Most marketing tactics involve companies portraying their messaging through commercial advertisements, telemarketing, or print ads. This type of marketing works well online, especially now that almost everyone has access to the Internet. But then, with recent advancements in technologies, media consumption habits have changed. People are now skipping advertisements.
One prime way to break through and get to the customer is through experiential marketing. Also known as engagement marketing or interactive marketing, experiential marketing is a type of marketing in which brands give their target market and consumers unique experiences. The strategy they apply is a hands-on element that’s outside the conventional way of marketing. It works because it breaks the norm of traditional marketing by interacting and connecting with customers.
To get a deeper understanding of the meaning of experiential marketing and why it has proven to be so effective, let’s delve into some of the benefits this exceptional strategy provides for your business.
1. With experiential marketing, your brand stands out
In a sea of competitors, experiential marketing can make your brand stand out. It’s a break from the norm, and people are known to respond to that which is different. While other brands are focused on digital marketing, you could create an edgy and unique experience with your customers through engagement and interaction.
Setting your brand out from the competition will increase the popularity of your brand and create more sales. A survey done by Event Tract showed that 74% of people had a good perception about a brand after an event. It also went further to state that 64% of customers even went ahead and purchased the product or service, with as many as 70% of the customers who attended the event becoming regular and loyal customers.
2. It creates free publicity for your brand
It’s not only your customers who will be talking about your brand when you have a successful experiential marketing campaign, but it will also win you a vast audience for your efforts. This is thanks to the extensive free publicity you’ll get through blogs, newspapers, and TV/radio.
A good example was seen in China in 2015 when they put 13 tons of candy covering over 10,000 square feet, promoting the IFS center in Chengdu. The media was abuzz with the news of the over 500-foot candy carpet—the impact of this kind of coverage extended to all publications, broadcasting stations, and radio. Everyone was talking about it.
With that kind of free publicity, you’ll get more people curious about your brand, and even increase your customer base. Many people will want to be associated with your brand.
3. Increases social media exposure
In all forms of marketing, social media has become a vital element for the success of the campaign. When you use experiential marketing to interact and engage with customers, they want to share their experiences with their friends on social media. People sharing and posting will give your brand a way to access free digital marketing, while engaging your customers at the same time.
Sprite, a Coca Cola entity, once placed showers on beaches that looked like big soda dispensers. The strategy got a lot of social media shares. Check out the #spriteshower on Instagram. Many people loved the idea and took pictures of them taking showers and shared them widely. The campaign was popular in many countries and increased Sprite’s brand awareness across all social media channels.
4. It allows customers to experience your brand in a new way.
Experiential marketing generates a unique brand awareness strategy through the use of a non-traditional style of marketing. It allows for potential customers to literally feel and experience your brand, creating an immersive and intimate relationship. It appeals to all the senses, therefore, resonating well with people. This kind of real experience creates stronger, lasting bonds between consumers and brands.
If you include your product for free testing in the campaign, even better. When it comes to purchasing a product, there’s nothing better than trying it out first. It’s the best way for a potential buyer to gauge a product before buying. A survey done by Event Track says that 65% of consumers say that experiential marketing helps them know more about a product or service.
An example is the Lean Cuisine’s campaign. They put up a wall of scales in Grand Central Station in New York. They weren’t typical scales where people weigh themselves. Instead, it was a platform that allowed women to write their accomplishments. They named it the “Weigh This Campaign,” which turned out to be hugely successful. Women got to experience the Lean Cuisine brand in a new unique way with feelings of empowerment and positivity.
5. It builds customer relationships and brand awareness
Experiential marketing not only gets consumers talking about your brand, but also gets them talking about it positively. It involves memories, and those memories are what people love to share with friends. It stirs good emotions and feelings of excitement, which is contagious. The positive emotions are what cements your good relationship with consumers and increases brand affinity.
Emotional response has a more significant impact on buyer’s purchasing intent than the actual message in the ad. Not only can emotions increase sales, but they also grow a customer’s loyalty to a brand. If your consumers are loyal to your brand, they will also share it with family and friends, and 70% of them are even willing to spend twice as much on a brand when they have an emotional engagement with it.
Few marketing statistics can generate such a substantial outcome, as seen with engagement marketing. Experiential marketing is one of the fantastic ways your business can reap in increased sales and brand loyalty. When customers build memories and lasting relationships with your brand, you get positive results.
Bottom Line
Experiential marketing is an underestimated form of marketing and is usually very effective. Take a risk today and come up with ingenious ways of incorporating it into your marketing strategy. Create memories and lasting impressions on consumers, and most of all, make it fun.
The success of your experiential marketing campaign won’t only depend on your creativity, but it will also be determined by professionals you’ll hire to make it successful. At https://www.craftsmenind.com/event-promotional-vehicles-trailers, they can help your brand reap all the benefits of experiential marketing.
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Interesting related article: “What is Brand Management?“