Industry Innovators 2024: Colin Davis

Colin DavisPhoto: Courtesy of Media.MonksColin Davis is a senior producer for Media.Monks. He's based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

How he got his start: "After starting in commercial film production, I was given the opportunity to pivot into innovative projects, with a focus on AR, VR, and tech-based experiential activations. I spent years working with a scrappy team of technical and creative wizards bringing to life the ideas of our agency partners and clients. 

I took some time from there to focus on expanding my knowledge with more traditional web platform builds and campaign-based marketing. After a few years in that world, I had the itch to get back to projects that I could physically see come to life and watch people actually using the things I spent months building.

An opportunity came my way with Media.Monks, and I had to jump at it. Media.Monks is known for leading the way when it comes to cutting-edge technology and blending that technology with thoughtful and exciting strategy and creativity to bring to life experiences that I needed to be a part of. It’s now been almost two years, and I’ve worked on some of my most prized projects in my career in that time."

What innovation means to him: "To me, innovation isn’t always about creating something new or using the latest technology. It’s about using what you have to push boundaries, solve problems, and help people see things in a new way. It’s vital for a producer to assess processes, revisit what is working and what is not working, and push to improve on both. 

If we’re strictly talking about innovation in technology within the experiential marketing space, I think it’s important not to quickly jump onto a bandwagon for the sake of having the latest new tech at your activation. You need to look at your audience and strategically create something that excites them and is quick to grasp. Innovation comes in how you use that technology to engage with your audience in a way that feels ingrained with the overall creative for your activation and makes sense within the experience.

Simply throwing something AI or VR into an experience without thoughtfully thinking about what would engage your audience will feel like an afterthought and can be a waste of an opportunity. Sometimes innovation comes with how to excite someone with even a primarily analog experience, but finding a way to get your audience to be excited and use activations within your space."

Where he finds inspiration: "I find inspiration in many different ways. Primarily what draws me to this work is that moment when you finally launch a project or go live with an event and everyone on the team is buzzing, proud, and nervous to finally see people using what you spent so much time and energy crafting. I love to watch people exploring an activation in ways you would want them to, but also finding fun and excitement in things you wouldn’t expect. 

I work in production because I love bringing to life ideas of incredibly creative and thoughtful teammates and partners. They dream up these wild thoughts and then we craft them into something that’s tangible. I consider myself a creative individual, but creativity comes in many forms, including how you can take designs and work with a variety of people from different backgrounds and motivate them to all work toward the same goal. I love to make sure a project feels like a success for all involved, not just me and the client. At the wrap of a project, I want everyone involved to be thinking, 'This is a milestone project in my career.'"

"I am so proud of the experience; it was massive in comparison to many of the other spaces at ComplexCon," Davis says of the eBay activation at ComplexCon 2023. "It allowed guests to enter from all angles, opening it up to be more of a free-flow experience, which suited the convention."Photo: Nicole Alvarenga

Memorable moments: "One of my more memorable projects recently was with eBay for their 50-by-50-foot space at ComplexCon 2023. The design of the space represented a house where each monochromatic room reflected a type of product category, with a focus on their authenticity guarantee. We had a rec room with a live Rubik’s Cube artist, classic arcade games, and a custom foosball table that pitted your favorite collectible trading card games against each other. 

There was a sneakerhead bedroom with a gravity-defying photo booth and shoe closet tunnel showcasing classic footwear. The laundry room focused on streetwear, giving a space for guests to meet with artists directly and grab a personalized T-shirt. We had a luxury office with displays to try on the most luxe watches and handbags. Finally, in the center of the space was our eBay Live living room, which hosted a series of live auctions and trivia that was livestreamed through eBay Live.

I am so proud of the experience; it was massive in comparison to many of the other spaces at ComplexCon. It allowed guests to enter from all angles, opening it up to be more of a free-flow experience, which suited the convention. People could join in to participate in eBay Live auctions and trivia, try on products with interactive displays, or play a round of NBA Jam on vintage arcade games or foosball with Pokemon vs. Magic the Gathering. There were giveaways, photo booths, opportunities to meet artists, and more. It had something for everyone, and the render-to-reality quality was pretty spot on thanks to an incredible fabrication partner."

His vision for the future of experiential: "Experiential marketing will continue to evolve with changing technology. I think there will be more opportunities for personalization with the advancements in AI technology. It will become increasingly customized to individual preferences and behaviors. But along with focusing on the individual consumer, I believe there will continue to be a push for building a community around the brand, including events, workshops, and collaborations between brands to bring people together."

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