ALISON NOLAN

I am a Londoner, now living in Sydney. Passionate about sports, the arts and technology and the opportunities they afford for us to connect and grow.

I have spent 25 years noticing things.

I am endlessly curious — about people, about spaces, about what makes an experience land and resonate. I read widely, observe constantly and cross-pollinate freely. The insight I bring from watching how a restaurant manages a room, or how a gallery creates intimacy around an object, or how a broadcast holds attention across three hours — these things inform how I design and produce events in ways that a purely operational approach never would.

People who have worked with me describe this as seeing the big picture while keeping track of the details that matter. I think of it differently: I keep the outcome in view while handling the myriad things that stand between a brief and a brilliant event.

The Story

I began in large-scale event production — international programmes, product launches, brand experiences — and built my craft inside agency environments across Sydney, Singapore and London over more than a decade. Since 2015 I have worked independently under The Longshore Drift.

My experience spans corporate broadcast and multi-day livestream, conferences and leadership forums, intimate curated gatherings, product launches, fan zones and fundraising galas. I have worked in Australia, the UK, Europe, Singapore, China and New Zealand. I have produced events for 12 people in the Sydney Harbour Bridge pylon and 3,500 people on the shores of Lake Jindabyne.

Every format teaches you something that you can take forward to the next experience you design and curate.

Delivery

Trust and authenticity are now more than ever pillars of the strategic growth plan for businesses large and small. Experiences and events are a perfect go to market channel as part of any growth plan, where demonstrating those values is essential. Whether face to face, virtually or a combination of both - talking directly to your clients and telling your story can be designed into a customised experience, unique to you and engaging to them.

Process

The multiple touch-points of an experience or event allow you to craft a journey where your story is delivered as an entertaining and engaging journey for your customers, staff or key stakeholders. Sharing knowledge, building trust and engaging in authentic one to one dialogue, is an opportunity that can be designed specifically into your experience.

The Broader Picture

I have served as a Non-Executive Director at Sport NSW and spent six years on the board of the Cauliflower Club of Australia, a charity supporting rehabilitation for spinal and neck injuries sustained in rugby. I am the current Manager of the Cauliflower Club XV — a fundraising team of more than 700 Wallaby caps — and am part of the leadership group taking the team to New Zealand in October 2026, partnering with Rugby New Zealand around the Bledisloe Cup.

These commitments sit alongside my professional work. They keep me connected to the kind of leadership, community and purpose-driven thinking that informs how I approach every project.

I am an active member and regular visitor to the The Sydney Swans, Art Gallery of NSW, Museum of Contemporary Art, The State Library of NSW.

I am a member of the World Experience Organisation and try to take a portion of each week to go and actively enjoy and participate in experiences to be the audience.

How we can work together

I can work with your communications / marketing team on a key project

I can work with you as a retained service - on content and experience design

Get a fresh perspective.

Your in house team already has a full-time workload to deliver for the business. Some strategic assistance to keep key projects on track, on budget and with a fresh perspective and new ideas can ensure your experience is delivered seamlessly without other key projects losing momentum.

Events cost time and money to create but the outcomes can be more impactful than any other medium.

Let's chat about what you want to achieve.

I can work with you as a retained service - on content and experience design

With some clients it works well to be retained, so I attend regular internal meetings and contribute ideas for experience strategy and as a senior content producer over a full range of projects rather than project by project.

How many times have you seen the corporate deck rinsed and repeated at a conference?

Engaging content captures attention, evokes emotion, tells a compelling story, or presents information in a visually appealing way. It also needs to deliver on your business objectives at your event. Need some help to strategise how that comes together? Let's chat.

We can create something unique - a longer term or special / bespoke project

I can work with you as a retained service - on content and experience design

We can create something unique - a longer term or special / bespoke project

You want something different, unusual, fresh, exciting - but don't know where to start. I work on projects that are not based around strategy for events and experiences ... but they all tie back to fan engagement and knowledge sharing.

If you don't know what you want, but do know you want someone to help you focus and get there and some project management to bring it all together ... let's chat.