Three Questions with Andrew Way, VP, Wild
Based just outside Jackson Hole, Andrew has spent years working at the intersection of events and destinations. We asked him what it takes to create experiences that move people and places.
Just a few weeks after launching Wild, G7’s new venture focused on building destination-scale festivals and cultural events, we caught up with Andrew Way, Wild’s Vice President, to hear what all the fuss is about.
Based just outside Jackson Hole, Andrew has spent years working at the intersection of events and destinations. We asked him what it takes to create experiences that move people and places.
What exactly is a destination-scale event, and why should people care?
I know, it sounds serious. At a basic level, it’s a curated cultural experience that gives people a reason to travel. That could be organized around music, film, food, wellness, art, a combination of all the above, or something else entirely.
But more than that, it’s an experience that creates impact beyond itself. It fills hotels, supports local businesses, and shapes how a place is experienced and remembered. These days, there are so many great places to go that it’s not enough to just have mountains or a beach or a charming downtown. You have to give people a reason to choose your mountains or beach or downtown, especially during shoulder seasons and off-seasons.
When you get that right, the impact is huge. Not just in the moment, but in how people connect with a place and come back to it. This leads to valuable IP and predictable, scalable revenue modeling for our clients.
So it’s not just about attendance. It’s about lasting demand, authentic long-haul relationships with consumers, and everything that comes with it.
What separates the ones that really drive impact from the ones that don’t?
It comes down to intentionality. The strongest events are built with the destination in mind from the start, not just placed there. That means thinking about the entire experience in a way that actually connects to the place itself.
When that alignment is there, the event becomes part of the destination instead of something that just happens in it.
What are you most excited about as Wild gets underway?
What’s exciting is being able to focus on this in a more deliberate way. We’ve seen how powerful these experiences can be when they’re done right, and now there’s a platform dedicated to building them with long-term impact in mind.
Through this work, we’re creating IP for these communities that’s theirs to keep, nurture, and grow.
There’s a real opportunity to build a new kind of marketing channel: cultural experience. And to build things that last and create incredible value for our partners.
Wildcards
Before we wrapped, we threw a couple more off-script questions his way.
What artist served as your soundtrack while preparing for the Wild launch?
This launch was, as you might imagine, an extremely heavy lift for a lot of people. I know it was for me. I tend to get locked into one or two artists when in the midst of intense work. In this case, it was Band of Horses. I love them, and they got me through this process. And they played a 20th anniversary show at The Showbox in Seattle (a truly great venue) that was available via livestream right as we launched. So not only did their art pull me through the launch, but it felt like I got to celebrate with them as well!
Dream destination partner for Wild?
How long do you have? My list is long! If I had to pick one right now, I’ll try to step away from the obvious: Harbor Springs, Michigan. It’s as spectacular as it is relatively unknown. Creating a summer cultural experience there and exposing more travelers to the startling beauty of that place would be a dream.