In this episode of Event Experience by Bizzabo, Rachel interviews Michael Barclay II, executive vice president of experiential at Essence Ventures, about his career and the critical role of experiential marketing in consumer engagement. Michael shares personal insights, such as event day essentials, his reading interests in Afro futurism, and industry trends like 'funflation.'
Michael Barclay II is a top-tier experiential executive globally, known for driving success across companies, brands, and events. As the Executive Vice President of Experiential at ESSENCE Ventures, he spearheads the ESSENCE Festival of Culture, the largest festival in the U.S. by per-day attendance, attracting nearly 170,000 attendees daily to New Orleans. Recognized as an Industry Innovator by BizBash, Barclay's accolades include a Cannes Lion Bronze Award for the Simone Biles "Pause Is Power" Powerade campaign and a Clio Sports Bronze Award.
Here’s what you’ll hear about in this conversation:
[00:00:00] Rachel Moore: Welcome to Event Experience by Bizzabo, the podcast where we bring the best and brightest event experience leaders together to share stories, tips, and lessons learned from creating some of the world's biggest events.
[00:00:21] I'm Rachel Moore, your podcast host. There's an electricity that runs through every event and every event planner wants to keep that current going. In today's conversation with Michael Barclay II, Executive Vice President of Experiential at Essence Ventures, you'll learn how to sustain the electricity of engagement at every turn of your event.
[00:00:42] Michael also shares his best advice for world building, the importance of knowing your audience, and the value of leveraging content to maintain excitement through your event experience.
[00:01:03] All right! Our guest for this episode, tracks his origins in the industry back to 2006 when he founded Left Lane Marketing. And from there, his career journey has progressed through leadership roles and strategy and experiential with United Entertainment Group, Common Ground MGS, as well as business leadership at Leo Burnett.
[00:01:23] Today, he is the Executive Vice President of Experiential at Essence Ventures. I am thrilled to welcome Michael Barclay II to the podcast. Welcome, Michael. Thank you for joining me over microphones.
[00:01:34] Michael Barclay II: No problem. Thank you, Rachel. And that was a great introduction. You flew right through. I forget some of the things that I've done. It's been such a long time. No amazing intro. Thank you so much. I'm very happy to be here.
[00:01:45] Rachel Moore: Well, we're excited to have you here, and thank you for the compliments on the intro, but I barely scratched the surface. Um, I would love to give you the opportunity to introduce yourself a little bit more to our listeners. So tell us about Essence Ventures, what that world is like there, what's your [00:02:00] kind of day to day, what is going on?
[00:02:02] Michael Barclay II: Yeah, it's uh, I wish the day to day was something I could track out on the day to day. Every day is different, of course. But I am, as you mentioned, the Executive Vice President of Experiential at Essence Ventures.
[00:02:13] Essence Ventures is a media holding company, which includes Essence Communications, which is our most well known brand within the group, that is Essence the Magazine, essence.com. As well as Essence Festival of Culture, which is our largest event that we do.
[00:02:30] It's the largest festival by per day attendance, averaging about 170, 000 people per day, uh, doing New Orleans, we just celebrated our 30th birthday of Essence Festival this past July 4th weekend. But also we have Afropunk, which is also an experiential led media property.
[00:02:50] And then we have Girls United, which is our Gen Z kind of audience version of Essence, our younger audience, as well as Naturally Curly and Essence [00:03:00] Studios. Essence Studios is our long form, a content platform, basically what we call our version of Netflix.
[00:03:06] And what my role is, I manage and oversee, strategize, plan, all the experiences that come out of each one of those brands. So, as I mentioned, we have Essence Fest, but then we also on the essence side, we have Black Women in Hollywood, which is our Oscar tandem event. Which we have every Thursday before the Oscars that honors, black women that are leading the industry, both in front of and behind the camera.
[00:03:33] Black women in Hollywood in 2025 will be its 18th year of activating that experience. It's an amazing, star studded event that, again, has a long standing tradition now in 18 years.
[00:03:45] But also, we have a few other franchises within the Essence space. Black Women in Sports. We have, on the GU side, Girls United Summit, which will be taking place actually this weekend in Atlanta, which is like a mini Essence Fest. And again, targeted at Gen [00:04:00] Z and Gen Zennials.
[00:04:01] And then through Essence Studios, we have a film festival that we run every year that culminates Essence Festival of Culture, and so we, you know, we do, you know, about 10 to 15 events a year, uh, with, you know, Essence Festival. Really, we count that as one, but that's probably 20 events in and of itself.
[00:04:21] A lot of communicating and planning, a lot of cross functional work with the team. I have an amazing, amazing team that we would not be able to do anything if it weren't for the team that supports all the experiences that we produce throughout the year. But yeah, that's what I do on the day to day.
[00:04:38] Rachel Moore: Well, that's plenty. Uh, you're obviously not bored, but wow, what, a scope of, experience that you're putting out there for so many attendees and at such a scale.
[00:04:48] Um,Let us segue into some get to know you questions now, Michael, because I'll ask you some questions that we always ask our guests.
[00:04:55] Michael Barclay II: The juicy stuff, OK. The juicy stuff.
[00:04:57] Rachel Moore: That's so juicy. It's so, well, and I love it too, [00:05:00] because, I wonder if people like to listen to and think, Ooh, I need a good recommendation for this or that or the other. And they get it from our guests. So first up, what are your go to on the ground event day shoes?.
[00:05:11] Michael Barclay II: So I don't know if I'm the right person to ask this question because all of my outfits start from the ground up. So I refuse to compromise style for comfort, even on an event site. So the key for me actually is inserts. I use insoles and inserts in every pair of shoes that I wear.
[00:05:31] So I use happy feet as an endorsement. They don't pay me, but I love them. And I put them in all of my shoes and I love, good pair of Jordan ones, I'm a big, you know, Jordan Air, or maybe, you know, throw us a New Balance or something and also go with a classic look, but yeah, whatever the fit calls for the day is what the sneakers will be.
[00:05:49] And the sneakers will be equipped with happy feet insoles, so I can walk around all day long and create those energy experiences.
[00:05:56] Rachel Moore: I think that makes all the sense and that's excellent recommendation. Thank you! What are you listening to, watching, or reading these days that you can't put down?
[00:06:04] Michael Barclay II: I'm a huge sci-fi fan. And specifically, I love reading Afro and African futurism. And so right now I'm really wrapped up in, uh, the Children of Blood and Bone series by Tommy DMA.
[00:06:18] And, you know, I'm currently in the first book. I have all three books. I just bought them all. I have all three of them. I'm almost done with the first one and I can't wait to see how this whole thing turns out. A great saga. It's an amazing story. So, yeah, I can't put it down. Make sure I get my pages in before the day starts every day before things get a little crazy.
[00:06:37] Rachel Moore: You know, I'm a little jealous anytime someone says they're kicking off like, you know, a book series and they're still like in the first book and they know they've got like multiple books. That's like the best place to be because you've got a ways until you run out and have that little, uh, it's over. I don't have this anymore. It's always so sad, but I'm glad you're on the front end of it. That's amazing.
[00:06:56] Michael Barclay II: Yeah, I do it. I do it the same way. I do shows where [00:07:00] everybody's. watching them every week that they premiere. I'm like, no, no, I need to let some, I need a backfield to fill up on these shows. Cause if I watch one episode, I'm going to want another one and another one. So these books have been out for a while now, but I waited until I had all three of them. So now I'm starting so that I can just get through it all in one, so.
[00:07:20] Rachel Moore: Yeah. Gotcha. No, that's great. I'm excited. Yeah. That one. Thank you for the book recommendation. Cause I, you know, might, might hit that up, do that. It sounds really cool. I love that. It's kind of the futuristic books as well.
[00:07:31] Is there a particular social post or a piece of media or even a hot take about events that you found interesting lately?
[00:07:37] Michael Barclay II: So I've been fascinated by funflation this year. And coming into this year from last year, it's been very fascinating to watch this year. Really interested in what actually is included in front place. And I'm not sure if you had a discussion on the podcast about it, but I've actually done a couple of talks and realize a lot of people in our industry about it as well.
[00:07:58] But what [00:08:00] experiences are included in that what are excluded and how is just generally affecting our business? Because there's a lot of implications that are coming from this population. So I'm really just keeping my eye on it to see, you know, where the bubble is. Because things are kind of getting crazy ticket prices on certain things. Arenas, but then other people aren't selling. So again, you know, that's the thing. I'm definitely keeping my eye on inflation to see how it plays out.
[00:08:26] Rachel Moore: No kidding. Yeah. I know I see at least once a week where it's like, artists canceling their concert tours because they're underselling or in it. I don't get to a lot of concerts, but I do know, I mean, I just hear people talk about the astronomical prices on things. And so, yeah, there's a limit to what people can afford.
[00:08:43] So I think that's super interesting to you to keep your eye on. I'm so thankful we grabbed some time with you because it sounds like you've got a lot going on. And this segues nicely to, I mean, one big reason we're talking to you today is because of experiential in, um,you know, in the events industry. It's really easy to love the sound of our own voices declaring that events, the experiential activity of getting people together in one place at one time to interact is the very best way a brand can spend their money and energy to achieve business goals.
[00:09:13] And that, you know, that sounds all nice in a nice little neat package of like, yes, this is why we do it. But I really would love to hear from you, all the reasons why you feel, and obviously through all the scope of the things you are just nonstop creating experiences, why is experiential so important in your view?
[00:09:31] Michael Barclay II: Of course I'm biased as someone who is that hard experiential guy. I've been working and Experiential even before it was Experiential. When it was non-traditional marketing, when it was guerrilla marketing, it was event based marketing. And now we've had this nice experiential kind of wrapper for everything.
[00:09:49] But yes, I'm biased, I believe that experiential, especially from a marketing tool is unique to any other tool, in any tool bag that you have available as far as the opportunity to create that what I like to call the energy exchange in real time.
[00:10:05] And that is something that again, commercials advertised, which I've worked in advertising, I've done commercials, I've done social media marketing, all of the things, but Experiential is the one that can create that exchange between the brand and consumer.
[00:10:19] And further than that, that engagement is also amplified by consumer being able to experience it with other consumers. So I'm really big on that. The energy exchange that experiential creates is unlike any other.
[00:10:34] And also, you know, one of the reasons that I love Experiential is you can get real time feedback. So again, we have a lot of different feedback loops now in marketing, especially with technology. But when it comes to on site, if you're sampling a product, if you have somebody testing the product, if you're trying out brand messaging, you get that input immediately.
[00:10:54] You know, you don't have to run it through any analysis like, quite literally, you get it and you can do it at [00:11:00] scale when you're doing experiential at the business. And the thing I also like about in addition to being able to have that immediate feedback, you also get to introduce your brand, your product, your brand messaging in a controlled environment. And so, you know, you have the opportunity to make sure that they're experiencing it the way you intended them to experience it.
[00:11:22] And I often talk about, you know, as a kid growing up, and you saw the commercials on television, G.I. Joe is running through the jungle and he's jumping over the lake and the river and swinging from vines and just so cool, you know, and all the, you have all the accessories and vehicles and things that go along with it, and then you buy GI Joe.
[00:11:41] And you're running GI Joe across your kitchen floor, your dining room floor, you know, you don't have all those, you have to use your imagination for all those other things. And Experiential, we create the jungle, we create the river, we create the experience so that when you're engaging with the brand of the product, [00:12:00] you really do experience it the way that we intended you to experience it.
[00:12:03] Rachel Moore: That's such a great point. And I know any of our event planners listening, that's probably a big thrill they have, right? Where you are, you're able to craft that almost that adventure for someone to say, and obviously everyone's unique, every attendee is unique. And they're going to come into it with their own preconceptions or their own background that'll make them experience it a little bit differently than everyone around them.
[00:12:23] But you do have control over what you say, but I am immersing you in this environment. And so I can kind of like I get to decide where you go next, and what happens next. And like you said, it's what the cool part about what you just said is like, obviously, people can use their own imagination.
[00:12:41] But man, experiential, you know, crafters and professionals have to have such imagination to say to put that into use and create that environment and really just try to immerse people in that and give them something fantastical or, worth talking about, right? Being like, I can't believe I'm here. It just really hats off to people like yourself who, and, and all of [00:13:00] our listeners who can do something like that.
[00:13:02] Michael Barclay II: Yeah, I like to call it worldbuilding, you know, we talk about storytelling is 3D; storytelling is world building. It's all those things. Because we are, we are creating the platform and to your point, it's even better when the imagination of the consumer is added to the story that you're telling. So then you go from world building and storytelling to what we call saga building. So now you're building different lace layers on top of layers of what you're actually building.
[00:13:32] Rachel Moore: I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing more event professionals, experiential professionals change their title to "I'm a world builder." Because you really are, I mean, I, it's been great to talk to so many people, uh, who do similar to what you do and work in this profession where you can just see that they revel in the fact that they get to craft this for people, that they are constructing something that's completely unique and of course. You know, yeah all with like strategy behind it, which I know you have a lot of experience [00:14:00] into.
[00:14:00] And I love that you talk about the energy exchange. I think that we all, you know, take for granted sometimes realize that, yeah, we're putting people together, you know. And there's, obviously, something that happens when you get more than one person in a gathering.
[00:14:14] And you just kind of watch that, you know, adrenaline build that, you know, just the chatter, it's the communication, it's interactions, hugely too, I mean, you've got that with virtual events, just as much as you do with in person. And there are probably any number of ways that event planners can create that energy.
[00:14:31] What's your best guidance for effectively cranking the energy among attendees.
[00:14:36] Michael Barclay II: You mentioned strategy, and I think, you know, anytime you're creating an experience, it's really important to know who you're creating the experience for. You have to know who that person is.
[00:14:49] Again, when we're planning, I always remind folks and I use myself as the example. We're not planning my birthday party because I can tell you exactly what I want for my party. [00:15:00] But I need 170, 000 people to be interested in coming to what we're building. So we need to know what it is that 170, 000 people want.
[00:15:09] So you really have to start with that, you have to start with the community that you're trying to serve, that you want to be excited about your experience. You really need to get to know them. If you're planning something and you're not a part of that community, or you don't have anybody in your team that's part of the community, it is important that you consult with, research, and really listen to members of that community.
[00:15:30] Because the energy exchange is built when you create a platform that identifies and enhances the culture, the community and the very nuanced pieces of those both cultures and communities. And that's when you said it. And if you said all of that in action, the energy will happen. The energy will come, the exchange will come, your brand will make sense to the attendees, the attendees would [00:16:00] be excited amongst each other in the community amongst each other. And it really does, it starts with, you have to know who it is you're planning for.
[00:16:08] Rachel Moore: Thank you for saying that. How often do, everybody listening to this can relate, where we've been, we are set to task to like, let's design this, let's build this world. And there will be people in the room who are like, well, I want this because I like this. And we always have to remind and say, okay, well, are you the target person? Are you the buyer? Are you the persona?
[00:16:28] And if they're not, then you have to be like, well, that's a great idea, except, let's go look at what the act, you know, it's, it's so important. And it can be really easy for us to get myopic, right?
[00:16:38] We're like, well, that's what I like. I love your praise. We're not planning my birthday party, right? Yeah, it's super important. Thank you for pointing that out. And just everyone really resonates. I'm sure it was like, yep. And let's put that on repeat for everybody who has to be part of that strategy and keep the goals in mind.
[00:17:40] Rachel Moore: Gosh, you mentioned such a large library of experiences that Essence puts on.
[00:17:46] When you're talking about that energy, what if your event is spread across multiple hours or days? I mean, obviously, a little bit easier, well, maybe it's a lot easier when you're just talking like, ooh, hour or two. And you know, like cram all that into one, that one space, but [00:18:00] you're talking multiple lengths of time or, or what if you want to try to build and maintain that energy or over the course of a calendar year between events?
[00:18:08] I would love to hear your insights. How do you cultivate that energy over longer periods of time?
[00:18:16] Michael Barclay II: Well all experiences need to be cheerfully curated, you know. And then that curation, you really do have to keep in mind your length of the event, the time of day it is, the location, all of the things. And the creature comforts that need to come along with that.
[00:18:29] Prime example, we're in New Orleans in July. It's hot, it's humid. All of our experiences for the most part are inside in well air conditioned areas. Because, if we were to try to have a eight hour festival day out in 100 degree weather with 100 percent humidity, there will be no energy, there will be no exchange, there will be nothing. There will be a lot of exhausted people who are wiped out from the heat and humidity.
[00:18:54] So you really do have to understand the setting that you're in and how long that you're going to [00:19:00] be there. There's key components to that curation that make sure that that energy flows, you got to have a tight run of show, you know.
[00:19:06] In that run of show, you need to be clear on, this is a high energy moment. It's going to be low energy. No, this is a moment where, you know, we're just kind of a bridge to the next thing, you know, there's other key components. You have to make sure this looks like a hosted event.
[00:19:20] You got a host that knows how to manage the energy, that knows how to keep people up, or knows how to bring them down when you need them to go down. Really have, you know, that kind of control over the audience on any other things like talent matches. What energy you're trying to create is the same kind of vibes. You're trying to set up, you know, you have to do all of that.
[00:19:41] But then you also need to understand that there are natural ebbs and flows in energy when you're dealing with people.
[00:19:47] And so you have to plan for that as well. You know, again, if you're planning a festival, you might want to put some seating around so that people can [00:20:00] have a seat. So that they can recharge and get back to whatever the next big things you have.
[00:20:04] So you have to think through the entire view of what the experience is. And what did you want the consumers and the community and the goers to experience. And when and then make sure that you create the environment once again, that will allow.
[00:20:21] Well, no, and then to your point about being sustained throughout the year, that's the beautiful part of amplification. You know, when experiential is something that we, again, as an old man has been doing this for 20 plus years, we didn't always have that. All we had was the event.
[00:20:36] But now we have the event. We have the content that comes out of the event. We got live streams. It's talking about the event that's coming up. We've got, you know, all of the social media. We've got the user generated content that people that attended that are talking about.
[00:20:49] So if you're looking at sustaining energy year over year, that's where your biggest tools are. Is managing not only the content that comes out of the event, [00:21:00] continually making sure that it's top of mind by utilizing those impressions.
[00:21:05] Again, it's the continuation of the energy exchange, because now you got all of that energy that's radiating outside of the event, but you can just funnel it to the different channels to keep people excited and ready for the next year when you show that all.
[00:21:19] Rachel Moore: You make such a great point there, too. And I know we talked about at the top, you know, you've got a background in marketing, and I think that's so key because you're realizing, especially in today's, with all the channels we have at our disposal and all the mediums and the kinds of content we can churn out or create after the event or from the event, you're leveraging all those.
[00:21:39] And you're able to keep that going. And really that's where that marketing and strategy comes in. Cause you, you know, it's not a one and done with, you know, curtain closed and everything's done. No, it's not, you know, that's just kicking off the next stage or the next phase of that energy exchange, which might, you know, it looks a little different cause it's maybe not in the throes of the event itself, but, you're [00:22:00] still, you know, like you said, crafting that world, you're world building. It's just now the landscapes changed a little bit.
[00:22:07] Michael Barclay II: Right, but you have to see it pre-event. It's better if you know, going into the experience, some of the secondary data, content and things that you're going to want to pull that way, you know, what to, but to make sure you can capture why you're on the ground.
[00:22:22] Rachel Moore: Yeah. Well super important too, just for everyone to keep that in mind. I mean, there's so much to be gotten from that content and especially if it's generated by the people at the event.
[00:22:35] And then you're able to capitalize on it. It's funny while you were talking, this reminds me, when my children were young, we took them with my parents to a day at Disney World. And they were like six and four. And I knew that anytime we were going to have to walk quickly or even just walk between two rides, we'd better stop and get like a Sprite or a, or some kind of just [00:23:00] like these kids just stood in line for an hour, got on a ride for maybe 10 minutes, and now we're walking the next thing.
[00:23:05] And as the parent, I was like, I got to have that plan in mind or this day is going to go south really quick and that's a super simplistic way to put it. But you really get into the granular like minute by minute. I would imagine. Then as you're like, looking at the programming for this.
[00:23:22] Michael Barclay II: Oh, yeah, absolutely, our runner shows are definitely down to the minute. Even breaks, you know, if we're doing intermissions or we're doing breaks, we have the breaks. And then again, what are you doing during that break? You know, and again, if we have a brand partner where it makes sense, we'll do a refresh break.
[00:23:37] So you talk about getting inspired again, you know, if we have a brand that is aligned with that, it's like, this is the perfect time to have that brand interaction and brand engagement while we refresh the crowd or refresh the audience and allow them to rejuvenate so that we can keep going.
[00:23:51] So, yeah, we are talking about long days in some of these experiences. And again, you have to be prepared and you have to plan [00:24:00] for the natural edge and flow of energy.
[00:24:02] Rachel Moore: And I think we've had several guests around different aspects of events too on this podcast. You know, we're talking about, you mentioned talent. Who's going to be on stage? Who's the talking head or heads? Is there a moderator? Is there an MC? Then what is the content? Is it a death by PowerPoint or they're like doing it in an engaging way where it's like, no, I, it's after lunch and I'm still really alive and invigorated by what I'm seeing versus wanting to take a nap, right.?
[00:24:27] But those choices seem to be super important if you're, you know, as you mentioned, really focused on that energy exchange.
[00:24:34] Michael Barclay II: Yep, for sure. Absolutely.
[00:24:36] Rachel Moore: I'm going to move that question. Um, you had put in here, which I think's great. Well, you talk about all the events that you put on, I mean, I hazard a question. What is next? You know, what's next on the calendar for you? Or what's next for your plans for us, and Essence Ventures what do you have on the radar?
[00:24:53] Michael Barclay II: Well, for Essence Ventures, we're going to continue to scale, of course, and serve all of our communities, because we have varied [00:25:00] communities, which is why it's very important that we know who they are and what they need.
[00:25:04] But also, you know, individually, outside of Essence, I'm actually launching a creator platform called Crowded House that is poised to revolutionize the way that creators and experiential marketers reach their audience and experiential brands and so forth, reach their audience. And so working on that technology platform, really excited about that. Can't wait to, uh, to launch. We are working diligently to get there, but really cool. It's going to be great.
[00:25:31] Rachel Moore: That sounds amazing. Oh my goodness. Well, congrats. That's got to be very exciting to be about to launch. And by the time this podcast airs, people have a new platform to go try out. That'll be great.
[00:25:41] Michael Barclay II: Yeah, hopefully we'll be there.
[00:25:43] Rachel Moore: That's awesome. Um, well,
[00:25:45] I have the easiest question of all for you now, where can our listeners find and follow you online?
[00:25:51] Michael Barclay II: Well, on Instagram, Threads, and X, formerly known as Twitter, I am [00:26:00] @imbarclay. So I am Barclay on all those platforms and on LinkedIn as well as imbarclay after all of the URL and all of that, so iambarclay is my universal call sign on all social media.
[00:26:25] Rachel Moore: Michael's skill up advice takes us back to the fundamentals.
Michael Barclay II: I will give you the piece of advice that I tell any new employee, any of my married or amenities or protegees. When it comes to experiential, my number one rule is be on time.
[00:26:42] And it sounds very simple, and it definitely is related to showing up for work, of course, on time. But to me, it also expands beyond that into including staying on schedule with your production schedule. Staying on schedule with your loading schedule, staying on [00:27:00] schedule with your payments to your partner's schedule.
[00:27:04] Because experiential and creating events and all of this energy exchange that we're talking about. It's great, but is a naturally high stakes, intense industry with a lot of stress. And when you're behind schedule, when you're not on time, when you're behind the eight ball, that just makes things even more stressful.
[00:27:24] It robs you of the opportunity to create an impeccable experience to actually sit back and think about the little things again, the nuances that actually make it the experience, the exchange that you want to your alliances and your communities and getting what you want.
[00:27:40] You're running around trying to get back on schedule, all that goes out of the question out of the window.
[00:27:46] So definitely again, it sounds very simple. Just be on time. You got to be on time.
[00:27:51] Trucks roll at the right time, you know, trucks on the road with your custom elements, just make sure everything is staying on schedule, because if you stay on [00:28:00] schedule, you're ahead of the game.
[00:28:01] Because it is getting increasingly difficult to do that, which is, I've been saying this for almost 20 years. And now I find it, it's more and more difficult now because of just the way the industry is the way life is. But that's the main and the key thing for me is to be on time.
[00:28:17] Rachel Moore: Thanks again to Michael Barclay II for joining us on Event Experience, and thank you for listening. If you're enjoying the show, we'd love to hear it. Connect with us on social and subscribe, rate, and review us wherever you're listening.
[00:28:30] Also, don't forget to share the show with your colleagues and friends. You can find transcripts of each episode and key takeaways on bizzabo.com/podcast. On behalf of the team, thank you. We'll gather again soon for a new episode of Event Experience.
