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#CreatorSpotlight 09 Defected Records 🌐 In this series we feature pioneering experience creators from Easol’s community around the world. Defected Croatia is a six-day destination music festival taking place this August, in the beautiful resort of Tisno. As a record label, Defected’s philosophy is well summed up by their slogan, ‘House Music All Life Long.” Since being founded by Simon Dunmore in 1999, they have been a major factor in shaping a generation of house music, selling millions of records and topping charts globally with tracks from the likes of Bob Sinclair, Peggy Gou and Roger Sanchez. Globally renowned as an electronic music institution, Defected regularly curate parties at some of the world’s most pioneering  clubs - combining residencies in Ibiza and London with showcases everywhere from Bali to Montreal, and twice a year they throw their own festivals, in Croatia and Malta. At Defected Croatia, thousands of fans arrive each summer for the house music event of the year. A carefully curated musical programme that balances legends of the scene like Honey Dijon alongside emerging stars like Samy Virji, sits alongside daily yoga and mindfulness classes, while the boat parties on the Aegean Sea and after hours sessions at the outdoor’s club Barbarella’s are legendary. Guests can stay either at Defected’s own hotel - where they can rent bikes or play tennis when not at the festival, or at one of the many beach cabins, each equipped with its own hammock for lazing away the afternoon. Everything the talented Defected team carefully curate at their festivals, from the artists they platform to the branding at each stage; is with deep consideration of their dedicated community. CEO Wez Saunders explains, “We’re not making decisions based on how many tickets we think we can sell. We’re making decisions by thinking, ‘Is this a great event that our community will love?’”. It's their commitment to community and house music’s values of unity, love and togetherness, that means Defected will be the leader in its space for a long time to come. Check out their site powered by Easol: https://lnkd.in/ePVUK4bK #HouseMusic #ExperienceCreator #Festivals

#CreatorSpotlight 08 A Week Awake 🌐 In this series we feature pioneering experience creators from Easol’s community around the world. A Week Awake is a Costa-Rica based surf retreat for women, founded by Mona Picasso and Giulia Valotto. After living and working all over the globe in the architecture and fashion industries, Mona and Giulia found themselves drawn to Costa Rica in search of sea, sun and a slower pace of life. There they taught surf lessons in the laid-back tropical paradise of Santa Teresa, where a community of wellness practitioners; from yoga teachers to nutritionists and chefs began to form, sharing and supporting each other. As they shared every day happenings of the lifestyle they were living in Santa Teresa in their unique surf community for women via Instagram, people began to ask if they could experience it for themselves - and so the idea for A Week Awake was born. A Week Awake’s first virtual retreat drew 40 women - and soon enough they were hosting groups in person for transformative weeklong stays that blend in surfing with wellness, organic local food and healing. Mona and Giulia specifically curate the retreats to give visitors a real taste of Santa Teresa; “This is why we call it surfing ‘experiences’, because it’s not just a package. You really experience what it’s like to live here for a week.” Naturally given their passion for collaborating and forging new connections, A Week Awake has evolved over the years. Now, they’re hosting upcoming retreats in Indonesia and the Philippines, with the likes of longboarder Josie Prendergast and skate crew GRLSWRL. While these new ventures take them to different locations, each is infused with that same Santa Teresa magic. Check out their site powered by Easol: https://www.aweekawake.com #SurfRetreat #ExperienceCommerce #Wellness

🎉 We're proud that Easol is featured in Sifted's 2024 most promising B2B SaaS companies. Download the report https://lnkd.in/eJvFEbhZ We're excited to reach the next stage on our mission to power experience creators to grow your business on your terms! #CreatorFirst  #ExperienceCommerce #B2BSaaSRising100

What makes a truly great brand activation at an experience? We’ve all seen them - awkward product placements and poorly executed activations that don’t quite fit. When done inauthentically, brand partnerships can damage the equity you’ve carefully built for your experience. Frequent collaborators with world-leading brands Nike, Adidas and Versace, Sam Blenkinsopp and Natalia Christina of Trippin/All Corners, delivered a masterclass for experience creators on nailing this delicate balancing act. Follow their insights on building authentic partnerships with the world’s best brands; from pitching through to execution. #brandpartnerships #brandactivation #experiencecommerce

#CreatorSpotlight 07  Gates Of Agartha 🌐 In this series we feature pioneering experience creators from Easol’s community around the world. Our belief is that creating experiences is an art-form. And to create our artistic expressions in the form of world-class experiences takes constant innovation, a fearless approach to taking risks, endless amounts of grit to execute and a heavy dose of an extraordinary team. With their festival Gates Of Agartha, which took place last weekend, brothers and experience creators Yaaz Acar and Yalim Acar have all those ingredients - combined with truly incredible venues. The ancient quarry of Cave Romane outside the Croatian city of Pula was the setting for Gates Of Agartha. 50-metre high limestone walls framed the stage, which was the focus of bespoke projection mapping from trailblazing collective Ouchhh Studios. Soundtracking this stunning visual combo was an elite crop of house and techno’s best DJs, including Dixon, TSHA and Seth Troxler. Gates Of Agartha was just the latest instalment in the stories Yalim and Yagaz are bringing to life through their experiences. Inspired by their Turkish heritage and the bedtime tales from their childhood, the brothers have built upon the centuries-old mythology of the ancient subterranean city of Agartha, encouraging attendees to join them in, “awakening a lost kingdom.” Their community embraces this narrative fully, journeying from around the world in their thousands to express themselves with bursts of colour and handmade costumes. The series kicked off in 2021 with Echoes From Agartha, set in the rugged beauty of Central Turkey’s Cappadocia region. Gates Of Agartha has emerged as a sub brand for destination experiences, extending the narrative of the original event across new and exciting locations. Where the story next continues remains a mystery, but the brothers are committed to keeping their experiences intimate, immersive and magical: Real works of art. Check out their site, powered by Easol: https://lnkd.in/e_FaJPB6 #ExperienceCommerce #Festivals #EventsIndustry

#CreatorSpotlight 06 🌐 Friends with Benefits In this series we feature pioneering experience creators from Easol’s community around the world. Redefining what ‘community’ means in the Web3 era, collective Friends With Benefits ( FWB ) are hosting the third edition of their festival, a blend of music, ideas and tech, in Idyllwild, California this August. Emerging from the late 2010’s Crypto and Blockchain scene, FWB started as an online collective of creatives, united by a passion for new digital technologies. Members, among them musicians, chefs and artists, can knowledge-share, network, party together and support each other - hence the moniker Friends With Benefits. Within a year of launching, they had thrown legendary parties in Europe and North America, drawing new members into their community. They’ve since scaled this side of their operation, refining their events philosophy based on the work of architect and theorist Christopher Alexander’s Pattern Language movement. Prioritising inclusive programming, accessibility and careful curation at every-turn, FWB’s mindful approach to experience creation can be witnessed at FEST this summer. Blockchain scholars and pop-culture podcasters will be rubbing shoulders with alt-singer songwriter Tirzah and ambient music guru Laraaji, across a programme that balances talks, music and activities. As FWB’s new 'mayor' Greg Bresnitz says, the collective and FEST are "a platform for sharing and promoting the visions and aspirations of others.'" Check out their site powered by Easol: https://www.fwbfest.xyz/ #Web3 #Festivals #ExperienceCreator

#CreatorSpotlight 05 🌐 LeBlanq In this series we feature pioneering experience creators from Easol’s community around the world. Bringing a whole new meaning to ‘joyriding’, LeBlanq is a fusion of Founder Justin Clarke two passions; cycling and world-class gastronomy. 🚲🍴 As a former professional cyclist , Justin dreamt up the idea for LeBlanq after meeting three Michellin starred chef Ashley Palmer-Watts at a luxury food event in Western Australia. Ashley explained that when he arrived at a new place, he loved nothing more than to ride his bike all morning to soak up the atmosphere, before surfing on his natural endorphin high through the afternoon to cook a gourmet meal he’d enjoy later that evening. And so, LeBlanq’s unique concept of ‘joyriding’ was born. Together, their team create luxury experiences across some of Europe’s most beautiful locations. An upcoming trip to North Eastern France’s Champagne region invites guests to cycle with three-time Tour De France winner Greg LeMond by day, before retiring at night to enjoy a menu curated by Michellin-star chef Anthony Demetre. A trip to Norway in September meanwhile, will see world champion cyclist Thor Hushovd paired with award-winning culinary prodigy Anette Myrhagen. Every part of LeBlanq's experiences are meticulously curated to provide guests with a gold-standard in hospitality. This October, they’re also launching the first  LeBlanq festival ‘Joyride’ with a 4-day experience of a lifetime in Ibiza. The usual elements of cycling and gourmet cuisine will be joined by wellness and music curated by the legendary Pete Tong.   Check out their site powered by Easol: https://www.leblanq.com/ #ExperienceCommerce #CyclingTours #Creators

How do you break your festival out of seasonal ticket buying patterns, and towards predictable year-round sales? From harnessing the power of FOMO through to empowering their super fans, Rise Festival have grown their capacity 15% year over year with these marketing tactics. #Marketing #TicketingIndustry #Festivals

NEW: Creator Spotlight 🌐 Cosmico Fest In this series we’ll be featuring pioneering experience creators from Easol’s community around the world. Last weekend, Cosmico Festival returned to Dawn Ranch in Northern California’s famous Sonoma County wine region. 🍷 The perfect combination of food, wine, art in a majestic redwood forest, Cosmico is the brainchild of Founders Chris Schultz and Anne Driscoll, lifelong entrepreneurs who have been supporting creativity and innovation for over a decade with their Launch Pad Foundation. Their community-first commitment to grassroots initiatives resonated through every aspect of the festival, a non-profit event which has raised thousands for the charity over the years.  A killer group of artisanal winemakers was paired with a musical programme that ran the spectrum from bluegrass to funk and soul. Guests moved blissfully from forest walks to wellness rituals to wine tasting and into all-night dancing with newfound friends, across an unforgettable weekend. Check out their site: https://www.cosmi.co/ #festivals #experiencecommmerce #eventsindustry

NEW: Creator Story SurfYogaBeer 📕 In our new case study series, we’ll share stories of how our global community of experience creators have been using Easol’s experience commerce platform to grow their business. Surfyogabeer Founder and CEO Mantas Zvinas was a lead SoulCycle instructor living in NYC looking for a getaway, but there wasn’t anything available that combined fitness and surfing but also having fun and connecting with others. He launched Surfyogabeer in 2014 with a commitment to creating life-changing experiences and fostering life-long friendships. The Problem: The SYB team was running on a Squarespace website that didn’t talk to their booking system, using far too many Google Docs and manually tracking all payments via PayPal, which limited their time and resources and was preventing them from scaling. The Solution: By switching to Easol, they were able to streamline their operations and sell more trips, directly to their own community. 💸 Flexible and fully automated payments 📚 Integrated website and booking management 🤝 Expert support SYB has now 5X their sales since joining the Easol platform. Learn more about SYB and how Easol’s experience commerce can help you grow your business via the link in the comments. Easol powers experience business from festivals to yoga retreats, to location based entertainment and more. Get in touch to learn how you can grow your experience business, on your terms.