Why Experiential Marketing Works
In 2018, consumers are overwhelmed with a flurry of different advertisements on different marketing channels. Here's why experiential marketing campaigns stand out and get you noticed.
These days, consumers are approached with marketing initiatives every single day. These initiatives come from every marketing channel – social media, traditional television and streamed shows, music streaming platforms, and podcasts have all become a means for advertising.
As effective as such digital and traditional approaches can be, successful brands have been shown to allocate at least 13% of their advertising budget to Out-of-Home marketing tactics, which can include experiential tactics. Experiential marketing, also called engagement marketing, invites your target audience to interact directly with your brand.
Here's a closer look at what experiential marketing is all about, and why you should make it part of an upcoming initiative.
Understanding Experiential Marketing Campaigns
Experiential marketing campaigns take the user experience from a digital platform into a real-life interaction. They can't be ignored. They are unique, fun, welcome interruptions to everyday life that make your audience stop and pay attention.
Such campaigns may be installations in public places. They could be about social initiatives, brand exposure, or introducing and gathering feedback for a new product line.
Some experiential marketing approaches are loud and bold. They risk being over the top in order to make sure they don't go unnoticed.
Others are a little more subtle, but still incredibly effective - like the use of custom-branded transportation or hosting giveaways to place brands and their products/services in front of users.
The Benefits of Experiential Marketing Campaigns
Let's take the branded transportation example used above and dissect it.
Custom-branded transportation is an experiential marketing tactic that benefits everyone. When organizers or exhibitors choose custom-branded transportation, they employ a powerful tactic, which is really three tactics in one campaign.
The first is the most obvious: the advertising space on the vehicle itself. An advertiser’s logo and message will be clearly visible to the target audience, with the added benefit of the vehicles’ mobility. Advertising on vehicles allows a brand to travel easily through a target location and reach a wide variety of audience members.
The second tactic employed in these types of campaigns is the opportunity to offer free rides to members of your target audience. If you’re exhibiting at a large trade show or expo, for example, and want attendees to be engaged by your brand and reminded of your booth, an effective tactic is pre-paying for short rides to and from the venue and surrounding hotels, restaurants or shopping destinations. Expo attendees will appreciate the complimentary ride and will also receive literature or giveaways from their driver on your brand’s behalf, which is the final tactic of Brand Ambassador Services.
This is an experiential marketing campaign at work.
Transform Your Brand with Experiential Marketing Campaigns
Ready to see the kind of success experiential marketing can really have? Shift some of your advertising budget into experiential marketing campaigns and watch how they power your brand forward.
