Experiential Marketing: appeal, engage, obtain
Experiential marketing is a different type marketing strategy focused on pulling the consumer in through targeting consumer experience. By direct engagement and appealing to as many human senses possible, experimental marketing invites consumers to connect in the growth of a brand.
What does experiential marketing looks like?
Have you ever been to concert and been handed you a free sample to try? Or maybe it was a free giveaway or t-shirt. Experiential marketing appeals to our desire to touch, taste, smell, hear, see and have person-to-person contact.
According to survey from EventTrack, 98% of consumers were more inclined to purchase a product marketed through experiential marketing. By engaging personally and face-to-face with your consumers you are able to retain their attention and loyalty to the product.
What really works and what doesn’t?
The word “FREE” is everyone’s favorite f-word (well it’s mine at least). Giving away free samples, swag, and products is a leading way to appeal to consumers. EventTrack recorded that 81% of people surveyed stated free samples or giveaways was the main motivator for them to check out a brand.
Quick back track and number review. 98% of consumers are more inclined to purchase from experiential marketing and 81% said the reason they even gave experiential marketing was due to a free offering. Case in point, never out rule giving out free samples!!
If your brand isn’t a food, spirit or beauty product, finding something interesting to pass out may be difficult. Consider creating cool swag to hand out, maybe a t-shirt with a catchy saying or a pair of stylish sunglass with your logo. Giveaways are also are great incentive to get more people interest. A simple bowl of candy is not going to entice someone to learn more about a bank or tax accounting firm. It has to be intentional and worth the consumers time to want to know more about the brand.
Creating an event that is directly aimed at appealing to the consumer is also a form of experiential marketing, a great leader in this is Red Bull. With events ranging from Flutag to watching a man skydive from outer space, Red Bull reigns at knowing how to make an audience want participate while giving them an unforgettable experience.
You have to go social.
Social media can have a major impact on the success of your experiential marketing campaign. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, 74% of all adults that use the Internet also use social media.
Having an experiential marketing activation event with out social media is a huge mistake. Encouraging social media integration increases consumers desire to take “post worthy” pictures then share on all their social media accounts. You have then captured not only the attention of those at the event, but all their followers as well.
Having a unique hashtag that is visible to everyone is an important part of using social media for experiential marketing. The hashtag should be simple, appealing and memorable. Having the hashtag associated with your product will help track your consumers even after the event and creates an easy way to access those you’ve engaged with. This also a great way to find brand ambassadors!
The future of experiential marketing
More and more companies are seeing the value in investing in experiential marketing. Big brands like PayPal and ESPN keep investing in it because they see results. Even smaller brands and nonprofits are trying experiential marketing because it yields such positive outcomes. Experiential marketing budgets saw a large increase from 2014 to 2015.
So what does all of this mean? Experiential marketing isn’t an option it’s a necessity. Do you want to attract and engage new consumers while building brand loyalty? Let’s sit down and talk about how we can set up an experiential strategy for you!
