One of the creators of Cincinnati's city-spanning Blink festival is thinking smaller, creating a spinoff company that delivers in-home experiences appropriate for a time when the large gatherings that make up its bread and butter are not possible.
Agar, an experiential marketing firm that's been behind events like Blink, Ubahn music festival, Danger Wheel downhill derby and Queen of the Wing chicken wing festival, launched Expo on Sept. 1.
Expo delivers experiences directly to consumers' homes, supplying materials, food, supplies and prompts around a specific theme. It's a combination of – or, as Agar co-founder Josh Heuser called it, an expansion on – the box-of-the-month, meal kit or curbside merchandise pickup models.
"What we've always done, and what we continue to do, is create human connections," Heuser said.
"When you're in the world of bringing people together, and the world separates, that can be challenging. Through this pandemic, we've doubled down on the belief that as the world moves more and more digital, the value of human experiences increases."
Expo is in a beta, or a test-and-learn, phase. It currently offers two experiences:
- Camp Legendary, priced at $225, a family-friendly camp-at-home experience with camping essentials like a tent, lantern, blanket and campfire supplies, complete with a s'mores bar;
- Wicket Good Weekend, priced at $250, with a twist on croquet described as a mixture between a lawn game and a board game, with board game-like prompts that turn croquet into a drinking game;
Expo can deliver those items to consumers within 24 hours, so long as they are ordered prior to noon. Heuser said it takes advantage of the supply chain and logistics networks at the center of Cincinnati, built to service corporate giants such as Procter & Gamble and Kroger.
Heuser said the supply chain is the most challenging part of putting Expo together. If consumers were to order all of the individual components for each experience kit, they would all be packaged and shipped separately by, say, Amazon, and then all arrive at different times.
"Expo wouldn't exist if we were in Tampa or North Carolina or even on the West Coast," he said. "We see this as being, while we are launching it as a pilot here, a chance to leverage the supply chain and logistics network to create scale."
Heuser described Expo as a startup that's receiving its seed funding from Agar, but will spin off from the company to raise a Series A round of funding as an independent entity.
Expo is being led by Agar Director of Operations Kerry Francis and Operations Manager Noah Beiting, who would leave Agar to shepherd Expo as an independent company.
"We see it as an opportunity to leverage the region's unique assets," Francis said. "We're looking for partners who are looking to connect with consumers."
Expo is already looking at future experiences to offer. Heuser said smart television technology could be leveraged to do things like offer in-home painting classes, where Expo would deliver six or seven canvases, paint, wine and snacks, and then consumers broadcast the painting class into their homes. He's also looking at partnering with a local audio-visual company to bring lighting and sound to consumers to do things like host a tailgate party.
"The pandemic's caused a lot of problems in the world, and we see Expo not only as solving a problem, but adding value to the home experience," he said.
