Experience Council, a contributing alumna of The College of Extraordinary Experiences, and co-founder of JeDI Immersive, a non-profit advancing the immersive industry in France, and Les Journées de l’Immersif, France’s largest immersive industry gathering.

Rooted in a lifelong love of storytelling—spanning stage, film, screenwriting, and video games—she brings human-centered stories to life, transforming messages into emotions and brands into living worlds. Her mission: to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary through emotion, story, and creative impact.

Connect
https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesvierasblanc-immersive-entertainment/

We speak with retail experience expert Ghalia at 104.fr in Paris to explore the evolving landscape of physical commerce. As the pendulum swings back from ultra-digital to physical, Ghalia shares her deep insights into why brands must move beyond transactional efficiency to embrace "story living".

They discuss the strategic value of pop-up stores as experimental tools to test location and product novelty, and the need to blend high-tech with a high-touch human connection. It's a thoughtful, deep dive for experience makers and leaders into how purposeful design and local authenticity can create meaningful, destination-worthy retail experiences that resonate on a cultural and social level.

#RetailInnovation #StoryLiving #TheExperienceDesigners #ExperienceDesign #HumanCentredDesign

Episode Chapters

0:00 – Reimagining the Purpose of Physical Retail:
Exploring why customers leave the house for meaningful destinations rather than just basic transactions.

5:20 – Beyond the Wow Factor: Utilitarian vs. Holistic Design:
Understanding the balance between functional, grab-and-go convenience and immersive, time-stretching experiences.

11:52 – From Storytelling to Story Living:
How brands provide authentic proof of their heritage and "know-how" through museums and interactive flagships.

26:00 – Pop-ups as a Strategic Tool for Experimentation:
Ghalia shares insights from her PhD on using ephemeral spaces to test locations, products, and customer reactions.

40:47 – Human-Centric Design and Holistic Management:
Breaking down internal silos to integrate retail design into the heart of the customer journey.

49:40 – The Future of Retail: Social and Cultural Commerce:
Looking toward 2025, the next era of commerce must prioritise human connection over mere profit.

Ghalia's bio

Ghalia is a multifaceted retail expert whose work spans consultancy, insight curation, speaking, authorship, and podcast hosting. She began her career in the fashion industry in 2005 and has since collaborated closely with numerous fashion brands at both retail and management levels. Her expertise lies in ephemeral retail formats, the creation of engaging physical store atmospheres, and the analysis of consumer behavior within omnichannel environments.

At a strategic level, Ghalia supports brands through transformation processes and the evolution of their development strategies. Operationally, she contributes to procedure design, training manual development, and team training programs.

She holds a PhD from École Supérieure des Affaires in Lebanon, a Master’s degree from the London College of Fashion, and a BA (Hons) from Notre Dame University. Ghalia teaches marketing and retail internationally and is a frequent speaker at leading retail conferences, sharing insights that help shape the future of retail.

Connect with Ghalia
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ghaliaboustani/

Credits
Venue - Centquatre-Paris, 5 rue Curial - 75019 Paris www.104.fr
Francois Arrivae from IO Studio - A creative technology laboratory specializing in immersive experiences

Links to Francois
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fran%C3%A7ois-arrive/
https://io-stud.io

A rare behind-the-scenes look inside The Traitors Live Experience in London.

Creative Director Neil Connolly at Immersive Experience reveals what it really takes to turn a hit TV show into a living, breathing world, from designing a game with 475 possible outcomes, to building a four-storey immersive venue in just four months.

This episode explores how the live experience extends the Traitors universe, how emotion and tension are designed into every moment, and why the audience always comes first. Whether you’re a fan of the show or fascinated by immersive experiences, this gives you a whole new appreciation of what’s really going on behind the roundtable.

00:00 – Welcome to The Traitors Live | What this experience is and why it’s unlike anything else

04:00 – From TV Show to Living World | How the Traitors universe was extended, not copied

10:00 – Designing the Game & the Tension | Turning the TV format into a live, emotional experience

18:30 – 475 Possible Outcomes | Why no two games are ever the same

25:00 – Inside the Machine | The building, technology, and operational scale behind the scenes

46:30 – Emotion First, Business Second (But Both Matter) | Why audience feeling, design, and commercial reality must work together

Immersive Everywhere Company Bio

An award-winning live entertainment producer on a mission to transform the world’s biggest entertainment brands into extraordinary immersive experiences. They specialise in bringing storytelling to life through interactive, play-based theatrical events that allow audiences to step directly into the worlds they love. The company has produced critically acclaimed experiences, including Doctor Who: Time Fracture, Peaky Blinders: The Rise, and The Great Gatsby — one of the longest-running immersive shows in the world.

Immersive Everywhere is behind The Traitors: Live Experience in London’s West End, a fully playable adaptation of the hit TV series created under licence from All3Media International. The company’s vertically integrated model spans creative development, production, ticketing, marketing, and operations, enabling cohesive execution of complex, large-scale experiences that blur the line between spectator and participant.

More information - https://www.immersiveeverywhere.com

Neil Connolly - Guest & Creative Director

Creative Director at Immersive Everywhere and the visionary behind some of the company’s most ambitious IP-based experiences. With a prolific career in immersive design, Neil has led creative work on live attractions such as The Crystal Maze Live, The Tomb Raider Live Experience, and other major branded events.

In his work, Neil focuses on extending beloved universes into physical, interactive experiences — always with the audience front of mind. His role on The Traitors: Live Experience involved shaping a dynamic, player-driven adventure that honours the essence of the TV format while adding depth, narrative, and emotional engagement for participants.

Connect with Neil
https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-connolly-499054110/

What happens when leadership training stops being something you sit through and becomes something you step inside?

In this episode, theatre director and experience designer Donnacadh O’Briain shares the story of a bold leadership programme that replaced slides, frameworks, and role-play with a fully immersive live theatre experience. Set inside a 1930s dockyard, leaders became participants in an unfolding story forced to navigate complex conversations, power dynamics, trust, and decision-making in real time.

Together, Steve and Donnacadh explore why theatre creates deeper learning, how immersion accelerates behavioural change, and what organisations can learn from rehearsal rooms about leadership, presence, and human connection.

Chapters
00:00 – From Theatre to Leadership Learning
07:10 – Why Traditional Leadership Training Falls Short
14:30 – Inside the Live Theatre Leadership Experiment
24:40 – Freezing Time: Learning Through Real Decisions
34:50 – The Impact on Leaders and Organisational Culture
44:10 – What Theatre Teaches Us About Leading Humans
51:00 – The Future of Experiential Leadership Development

Bio:
Donnacadh is an Olivier and Offie Award-winning Director, Experience Designer and Story Architect specialising in live theatre, immersive experiences and experiential learning. He is a cross-industry expert in story and narrative. His wide-ranging career has seen him working on everything from musicals, Shakespeare, West End comedies, and large-scale immersive LBE's, to consulting on story and branding and creating innovative learning projects for major companies in the US and Europe.

Recent clients have ranged from entertainment IP giants to Fortune 500 finance and tech companies and Hollywood production houses. He is a TEDx speaker, has given lectures and mentored at institutions such as Cambridge University & RADA, and spent a year as an Associate Fellow of Creativity at Warwick University.

Connect with Donnacadh
https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnacadh-o-briain-35788837/

Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) is an experiential artist collective that believes in the power of storytelling to spark the senses and shift perception. Their work guides audiences through multisensory journeys where imagination and information collide.

Bringing together coders, poets, chemists, ventriloquists, brands and institutions, MLF collaborates across disciplines to explore new cultural forms, question our relationship with the world, and leave a characteristically playful trail as they move through the cosmos.

They create stories that untangle, entangle and flavour reality, blurring the boundaries between art, immersive experiences, XR and film.

Their work lives in public spaces, galleries, museums, parks, nature reserves and the metaverse. Everything they produce is grounded in research and designed to carve out space for people to expose, explore and expand their relationship with the living world.

MLF has exhibited internationally at institutions including ACMI, Aviva Studios, the Barbican Centre, DDB Seoul, Fundación Telefónica, Museum of the Future, Phi Centre, Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, Sundance Film Festival and SXSW.

Their work has been featured in publications such as The Guardian, New Scientist, Wired, The Independent, Creative Review, The Times and more.

Website: https://marshmallowlaserfeast.com

Barnaby Steel bio

Barnaby Steel is an artist and creative director of London-based experiential art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast. His practice centres on the senses; enticing audiences into states of expanded perception, a space where the boundaries between bodies blur. His work is deeply rooted in scientific observation as a window to look through and beyond our own experience.

Connect with Barney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barneysteel/