Conference Program 2026
We are proud to present two days of on topic presentations and panel discussions, interspersed with ample networking opportunities:
Tap the + icon below to discover more about our speakers and session highlights.
Day 1, 26 Jan 2026
19.30-23.00 Opening event at Jameson Distillery Bow St.
Receive your badge and kick off the Brand Experience Center Conference with an exclusive welcome reception at the legendary Jameson Distillery at Bow Street. Located in the heart of Dublin, this iconic brand home sets the perfect stage for inspiration and networking, while enjoying a casual walking dining menu.
In addition to a lively reception with signature Jameson cocktails, light Irish fare, and the company of industry peers, guests will enjoy the full Jameson Distillery Bow St. Experience, a fully hosted, interactive journey through nearly 200 years of whiskey-making heritage and immersive storytelling that’s earned Jameson five consecutive titles as the World’s Leading Distillery Tour.
As a special highlight, your evening includes a Cask Draw: visit the live maturation warehouse and taste whiskey straight from the barrel; a rare opportunity to sample Jameson at its source and experience the craft up close.
Don’t miss this signature event setting the tone for the next two days!
Opening event sponsor:
Day 2, 27 Jan 2026
08.30-09.00 Badge handout and welcome coffee
We are ready to begin day one of the conference here at the Arrol Suite at Guinness Storehouse. If you didn’t have a chance to attend last night’s opening event at the Jameson Distillery, you can pick up your badge here. Grab a coffee and get ready for a great day of sessions.
09.00-09.10 Opening
Welcome at the second edition of the Brand Experience Center Conference
Speaker: Bart Dohmen
09.10-10.00 KEYNOTE INTERVIEW: Paul Carty, The visionair of Brand homes
Join us for a fireside chat with Paul Carty, the visionary leader who transformed the Guinness Storehouse into Europe’s top brand visitor experience.
In this keynote session, we’ll dive into the career of one of Ireland’s most respected leaders in the visitor economy. Paul will share his insights on how hospitality principles create world-class brand experiences and how storytelling shapes the visitor journey. We will also discuss the evolving expectations of visitors in a post-digital, post-pandemic world, and what the next generation of industry leaders must do to remain competitive.
10.00-10.30 Network Break
The opportunity to meet or catch up with others working in Brand Experience Centers and other places creating and sharing unique stories and that over a nice cup of coffee, tea and refreshments.
Break sponsors:
10.30-11.15 Behind the Scenes of Digital Transformation: Empowering Teams and Elevating Guest Journeys
While digital innovation often steals the spotlight in guest-facing experiences, its true impact begins in the back office. This session explores how attractions and leisure brands can successfully embed digital transformation within their operations, empowering team members, streamlining processes, and ultimately shaping memorable guest journeys.
Through real-world successes and challenges, this session invites open dialogue about what it takes to transform from within, the role of team culture in digital projects, and practical strategies for funding and implementing change. Leave inspired to reimagine your own back office and guest journey, one digital step at a time.
11.15-12.00 The Responsible Brand Experience Center: Redefining Accessibility
How can brand homes set new standards for inclusivity and responsibility? This session explores the future of accessible experience design ensuring that every guest, regardless of physical, sensory, or cognitive ability, feels truly welcome and engaged.
Join us to:
- Understand the business and ethical imperative of responsible brand experiences.
- Gain proven frameworks for accessible design and operations in brand homes.
- Engage in open discussion and Q&A on successes, challenges, and learning journeys.
Leave equipped to champion positive change in your own organization, ensuring that great experiences are truly accessible to all.
Speakers to be announced soon
Speaker:
Eimear Gallagher
Safety and Compliance Manager
Diageo Irish Brand Homes
12.00-12.30 The story of Guinness Storehouse
After the lunch break we will dive deeper into one of the world’s most iconic brand homes: the Guinness Storehouse.
Being just before lunch, we’ll take a moment to explore what makes the Storehouse a global benchmark for visitor experience, storytelling, and brand engagement.
This introduction sets the stage for your guided tour where you’ll experience firsthand The Guinness Storehouse’s approach to brand storytelling, hospitality, guest flow and retail.
12.30-13.30 Lunch
While enjoying a complimentary lunch you have time to learn more about the background of the other conference attendees.
Lunch Sponsors:
After our lunch break, the program will split into two tracks. One track will focus on topics for B2C Brand Homes, while the other will be dedicated to B2B Brand Homes focused topics. For the last session of the day we all group together again.
Breakout program Track 1: B2C
13.30-14.15 The New Frontier of Retail in Brand Experience Centers
Retail within Brand Experience Centers is no longer just about selling products. It’s about delivering an integrated, guest-focused experience that supports and extends the brand story. This session explores how leading brand destinations are rethinking retail as a seamless part of the visitor journey through omnichannel strategies, cross-department collaboration, and external partnerships.
The session will dive into:
- How to connect physical and digital retail touchpoints before, during, and after the visit.
- Successful examples of collaboration between retail, marketing, and experience design teams within a brand.
- How to integrate retail points into the experience
- Partnerships with third-party operators, licensees, or local makers that enhance retail authenticity and flexibility.
- Adapting retail offers to meet the changing expectations of today’s experience-driven guest.
Whether your retail offer is in-house, licensed, or hybrid, this session will provide fresh perspectives and practical insights into making your retail experience a meaningful part of the overall brand journey.
Speaker:
Alan Donnelly, Head of Retail, Diageo Irish Brand Homes
14.15-15.00 The Unseen Power of F&B and overnight stays in Brand Homes
From quick bites to fine dining and from immersive food concepts to boutique hotel stays, brand experience centers are finding new ways to extend the visitor journey and deepen emotional connections through hospitality. But what role should food, beverage, and overnight stays play in a brand home, especially when the brand isn’t inherently linked to hospitality?
In this all Italian panel session with Federico Ceretto, owner of Ceretto Winery, home of the 3 star Piazza Duomo restaurant and the world known author, professor and keynote speaker on wine tourism Roberta Garibaldi, moderated by Laura Sileo Pavat, Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Brand homes, we will explore how F&B and accommodations can drive:
- Revenue: Increasing spend per guest through thoughtful food and lodging offers.
- Experience: Creating memorable moments that go far beyond the functional need to eat or sleep.
- Brand Expression: Translating a brand’s identity into tangible, sensory experiences.
- Operations: Balancing insourced vs. outsourced hospitality models and managing brand control.
15.00 - 15.15 Refreshment break
15.15-16.30 VIP tour Guinness Storehouse
Conference guests will enjoy a fully guided journey through the seven floors of the iconic Guinness Storehouse, offering special insight into one of the world’s most celebrated Brand Homes. You’ll learn how to pour your own pint in the Guinness Academy along the way, before finishing your tour with breathtaking 360-degree views of Dublin city in the Gravity Bar. This hosted tour is not only an opportunity to flavour the guest experience at the Guinness Storehouse but also to learn how a heritage brand continues to innovate, connect with audiences, and deliver a world-class brand experience at scale.
Breakout program Track 2: B2B
13.30 - 14.45 VIP Tour Guinness Storehouse
Conference guests will enjoy a fully guided journey through the seven floors of the iconic Guinness Storehouse, offering special insight into one of the world’s most celebrated Brand Homes. You’ll learn how to pour your own pint in the Guinness Academy along the way, before finishing your tour with breathtaking 360-degree views of Dublin city in the Gravity Bar. This hosted tour is not only an opportunity to flavour the guest experience at the Guinness Storehouse but also to learn how a heritage brand continues to innovate, connect with audiences, and deliver a world-class brand experience at scale.
14.45 -15.00 Refreshment break
15.00 – 15.45 Balancing B2B Engagement and Employee Inspiration in Brand Experience Centers
How does one create a brand experience center that impresses the industry and inspires employees at the same time? With its Brand World, SCHWALBE has created an experience that showcases the brand, products and innovations, provides content for social media, and offers identification to the company and its employees.
- How does one achieve a balance between exclusivity and the public?
- What similarities and differences are there in addressing customers and employees?
- How does a brand experience center change the self-perception of employees?
- Where are the limitations or conflicts of interest when a brand experience is created for both B2B and employees and is also used as a stage for public audiences?
Speakers to be announced soon
Speaker:
Philipp Jahn, Head of Marketing and Brand SCHWALBE
15.45 – 16.30 The Executive Experience: Designing for Decision Makers
B2B brand experiences must cater to high-level decision makers with limited time but significant influence. This session focuses on creating premium experiences for C-suite executives and key stakeholders. Explore how to design VIP experiences that combine education, networking, and relationship building in environments that reflect the sophistication and strategic thinking of senior business leaders.
16.30-17.15 How does the human brain react to experiences?
What transforms an unforgettable brand home visit into word-of-mouth advocacy? This session explores the neuroscience behind powerful brand experiences and how they shape guest emotions and loyalty in turn.
Join Wim Strijbosch, researcher at the Academy for Leisure & Events, Breda University of Applied Sciences, to discover the latest findings on how specific attraction elements affect the brain and guest perception. Drawing on scientific and applied research, Wim reveals which triggers are most effective for making experiences feel truly “right” to visitors, activating the emotional pathways that turn guests into enthusiastic brand ambassadors.
Gain actionable insights on:
• Designing immersive environments that resonate on an emotional level.
• Leveraging psychological cues to reinforce positive memories.
• Measuring and enhancing the ambassador effect through guest feedback and behavior.
Leave with a deeper understanding of how to create experiences that not only delight but also inspire guests to share and advocate for your brand.
17.15-20.00 Program Break: Reflect & Recharge
Take some well-deserved free time to process the ideas, inspiration and connections made throughout the day. Use this moment to relax, revisit key takeaways, or reconnect with peers before our evening network dinner at the iconic Gravity Bar.
Whether you choose to explore the surroundings, catch up on notes, or simply unwind, this pause offers the perfect opportunity to digest your experience and prepare for an engaging evening atop Dublin’s skyline.
20.00-23.00 Networking Dinner at the Gravity Bar, Guinness Storehouse
End your second conference day with a memorable networking dinner at the iconic Gravity Bar, perched atop the Guinness Storehouse and offering breathtaking 360-degree views across Dublin’s skyline. Mingle with peers and industry leaders as an exiting day turns to dusk, surrounded by the luminous cityscape and the historic heart of Ireland’s capital.
Enjoy a menu inspired by classic Irish fare, designed to celebrate authentic local flavors alongside perfectly poured pints. This is your chance to reflect on the day’s insights, strengthen professional connections, and soak in Dublin’s vibrant atmosphere in a truly unique setting.
The Gravity Bar’s unparalleled views and warm hospitality provide the perfect backdrop for deep conversation, new collaborations, and a taste of Irish tradition, setting the stage for another inspiring day ahead.
Dinner sponsors:
Day 3, 28 Jan 2026
Discover how Germany’s most interactive sparkling-wine brand home thrives far from major tourist hubs. Nestled in Freyburg (Unstrut), quiet wine-region town in Saxony-Anhalt, the Rotkäppchen Erlebniswelt overcame its remote setting by becoming more than a destination: it’s a living proof of how tradition can evolve into a modern brand experience. It’s a place where fans and employees meet on equal footing, share meaningful moments, and become lifelong brand ambassadors. With an average stay of over 150 minutes, carefully curated details, and a diverse event program, the Experience World creates emotional connections that last. Visitors leave not only with a glass of sparkling wine, but with a sense of belonging and community.
08.30-09.00 Welcome coffee
Welcome to the conference area in the Arrol suite at the Guinness Storehouse
09.00-09.10 Opening of Day 2
A warm welcome to the second day of the Brand Experience Center Conference
09.10-10.00 How Sports Brand Experience centers Build Business
This session will explore how sports brand homes much like their counterparts in sectors like spirits and automotive, have evolved beyond simple attractions to become critical strategic assets. We’ll delve into how these physical spaces go beyond celebrating the game and its heroes to become powerful tools for brand building, customer engagement and commercial growth.
With Alex Scotcher, the new commercial director of one of the worlds most famous football clubs, Tottenham Hotspur and before working for AC Roma and Williams F1, we will discuss how sports brand homes create immersive, multi-sensory journeys that deepen consumer relationships and foster long-term loyalty. The session will highlight strategies for leveraging these spaces to launch new products, gather invaluable consumer data, and serve as innovation labs, turning brand passion into a tangible and profitable reality.
10.00-10.30 Brand home talk: Only a Sparkling Sip Away; Discover the Rotkäppchen Experience World
10.30-11.00 Network Break
Reconnect over coffee or tea and pastries, picking up where we left off last night
Break sponsor:
11.00-11.30 Brand home talk: González Byass
González Byass is one of Spain’s best-known sherry bodegas with brands as Tio Pepe, Beronia,Vilarnau and several other. The family owned company takes Wine Tourism to another level by combining history, culture, tradition, and enjoyment in their wineries which are open to the public. Not only in Spain, but also in Chili and Mexico.
11.30-12.30 CEO Talk
Join us for a compelling, in-depth interview session featuring a panel of CEOs from leading Brand Experience Centers across the ecosystem. This dynamic discussion will delve beyond surface updates to explore the strategic mindset driving today’s most innovative brand homes.
Our CEO speakers will share candid reflections on their current operational successes and challenges while engaging with thought-provoking questions about the future of the industry. Topics will include emerging trends in experiential design, evolving guest expectations, technology integration, sustainability, and the shifting role of brand homes within global businesses.
This session promises unique leadership perspectives, lively debate, and actionable insights for anyone invested in the evolution of brand experiences. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear directly from the visionaries shaping the next generation of immersive brand environments.
Panel member:
Judith Owens, Chief Executive of TBL International Ltd operating Titanic Belfast, SS Nomadic and the Titanic Slipways.
Panel member:
Jean-Luc Naret, President World of Volvo
12.30-13.30 Lunch Break
While enjoying a complimentary lunch you have time to catch up with the other conference attendees.
Lunch sponsor:
13.30–14.15 Interactive session
A big success last year and back at the 2026 edition: the interactive session designed to tap into the wealth of experience and knowledge within our audience. With so much Brand Experience Center expertise in the room, this is the opportunity to learn from each other, share insights and exchange ideas. While not everyone can be on stage, this session ensures that your voices are heard. Let’s come together for an engaging discussion to close out the event on a collaborative note!
14.15–15.00 KEYNOTE: Brand experience attractions in the context of New Urban Tourism: cultivating synergies to best effect
To close the conference, we’re bringing back a popular element from last year: an academic’s visionary perspective on Brand homes.
Speaker:
Human Geographer and Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Technological University Dublin
15.00–15.15 Closing session
A final wrap up of three days Brand Experience Center Conference
The published conference program is subject to change.