The Return of IRL Marketing: Why Pop-Ups, Stunts, and Even Flyers Are Back

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Welcome, or welcome back! Each month, I cut through the marketing noise to bring you real talk from other leaders, what’s actually worth reading, and the occasional hot take that makes you think.

In today’s newsletter:

B2B expense startup Ramp recently brought immersive marketing stunts back to the forefront when they hired Kevin from “The Office” to do expenses inside a glass box in Madison Square Park.

Why the stunt? According to Ramp’s Head of Creative Experimentation (great role), “We wanted to show something real in an AI world. Something people could walk by, film, and say, ‘I was really there. I saw this.’”

With IRL visitors filming and sharing the experience on their personal channels, the campaign generated over 112 million views across platforms, according to Ramp.

I wrote about this shift last month, and clearly I’m not the only one paying attention—three other marketing newsletters covered similar themes this week. It’s a decidedly 2018-esque marketing move that feels oddly novel in 2025. Despite what return-to-office mandates would tell you, we’re not back to a fully pre-pandemic in-person life. Instead of moving everything back to in-person, people crave meaningful, purposeful in-person experiences. 84% of Gen Z and Millennials value brands that develop a marketing mix incorporating both technological and physical experiences, according to eMarketer.

Think:

I’m not suggesting we all need to be in offices—but we do need to be strategic about when and where we bring people together. IRL vs. URL radically shifts a marketer’s budget and planning, and we’re fully in 2026 budget planning season. Digital campaigns and experiences may be easier to track retention, acquisition, and attributable spend, but digital ads and webinars are oversaturated. As one creator put it, “social media is just one giant ad now.”

It’s not all that different from the shift seen now in the dating world—singles are tired of dating apps, where access to anyone means connecting with no one. Instead, daters are shifting back to in-person gatherings, or even (gasp) introducing themselves to people “in real life.”

Marketers, take a page from the dating world (or from Ramp and “The Office”). Marketing to anyone and everyone online often means connecting with no one. Instead, find opportunities to stand out in person to connect with prospects and customers. Retail space is on sale; find a spot for a pop-up. Heck, even flyers are making a comeback, with the New York Times reporting that “young people crave an escape hatch out into the material world.”

What’s your biggest objection to shifting budget to IRL?

Here’s where I’ll share what I’ve found worthwhile among the myriad newsletters, podcasts, and open tabs across my devices lately. No fluff, just the good stuff.

⚙️Demo videos made easy? I’ve got a tab group called “Tools to explore” and half of the options are tools promising “the fastest way to make product demos.” I haven’t tried them yet, but if you’ve used Supademo, Screen Studio, or another tool, let me know!

tl;dr: Gone are the days when only Solutions Engineers or expensive video production agencies could create product demo videos. The barrier to entry for quality demo content just collapsed, which means every marketer should be thinking about how to integrate product storytelling into their content strategy.

👯 Online community is a means to an end Last month I wrote about how engaging smaller groups of people offline can have bigger impact than large-scale events. Creator Group takes it one step further by arguing that online communities should be designed specifically to facilitate in-person connections, not replace them.

tl;dr: If your community strategy stops at Slack channels and virtual events, you're missing the point. The most successful online communities use digital as the organizing mechanism for real-world relationships and experiences.

A bit of my own writing, recent engagements, client updates, and things I’m doing.

📹 LOOK MOM! I’M ON CNN! Getting the call to join CNN International to discuss Taylor Swift's latest album and her marketing genius was surreal. While the AP Taylor Swift podcast isn't my day job, it's taught me so much about storytelling, audience engagement, and social media marketing that I've brought directly into my work as an entrepreneur and marketing strategist. It's a reminder that when you're genuinely passionate about what you're talking about, you never know where those conversations will take you.

Your marketing team is stretched thin, launches feel chaotic, and you're not sure if your messaging actually resonates. You need strategic leadership but can't justify a full-time hire.

Sound familiar? I work with marketing leaders who need seasoned product marketing expertise on their highest-impact initiatives—bringing enterprise experience with startup speed.

Workshops and Keynote Speaking: Who doesn’t love interactive workshops and inspirational keynotes? I bring topics related to marketing and storytelling to your events, off-sites, and experiences.

Perfect for: Marketing teams, sales teams, or leadership groups who want to improve how they communicate stories and complex ideas.

Team Capacity & Capability Building: You know what good marketing looks like, but you're hitting bottlenecks in execution. I step in as an extension of your leadership team to provide strategic reviews, coaching, advisory support, and framework development that scale your team’s impact and make the most of your time.

Perfect for: Marketing teams that need senior-level strategic advising and coaching without long hiring timelines.

Fractional PMM Leadership: I help get things done, without the overhead of a full-time senior hire. Whether you need messaging frameworks, go-to-market support, or a new product launch strategy, I work alongside your team to execute, not just advise.

Perfect for: CMOs and marketing SVPs who need strategic marketing execution and leadership support, but don't have the bandwidth or budget for senior full-time talent.

Did you know I have a Substack? While I write monthly about marketing here, I write weekly(ish) about whatever strikes my fancy over there.

Jodi