The Hidden Reason Some Events Sell Out, and Others Don’t

Episode Summary

Creativity doesn’t come from chasing the newest platform or piling on more tools; it comes from listening.

 

In this episode of The Event Solutions Podcast, Jorge Lopez sits down with Josh Weaver, a marketing leader whose career spans Zappos, Exploding Kittens, Amazon-owned brands, and experiential campaigns that connect deeply with audiences. While Josh doesn’t come from the traditional events world, his perspective offers a powerful reset for event professionals feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or pressured to constantly “out-create” expectations.

 

Together, they unpack what it really means to design events, marketing, and experiences through empathy. From failing fast and learning quickly, to resisting shiny new platforms that your audience isn’t actually using, this conversation challenges creatives to stop working in silos and start building with intention.

 

If you’ve ever felt the weight of being “the creative one,” struggled to promote an event effectively, or wondered why great ideas sometimes fall flat, this episode delivers perspective, clarity, and practical insight you can apply immediately.

Key Takeaways

• Creativity isn’t about access to tools; it’s about how well you listen to your audience
  
  

• The best marketing and event promotion starts with empathy, not trends
  
  

• You don’t need to be everywhere; you need to be where your audience already lives
  
  

• Failing fast is not failure; it’s how you iterate toward success
  
  

• Collaboration beats creative martyrdom every time
  
  

• Designing events from the attendee’s point of view reveals simple fixes that make a big impact
  
  

• Word-of-mouth, through trusted voices, still outperforms most promotional tactics
  
  

 

Guest Bio: Josh Weaver

Josh Weaver is a marketing leader and experiential strategist known for building audience-first campaigns that balance creativity with clarity. He began his career at a startup in 2010, where he learned early how to do more with less, and went on to help shape the social media presence of brands like 6pm.com and Zappos as part of their early social teams.

 

Josh later served as Marketing Lead at Exploding Kittens, where he worked on award-winning tabletop games and app launches, including Poetry for Neanderthals, Barking Kittens, A Game of Cat and Mouth, and more. His work blends brand storytelling, experiential marketing, and deep audience listening.

 

Today, Josh works at TrophySmack, creating custom recognition products for everyone from fantasy football leagues to major partners like the MLB, NFLPA, and Hasbro. Across every role, his focus remains the same: understanding what audiences actually want and building experiences that meet them there.