From Spark to Strategy: The Story Behind the Experiential Bootcamp

When I launched the Experiential Marketing Bootcamp at Miami Ad School Punta Cana, it wasn’t just to teach—it was to fill a gap.

Well—technically, not to teach myself, but to build the kind of program I wish I had when I started out. One that’s immersive, hands-on, and guided by real experts still working in the field. A space where students and professionals alike could actually feel what it means to concept, pitch, and produce an experience that makes people stop and say:

“Wait… what was that?”

This bootcamp was never just for students. From day one, we’ve seen a mix of hungry creatives and agency professionals in the room.

We’ve had:

• Junior producers looking to build confidence

• Designers shifting into brand experience roles

• Account managers wanting to better support their experiential teams

• Even senior creatives brushing up to bring new tools to their client work

That diversity of backgrounds? Game-changing. It turned every session into a collaborative think tank—and a reminder that in this industry, everyone is a student sometimes.

The course outline didn’t magically appear in a brainstorm. I built it like I would a brand activation—backwards.

I asked myself: what should someone walk away knowing, understanding, and confidently doing after this experience? From there, I reverse-engineered every module to meet that goal. From cultural research to creative concepting, budgeting to production timelines, we hit all the real-world essentials that too often get left behind in theory-heavy programs.

We also dig deep into tech, strategy, pitching, and presentation design—because those aren’t “nice to have,” they’re mission-critical.

And when it came to instructors? I went full LinkedIn sleuth mode. I messaged, stalked, and semi-aggressively pursued the best possible fit for each topic. Not just people with flashy titles, but professionals who do the work—who’ve pitched to clients under pressure, who know the magic of production and the madness of last-minute changes. Each speaker was chosen like a lineup for a headline festival: diverse, skilled, and inspiring.

The impact? Honestly, it’s been beautiful.

• Students go from “what’s experiential?” to pitching full-blown campaign ideas

• Agency pros leave with real tools they can bring into Monday meetings

• There’s more confidence, better questions, sharper strategies

• And best of all—a new way of thinking about what brand experiences can do

“We’re not just teaching people how to run events—we’re helping them become brand storytellers.”

Each bootcamp teaches us something, too. With every new round, we gather feedback from both students and instructors and evolve—expanding modules, refining content, and making it bigger and better each time.

This bootcamp started as an experiment, but it’s quickly becoming a foundation. And I’m already dreaming about where we take it next. The vision is big. We’re exploring more tech, deeper creative frameworks, and fresh collabs for the next round.

We want to keep building spaces where people don’t just learn experiential—they live it.