She Managed Shaq's Brand, Then Built Her Own Agency

What we talked about.

In this episode of The Sunny Ray Show, host Sunny Ray talks with Kate Urquhart, founder of Rebel Experiences, a multi sensory experiential marketing agency. Kate explains how she landed the job managing Shaquille O'Neal's brand at Reebok after taking a late night phone call from him about footwear designs, and what that taught her about building authentic, not manufactured, icons. She traces her path from doing events and PR for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston, where she learned resourcefulness and the power of relationships, through to launching her own agency with a strict rule that failure was not an option. Kate breaks down what makes an experience different from an event, why engaging three or more senses drives brand retention above 75 percent, and how AI fits into that without replacing human connection. She also shares how Rebel built its first big campaign with Marriott, how she runs new business outreach herself, and why she wants to one day start a podcast to encourage young people to take entrepreneurial leaps.

She managed Shaq's brand at Reebok, then built her own multi sensory experiential marketing agency from scratch.

The questions, and the answers.

How did you end up working with Shaquille O'Neal?

I was early in my career at Reebok, working in the basketball category, and Shaquille was the biggest athlete we had signed in a long time. One night I was working late and he called with questions about his brand and some footwear designs. I picked up the phone, we started talking, and that's where everything began.

What is Rebel Experiences and what problem are you solving?

We're a multifaceted, multi sensory experiential marketing agency. People often interchange experiential solutions with events, but I don't think they're the same. An event can feel like a one and done thing, while everything we do infuses a real experiential element backed by science. If you engage three or more senses, brand retention jumps above 75 percent.

What did doing events and PR for a Boston nonprofit teach you that a big agency never would?

It taught me how to be resourceful, because we didn't have much money and had to make every dollar count, which still shapes how we stretch our clients' budgets today. It also taught me that relationships are the real currency. Being connected to Boston's top movers and shakers through that nonprofit board became the catalyst for my whole career.

What does managing an icon like Shaquille O'Neal teach you about managing a brand?

A true icon can't be manufactured, they have to be authentic. Shaquille had humor and a huge personality, and that was really the thing about him. Working with an icon means optimizing who they already are instead of forcing them into something they're not. I think it's amplifying an individual who can be iconic while staying true to themselves.

What did the first week of building Rebel look like?

It was invigorating, nerve racking, and a lot of phone calls, but amazing. I had done a lot of planning before taking the leap, so I was ready and focused when it actually happened. I always had this motto that losing was not an option. People say failure is great and you learn from it, but for me failure was never going to be on the table.

Your site says 98 percent of people are more likely to buy after a live experience. What's a room got that a screen hasn't?

It comes down to that multi sensory experience, which you just don't get on a screen. During the pandemic everyone switched to digital and video engagement, and that worked for a couple of months before it died out. Video is great for distributing content, but it's very difficult to build a long lasting connection unless you're in person.

Proving return on an experience is famously hard. How do you show a CMO the number?

We don't start any work without aligning on KPIs and strategy first, and the two are intertwined. If the strategy isn't clearly articulated we can't sync to the brand, and if the KPIs aren't clearly mapped out we can't deliver against them. Once a client tells us the KPIs, whether it's new client acquisition or brand amplification, we prescriptively build a solution to hit them, and AI actually helps us measure that performance today.

As founder, what's a normal week of new business outreach look like for you?

A lot of outreach, at least five to ten emails a week to current clients just checking in, plus reaching out to prospective clients about future collaborations. I also do cold emails, and they work if you do your homework on the person first so the email feels genuine rather than just asking for business. It's about starting a real connection, and it's easy to let that slip during busy weeks, but it can't stop.