Experiential marketing encompasses any tangible experience that a consumer has with your brand. In order to increase customer value optimization, brands create unique experiences focusing on creativity and storytelling to educate and drive awareness with consumers.
Experiential marketing creates an interaction between brand and consumer that leaves a lasting impact on the consumer. This exciting form of marketing not only showcases a company’s individuality, but it is also one of the most effective forms of marketing overall. After all, almost 95% of business owners explicitly believe branded events are the best possible way to get potential customers interested in a brand, and engage with it in a fun, creative way.
Know Your Audience
As with any marketing campaign, a successful experiential marketing campaign starts with a solid understanding of your target audience. Creating a campaign based on decisions informed by your customers will make it the most impactful. Lifestyle brand Refinery29 created the immersive experience, 29Rooms, to bring their online brand to life in a disruptive manner. According to the company, “29Rooms has become a vibrant community where culture, creativity and imagination are unlocked and celebrated year after year.” Originally created with the goal of breaking down the exclusivity associated with events during New York Fashion week, each room has a different sensorial experience to create the perfect Instagrammable moment. R29 partnered with other brands and creative visionaries to create 29 distinct artistic experiences for people to enjoy. Centered around the idea of bringing together a diverse group of visionaries so that each room holds a special experience for every person walking through, Refinery29 made one of the most remarkable experiential marketing campaigns to date. The interactive exhibitions cater to their young and in touch target market, encouraging them to post on social media, thus driving greater engagement and awareness.
Create A Successful Campaign
Another digital company making a splash in the experiential marketing world is Bumble. Bumble creates installations across cities globally, and specifically excelled with the implementation of the Bumble Fab Lab. To advertise the networking feature on their app through word of mouth, Bumble promoted the action of meeting people in real life who make you want to take the conversation further. The Fab Lab was involved four different rooms each with a scientifically built-in element that leveraged smell, gratitude, relaxation and taste, meant to leave people #positivelybuzzing. With free admission, Bumble chose to track success by making the event goers show proof of the app on their phones before entering, then proceeded to turn the sensorial experience into an educational forum that explained each facet of the app.
Experiential marketing allows customers to interact with a brand in a memorable way, creating authentic and tangible brand experiences. This type of marketing allows brands to push boundaries and present both new and existing customers with relevant and immersive experiences. One of the most effective ways to get customers buzzing, create publicity, and shareable moments, people will look back on these branded experiences with a positive outlook and a stronger bond to the brand.
Successful experiential marketing means taking risks, knowing what your customer wants to see, and making it memorable. While it will take time and effort, the payoff in terms of social media shares, loyalty, and brand awareness is worth it.
