Experiential marketing is a proven, highly effective, creative and engaging brand marketing technique. While this mechanism has been around for some time, its full truth and glory isn’t always understood, and as a result, it carries a bit of mystery.
There will again be a time where gathering in groups indoors, outdoors at festivals, concerts, sporting and marketing events, the local watering hole will be commonplace. Experiential marketing is an ideal execution lever to connect directly with consumers in a way that generates awareness to accelerate adoption.
Experiential marketing is the perfect middle-ground of continually fueling digital ads and writing a check with many 0’s at the end. We’re a bit curious how commercials — the actual big splashy, metric-light event — gets away with it.
It slipped in through the ‘because we’ve always done it this way’ door and someone somewhere said eyeball impressions are metrics and consensus was born among those who wanted to believe.
As brands plan their future, we see experiential marketing taking up a greater share of the mix. Think about it, experiential marketing gets the product, service and offering in front of a large target audience, face-to-face in a highly curated experience. This thoughtfully executed engagement enables the passing on of key information by the brand, CTA’s and stimulates rich two-way dialogue with the actual constituency and qualified prospects.
Open your mind to the glorious and metric-backed mechanism.
Breaking down the myths & criticism of experiential marketing
As I was growing up and knew everything there was about life in my mature teens and ripe 20’s — my father, to put it into perspective — would say
you don’t even know what you don’t know.
We feel the same about experiential marketing. Perhaps there are some nuggets in here that you didn’t even know you didn’t know?! Knowledge is powerful and lack of it often breeds fear as it’s the unknown.
Myth #1: Experiential marketing is all sparkle and fluff
There’s a rumor out there that experiential marketing is a big, splashy event with no means to measure success.
Experiential marketing is more than an event, with quantifiable success and learnings.
At the time of building a live activation, brands identify KPIs, targeted goals and outputs, exactly the way it happens for any other initiative.
Possible translations
> Lift in sales
> Increased adoption
> Expansion/adoption in a new market
> Opening new points of distribution
> Higher UPT’s
> Selling out at specific retailers
> Measurable increase in brand awareness
> Social action & activity
Client Spotlight | Results-Driven
Overcoming the first criticism of experiential marketing: Experiential marketing is more than an event, with quantifiable success and learnings.
Charge
> Execute a formal brand launch
> Customer acquisition
> Turn non-users into switchers at the very least
> Shift in mindset of perception among existing users and loyalists
> Position as a leader in the ridesharing space
Metrics
> # of event attendees
> New user app downloads
> Increase in loyalist user activity
> Larger penetration of awareness per population
Measurement
> Capturing each attendee as they enter {old school style with a BA-posted at the door, clicker in hand}
> Pull numbers post event to determine tracking status of each metric
Action
> Ensure targeted attendance is on track to meet or exceed goals
Assumption
> For this purpose, we’ll say the first event is missing its attendee target goal
Reaction
> Immediately regroup internally
> Assess the numbers slated for future events
> Strategically determine how to augment numbers
Insider tip: numbers are cumulative over a series of events –this means the numbers will be hit by the end in total overall due to the consistent monitoring and immediate response to target and actual.
> Increase attendance at future events
> Assess the quality within the quantity of attendees and with client partner, agree goals are being met, just in way different than anticipated
That is the beauty of live experiences. They can be moved, molded, shaped and responded to in real time to achieve goals.
Experiential marketing is fluid, flexible and malleable in-the-moment.
Myth #2: Experiential activations are too expensive
We always find it interesting when a brand’s go-to strategy for a quick fix of awareness and bump in sales is TV commercials — and at the same time — tell us experiential marketing is too expensive and not quantifiable.
From this side, we’re a bit perplexed as commercials feel like they’re headed the way of department stores, banks, movie theatres and Dodos — on the path to being obsolete. Streaming has flipped the script. What we see on t.v. is uninspiring and mostly the same largely commoditized brands that we’ve always seen: automotive, pharmaceutical, CPG giants, showing up in the way they always have: scripted and pedestrian. If something was recorded, we fast-forward through the commercials as applicable. We feel the same about the ads that run prior to watching a clip on YouTube or the like. Does anyone actually watch them? Do you hit skip like us when given the chance? We also often think if you’re going to do a ‘commercial’ prior to, why are you using the same formula as a t.v. ad? Your brand is showing up on YouTube to share some quirky content and yet the ad before it is very traditional of some stereotypical scene. It doesn’t flow with the content that is about to proceed and therefore, it’s much more enticing to give the phone one more glance while waiting for what you came to view to turn on.
Festivals are the real-world version of commercials. A splashy, high-sensory experience where sponsorship and partnership abound. Is the message really cutting through with all the action that is happening or being remembered with all the mood enhancers being consumed?
Despite how the above can be interpreted, we’re not drunk on haterade or naysayers. We think all types of marketing should be in the mix. The more the better. It’s the dependency on only. one. kind. that is a cautionary tale. Experiential marketing is the Goldilocks moment— not too big, not too small — it’s just right.
If experiential marketing instantly feels cost-prohibitive or out of budget, hit pause, chunk up, grab another perspective and realize while it’s a different investment, the lifetime and generational value has deep, long-term worth to a brand. Look at the other marketing levers funded by the brand, are they performing? Is there an opportunity to evaluate other efforts and initiatives to reallocate funds?
The ongoing value of an experiential activation is in-line with the value it delivers.
What is most important is the ultimate ROI. With experiential, the brand has effectively been seeded in the mind, hearts and wallets of those who interact with it, along with friends, family and strangers they tell. A pattern and good habit around the brand has been formed. This behavior will continue long after the activation has ended.
With experiential, on the other hand, the marketing impact is sustained. A meaningful and emotional connection has been formed, and therefore the message and memory is sticky and stays with people. This quickly lends itself to affinity, repeat purchase, loyalty and advocacy. Those touched by the experiential activation don’t need social media ads to remind them of the brand’s existence and value prop as they have a tangible memory and healthy attachment based on their personal experience.
Experiential marketing has staying power. If loyalty and adoption are at the ❤️-center, experiential is our go-to approach.
Myth #3: Creating a two-way brand experience is easy!
We’ve honed our expertise in supporting marketers in creating robust brand experiences with rich interactive engagement — brand ↔ consumers/prospects — as pulling off an effective activation is everything…with the exception of easy.
In truth, experiential and consumer engagement marketing is incredibly nuanced and full of time-consuming strategic and creative logistics to sort.
Most brand marketers simply don’t have the time to dedicate both big-picture moves melded with thinking through all of the minutiae an experiential activation requires.
Operation: Activation Checklist
That was the short list! A lot goes into creating effective experiential activations. Trust, we’re not being biased when we say brands should collaborate with an agency partner to achieve and reap positive results.
Myth #4: The outcome of experiential marketing is not worth the effort
Through organic conversations with client prospects, those in adjacent spaces and those who have no relationship to it professionally, more often than not, have a criticism of experiential marketing without ever having participated in producing that type of engagement. The perception alone of producing a campaign of this type or magnitude is daunting enough to shape incorrect opinions, which we all know, is often treated as fact. There is a reason it’s our day jobs. At times, we take a look at the slab of concrete before us that is slated to be a fully functioning kitchen — in less than 24 hours — and seriously think we are certifiably insane.
After a deep breath, we acknowledge that delightful truth about ourselves — we are certifiably insane — connect to our core and know that throughout the entire process, we are in lockstep with each other, every single detail, build and plan. This fills us with confidence and clears pathways to produce a flawless activation.
Experiential marketing is worth the endeavor.
Why experiential marketing works
> It collapses the consumer adoption cycle in one fell swoop.
Awareness → trial → affinity → recommendation → repeat purchase
> The impact is lasting. The target audience will continue to spread word-of-mouth recommendations long after the activation occurred.
> Experiential marketing supports communities. Small, local businesses, artists and artisans are always partners in experiential activations. This promotes loyalty and stimulates the economy in the geo where the activation is happening. It also creates buzz among those in the mix who are tapped to support the activation in market and therefore word of mouth is kicked off.
> Real connections are formed. Accepting a flyer from a brand ambassador on the street out of politeness — that will most likely find its way to the recycle bin — is not consumer engagement. Highly customized and crafted activations entice and beckon attendees just by being — people inherently want to be in-the-know and not suffer from the contagious syndrome known as FOMO. In an experiential activation, brands become humanized by people interfacing with people in the comfort of the customized production, whereby real relationships are built with consumers.
> Organic outputs of experiential marketing. While press is tricky to get off a ‘pop-up’ anymore, we work internally and with PR partners to bake in legs and storylines. Every live activation we’ve executed has received some form of local press. Social amplification via every-persons and influencers abound. People flex their own social currency by sharing their discovery and epic experience. Consider the value of this level of organic reach.
> Opportunity for one-on-one consumer feedback. Experiential is a great way to learn more about a brand’s audience and receive insights straight from the source. With consumer engagement, the end customer is invited into the fold and feels special. They are also more than happy to tell you what they think, straight up no chaser. We’ve seen brands turn the ship after they get in front of their consumers and settle what once appeared to be a difference of opinion among varying business functions. No drama. No feelings. The decision simply pivoted based on…exactly what they said.
Meet your experiential marketing specialists
Team MKMCreative are experts in experiential marketing. We know what it takes to create a meaningful experience that reaches and resonates with a brand’s target audience. Like our motto states: we’ll do whatever it takes. We’ll tell you the wildest, no-way, zaniest moments over cocktails, like that one-time we stayed up until 3.00 a.m. to install a 20’ chandelier sky-high after getting a new one made because what was delivered was not up to standards, or that time we had to…
To experience the lasting effects of experiential marketing on your brand, hit us up. We’re major proponents of the craft and look forward to collabing with you on the right activation type for your brand to achieve its goals.