Howard Pulchin, United States

In ten years from now, do any of us really think we will be reminiscing about our social media experiences (“I remember the night I posted…”)?

As Edelman New York prepares to leave Times Square this week for our new home in Hudson Square, I can’t help but think of the throngs of people who I have passed on a daily basis here. Many travel from far and wide to see, be in and experience what’s known as the ‘crossroads of the world”. To many, Times Square represents a collective experience – the sights, the sounds, the lights and the crowds. One wants to be here to experience it in full sensory surround sound, not just view it from pictures or from our friends’ social media pages.

This week also marks the release of two cultural events: Ang Lee’s movie “Taking Woodstock” and the release (finally) of “thirtysomething” on DVD. On a grand and human scale, both the movie and television series are evocative of the experience of people getting and being together.

Woodstock happened 40 years ago; thirtysomething premiered in 1987. I wonder if in 2009, we are so busy sharing, posting, and responding and not doing enough experiencing? Are we so busy looking at screens and not fully experiencing our moments?

Recently our client British Airways commissioned a study with the Harvard Business Review that showed overwhelmingly how business executives considered face-to-face interactions as essential to business growth. Client Pepsi’s recent research on optimism showed that people are more optimistic when they experience live cultural events with other people.

Are we experiencing enough?

Before there was reality TV, there was the reality of the Guinness Win Your Own Pub in Ireland contest. In the seems-so-long ago 1990’s, Guinness gave a pub away in Ireland to one lucky U.S. resident for six consecutive years. Out of an average 50,000 entries each year, 10 people (along with a guest each) were selected to travel to Ireland to compete for the keys to the pub in a second series of spirited, yet friendly, competitions. I remember when the first winner was announced outside of Connie Doolan’s Pub in Cobh. While Jay Mulligan was the winner (and five others followed him), the experiences of all the finalists will never be forgotten. And to this day, when I meet people and tell them about my role in this program, I often hear how either they entered or wanted to enter for a chance to experience this life changing experience.

Beyond providing people with functional experiences, brands can serve as a catalyst for collective and memorable experiences. Brands can bring people together en mass or in smaller settings. Brands can instigate individual actions that can turn into experiences for others. By creating opportunities for and providing experiences, brands can truly engage people.

Experiences are what we remember. And of course, we can still post pictures of them to our facebook pages.