The Experience Strategy Podcast

Featured article: " Wellness Tourism Could Top 900 Billion in 2030. Luxury Hotels Are Racing to Keep Up. " — Forbes A Forbes feature highlighting 12 luxury hotels leading the wellness tourism shift — immersive White Lotus –style programming, longevity-driven design, destination spa experiences — opens the door to one of the most consequential conversations on the show this year. Wellness tourism i...

The Experience Strategy Podcast Hosts: Aransas Savas, Dave Norton, Joe Pine Featured articles: " Death of the Segment: Why Personas Are Killing Personalization " — SwiftERM " Your Personas Are Outdated. It's Time to Evolve Your Approach ." — Audrey Chee-Read, Principal Analyst, Forrester Every other post on LinkedIn is announcing the death of something. Most of it is alarmist storytelling dressed...

Featured article: " I'm Not Doing Laundry on the Clock. I'm Microshifting ." by Eve Upton-Clark, Fast Company , October 7, 2025 Owl Labs reports that 65% of workers are interested in microshifting — what the company calls structured flexibility built from short, nonlinear work blocks matched to energy, duties, and productivity. Joe, Dave, and Aransas take the article apart and put it back together...

Kareem Rahma built Subway Takes into a hit with 2 million Instagram followers, a metro card as a microphone, and a format that runs in seconds. Now he's walking away from a CNN deal to put his next show Keep the Meter Running on YouTube — because YouTube, in his words, is where the next Bourdain and the next Lena Dunham will come from. In this episode, Joe, Dave, and Aransas dig into what Rahma's...

For the first time on record, experience-based tenants — spas, gyms, wellness studios, entertainment venues — are outpacing traditional goods retailers in leasing shopping center space, with wellness and fitness leading the charge. Joe Pine, Dave Norton, and Aransas Savas unpack what this shift actually means: it is not just a retail story, it is confirmation that the transformation economy Joe pr...

AI Twins and the Future of Research The Experience Strategy Podcast Episode Overview Two Wall Street Journal articles are making waves in the market research world — one asking whether AI can replace human research participants, and another profiling a teenage-founded startup called Aura that's already attracted McDonald's and EY. Dave, Joe, and Aransas bring their combined decades of consumer res...

The Experience Strategy Podcast | substack.theexperiencestrategist.com A post on X went viral — 38,000 reshares , 83 million reads. Written by respected AI voice Matt Schumer, it opens with a gut-punch analogy: think back to February 2020. Most of us weren't paying attention to a virus spreading overseas. Then in three weeks, everything changed. Schumer's argument is that we are in a similar "this...

In this special episode of the Experience Strategy Podcast, Joe Pine shares with Dave and Aransas background about the book!  To celebrate the release of his new book, The Transformation Economy . The conversation traces the book's origins from the final two chapters of The Experience Economy , explores why the world is finally ready for this idea, and unpacks key frameworks — including encapsulat...

Summary In this episode of the Experience Strategy Podcast, hosts Aransas Savas, Joe Pine, and Dave Norton discuss the burgeoning field of longevity and transformation. They explore the aspirations of individuals seeking to live longer and healthier lives, the shift in healthcare from a reactive to a proactive approach, and the role of social proof in driving transformation. The conversation also...

In this episode of the Experience Strategy podcast, hosts Aransas Savas, Joe Pine, and Dave Norton discuss the recent developments in AI leadership, particularly focusing on Sam Altman's 'code red' declaration regarding OpenAI's competition with Google. They explore the importance of experience in AI development, the frameworks that should guide AI companies, and the evolving expectations of users...

The conversation explores the evolving perception of wealth and meaning, highlighting a shift towards purpose-driven initiatives among wealthy individuals like Musk and Gates. Taken from the article in the Economist, entitled the Ultra-rich Are Giving Up on Luxury Assets , it discusses how traditional symbols of wealth are losing significance as people seek deeper meaning in their financial pursui...

Two articles caught our attention. The first was in The  Hollywood Reporter about a new movie theater concepts with private rooms and high end food in New York. The second was a story about the power of IMAX in the movie industry, per the Wall Street Journal.   In this episode, Joe Pine, Aransas Savas, and Dave Norton discuss the evolving landscape of the movie theater experience, particularly in...

In a recent WSJ article entitled " Travis Kelce Is Jumping In to Save Six Flags Just When It Needed It Most ", the author notes that all theme parks are down, and Six Flags needs a rescue. So, we decided to unpack the why, the how, and the what to do to reenergize theme parks.  The conversation goes from Travis' desire for more thrilling roller coasters to proposing new ideas for amusing people. T...

In this episode of the Experience Strategy Podcast, hosts Aransas Savas, Joe Pine, and Dave Norton discuss an article from the Wall Street Journal about High Point University in North Carolina , which has become a magnet for wealthy students. They explore how the university's focus on creating transformational experiences and life skills prepares students for their future careers. The conversation...

In this episode of the Experience Strategy Podcast, hosts Joe Pine, Dave Norton, and Aransas Savas discuss  PwC's recent report on growth through experience . They explore the evolving definitions of customer experience, emphasizing the importance of trust and meaningful interactions. The conversation delves into PwC's four dimensions of exceptional experiences: coherence, personalization, engagem...

In this episode of the Experience Strategy Podcast, hosts Joe Pine, Dave Norton, and Aransas Savas discuss their recent experiences at the Arival Conference and The Collaboratives , focusing on the evolving landscape of travel experiences and the impact of AI on search and social proof. They emphasize the importance of human connection in the age of AI, the significance of time well spent, and the...

Adweek just did a write up on Uber's new ad campaign and we found reasons to concur with the article and take what Uber is doing farther. In this episode of the Experience Strategy Podcast, hosts Aranzas Savas, Joe Pine, and Dave Norton discuss Uber's new advertising campaign, focusing on its storytelling approach and the importance of experiences in marketing. They explore how Uber positions itse...

In a recent HBR article, Yang Li shares his theory for how Pop Mart won young customers .  But we think that fragmented attention is not what Pop Mart has mastered. Instead, they have mastered markets within/situational markets. In this conversation, the speakers delve into emphasizing the importance of customer engagement and customization. They discuss Pop Mart's innovative strategies for captur...

Lil' Miquela and Mia Zelu have millions of followers and generate serious income, despite being created with artificial intelligence. A  recent article in the NY Times caught our attention and we just had to weigh in on how AI influencers are changing the way customers think about what they can trust. In this episode of the Experience Strategy podcast, hosts Aransas Savas, Joe Pine, and Dave Norto...

In The New York Times article written by Daniel Currell, the author/consultant contents that Disney's tiered system is designed to target affluent guests, not middle class people. In this episode of the Experience Strategy Podcast, hosts Joe Pine, Dave Norton, and Aransas Savas discuss the article about Disney's transformation from an egalitarian experience to a tiered system. They explore the imp...

In an August 14th Vogue Business article by Madeleine Schultz , Saks Global, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, discussed its personalisation strategy and an investment of $600 million for it's new platform. The only problem is: based on the article, we think they got it wrong. In this episode of the Experience Strategy Podcast, hosts Aransas Savas, Joe Pi...

Q2 of the US economy was very kind to movie theaters who are still recovering from the pandemic. AMC's financial performance and the evolving landscape of cinema experiences suggests a rebirth for badly bitten sector. Thanks to A Minecraft Movie and other blockbusters, we are finally seeing the repurposing of movie theater. The hosts explore the importance of community and shared experiences in fi...

In this episode of the Experience Strategy Podcast, hosts Aransas Savas, Joe Pine, and Dave Norton discuss a recent episode of the  Diary of a CEO featuring Mo Gawdot, who predicts a dystopian future driven by technology and AI. The conversation explores themes of transformation, the value of work, and the implications of AI on jobs and society. The hosts critique Mo Gawdot's techno-extremism and...

The Experience Strategy Podcast is available on all major podcast platforms for free.  In this episode, the hosts discuss the complexities of tourism in Italy, particularly focusing on the balance between local experiences and tourist demands. They explore the impact of consumer behavior on travel, the need for sustainable tourism practices, and the importance of transformational travel that benef...

This episode builds on Dave Norton's article on Substack about Kate King's report in the Wall Street Journal: Can the French Reinvent America's Broken Department Store Model . Aransas Savas, Joe Pine, and Dave Norton discuss the evolving landscape of retail, particularly focusing on the experiential model as exemplified by the French department store Printemps. They explore the differences between...