Your email marketing campaign has gone straight to spam; you can count your Twitter followers on one hand and your expensive new logo has gone totally unnoticed. Ever get the feeling people just aren’t that into you anymore?
Between sidebars, pop-up ads, suggested posts and all the other web-based noise out there (not to mention old-fashioned print and broadcast advertising), it’s hardly surprising consumers are more than a little jaded. It’s a problem – but it’s an opportunity too: and that’s where experiential comes in.
Emotional connections…
Truly great experiential marketing is about much more than merely getting noticed: it’s about creating something memorable in a way that allows the consumer to experience the brand (rather than being talked at about how fantastic it is).
It could be about breathing fresh life into an already massive product. For instance, if your caffeine and sugar-based drink is already the market leader, where else is there left to go? How about printing the 150 most popular first names on your bottles and inviting everyone to ‘Share a Coke’. Next, sit back and watch as the nation’s Facebook Newsfeeds are dominated by images of people doing just that.
For those companies that don’t already have their product absolutely everywhere just yet, experiential marketing is much more about building brand awareness. This could be letting customers get their hands dirty to demonstrate a new organic food product – or perhaps staging a street-based challenge to show off a new satnav-based app.
Experiential marketing can also be used very effectively for communicating serious issues in an engaging way. For instance, read about how The Body Shop teamed up with experiential market leader LOLA’s promotional staff to highlight the issue of animal testing.
Demonstrating passion (not just talking about it!)
Your mission statement says you’re passionate about whatever it is that you do. That’s fine, but wouldn’t it be nice to have some evidence to back it up?
By getting involved in experiential marketing, you’re showing your customers that you’re so proud of your product you want them to get their hands on it (or at least experience it in some way). More than that: you’re showing them you’ve put in the time and effort (and sheer imagination) to come up with a means of interaction that’s actually memorable.
People share actual experiences
When people are talking about your brand, you’ve brought it to life. Live, face-to-face experiences expertly tailored for your target audience: these are shareworthy events for those who experience them.
And when those new customers tell their social media contacts about the fantastic experience they’ve had with your brand, word’s likely to spread. As Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg put it, “People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend… A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising”.
It’s official: customers love it!
Of course it’s enjoyable for the customer – after all, it’s curated specifically for them (if it’s done right, that is)! But does it work as a marketing tool?
Here’s some stats from the Event Marketing Institute’s EventTrack report:
95% of consumer respondents said participating in a recent event made them more inclined to purchase the products promoted
52% said they bought the product or service marketed at a recent event attended
54% said they bought a product or service at a later date
88% of event attendees who buy once say they become regular customers
Can you afford not to look at experiential marketing in 2014?
LOLA Events is a UK wide promotional and event staffing agency providing fantastic promotional staff, event staff, hostesses and catering staff for unique parties, product launches, conferences and events.
