Phil Mershon: The Kind of Leader You’d Follow Through the Hard Stuff | Dennis Yu

Phil Mershon: The Kind of Leader You’d Follow Through the Hard Stuff

Phil Mershon and I are in Anaheim teaching the Marketing Summit at NAMM.

That sentence sounds normal until you realize what it’s really describing: a guy who can stand in front of a room full of marketers and make them better—then, in a completely different setting, step onto a stage and play saxophone in front of crowds that look like a small town. Phil’s done the 10,000–20,000 person audience thing. And he can still make a one-on-one conversation feel like it’s the main event.

I’ve known a lot of talented people. Talent is common. Caring is rare.

Phil cares.

The part people don’t see

If you’ve only seen Phil “on stage,” you might assume his superpower is experience design—because that’s the professional wrapper. He’s the founder/CEO of Unforgettable Experiences, and he’s been the Director of Experience for Social Media Examiner, helping shape events that people still talk about long after the badges are tossed.

But that’s the outside.

The inside is what matters: Phil is the kind of friend who shows up when there’s nothing to gain. The kind of teacher who doesn’t just deliver content, but watches the room—who’s confused, who’s discouraged, who needs a hand. The kind of leader who actually notices people.

In a world where “personal brand” sometimes means “look at me,” Phil’s brand is more like: “I’ve got you.”

Unforgettable isn’t just a title

Phil wrote a book called Unforgettable: The Art and Science of Creating Memorable Experiences.

If you know Phil, you smile at that title because it’s not marketing copy—it’s a description of how he operates.

He doesn’t think in terms of “events.” He thinks in terms of moments:

the moment someone feels seen,
the moment someone feels safe enough to be honest,
the moment the room shifts from passive to alive.

That’s why his work lands. It’s engineered, yes—but it’s engineered around empathy, not gimmicks.

If you’re building events, training teams, leading communities, or trying to create experiences people actually remember, start here:
Book: Unforgettable — “The Art and Science of Creating Memorable Experiences”
https://philmershon.com/buy-book/

Music, midnight, and the stuff that makes you laugh later

Here’s one of my favorite Phil moments.

It’s midnight at my house in Phoenix. Most people are asleep. Phil and I are up playing guitar, singing praise songs like we’re 17 and someone just handed us a campfire and a reason to be grateful.

That’s Phil too: not performative, not trying to win the room—just present.

And if you’ve ever heard him play sax, you get it immediately. There’s precision, but there’s also heart. There’s skill, but there’s also joy. That combination isn’t accidental. It’s the same combination that makes him a great teacher and a great friend.

Why I’m writing this

I’m writing this because I want to honor the thing that’s easy to miss.

People will praise Phil for the obvious stuff:

the event strategy,
the experience architecture,
the keynotes,
the music.

All true.

But the most important thing is simpler: Phil is solid. When life gets weird—health stuff, family stuff, business stuff, all the ups and downs—he’s still Phil. No drama. No disappearing act. He’s there.

That’s the kind of person you build with.

Where to find Phil

If you want to connect with Phil, here are the real places (not the “link-in-bio” scavenger hunt):

Website: https://philmershon.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philmershon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phil.mershon/

And if you want the “Phil in long form,” read the book:
https://philmershon.com/buy-book/

Watch our conversation

Photos I’m adding here

I’ve got photos of Phil and me from San Diego and Las Vegas—plus some of him playing sax. I’ll drop them in here with captions because they’re the best kind of proof: not staged, not polished, just real.

[PHOTO: Phil and me — San Diego]
Caption: Two guys doing what we do: teaching, learning, and probably arguing about what “good” actually means.

[PHOTO: Phil and me — Las Vegas]
Caption: Same friendship, different city. Phil still shows up the same way.

[PHOTO: Phil on sax — big crowd energy]
Caption: If you’ve never heard Phil play, you’re missing a whole side of the story.