Jimmy Knowles, global head of experiential marketing at Canva, is helping brands craft memorable experiences that blend creativity, culture, and technology. As part of The Drum Awards Festival’s Experiential jury, he evaluates campaigns that truly connect with audiences.
At Canva, Knowles leads major events ranging from global activations to Canva Create, which attracted over 2.5 million registrants in 2025. Prior to Canva, he delivered award-winning experiential campaigns for Airbnb, Disney, and Meta at CIVIC, building a reputation for turning events into lasting emotional moments.
For Knowles, technology enhances the human side of experience. “AI is the great blender,” he says. “It’s merging physical and digital worlds into entirely new creative canvases. Live events can include personalized digital layers, while digital-first moments can feel tactile and human. Done right, this lets us scale magic like never before.”
He emphasizes that measuring impact requires balancing creativity and analytics. “Experiences aren’t designed for quarterly reports—they’re designed for memory. But you can still track influence through sales, loyalty, and brand love. The point is to show leadership that experiential is where emotion meets business outcomes. People may forget a banner ad, but they remember a brand that made them feel something in three dimensions.”
When developing shareable experiences, Knowles focuses on culture rather than metrics. “Start with what people care about, where they gather, and the vibes they embrace,” he explains. “An experience that feels rooted in culture naturally encourages sharing.”
If he could stage one type of experience in 2025, it would be a festival. “Not a trade show or a summit, but a creativity festival,” he says. “Festivals are communal, built for discovery, and let a brand show up as both host and participant in moments where people feel fully alive.”
On what’s missing in experiential today, Knowles points to surprise. “Many experiences have become overly templated. Audiences expect the beats. Adding a well-timed unexpected moment or Easter egg can turn a good event into an unforgettable one.”
He predicts the next generation of experiential talent will excel through range and resonance. “The best producers will combine logistics mastery with cultural insight and sustainability awareness. The best creatives will dream big while anchoring ideas in strategy and measurable impact. True magic comes from those who can hold both the art and science of experiences.”
The toughest challenge, he adds, is capturing attention. “We compete with screens, headlines, and people juggling countless distractions. But when you create a moment where someone is fully present, that’s the real win.”
The Drum Awards Festival highlights brands and creators who craft experiences that make audiences pause, feel, and remember, with jurors like Jimmy Knowles leading the way in redefining experiential in 2025.
