Traditional advertising provides the consumer with visual and verbal communication- however experiential helps consumers taste, touch, smell and feel the brand- so this involves any physical interaction.... it can be described as 'events' to a certain extent, however not as one might think of conferences, festivals or fashion shows- however these can actually be great examples too! Can you tell why I love this industry yet?
It's actually a huge industry and brands are increasingly seeing it's value and spending more on exepriences and there are so many examples of how to execute great brand experience.
Heidi Cohen defines it beautifully "Experiential marketing enables prospects and customers to interact and connect with your offering in a way that creates memorable branded experiences. Based on these brand-related encounters, customers become more connected to and invested in your offering. This results in increased awareness and sales for B2C, B2B and NFP (not-for-profit) brands."
There's a great statistic which says something like "You are 10 times more likely to tell a friend about something you've experienced". It's a great way to set a positive image of your brand in the consumer's mind and they are so much more likely to remember your brand rather than a TV ad which they've seen amongst 100 others that day. You are also much more likely to share your experience on social media and these posts become ads in their own right- however this is when you are translating into earned media.
The aim is to acquire customers and achieve long-term brand loyalty and therefore achieve a lifetime customer.
In order to be successful, brand experience activity must;
1. Fit with your brand values and communicate them in a way in which the customer understands them.
2. Exist in a space where your target audience are present (of course- that step exists for any marketing activity, but there's no point sampling men's aftershave at a Beyonce concert....)
3. Allow it to be social! Encourage people who take part to share their experiences online through #hashtags, photo sharing or taggable 'check ins'- for every person who takes part, there could be another 100+ who see the experience and see it as desirable!
4. Encourage some sort of emotion- whether than be fun, humour, delight or just thoughtfulness or consideration!
5. Use trained and well-briefed staff to represent the brand correctly
Great examples of brand experience in action
Coca-Cola
How could I not mention Coca-Cola, these guys are the absolute kings of experiential marketing and they absolutely excel at using experiences to engage consumers, deliver their brand message and create shareable content. I've worked for the brand a number of times and they are constantly executing well thought out, consistent, clever events. They have hundreds of examples from the coca-cola truck to share a coke bottles printed in shopping centres, this being a particular favourite:
Haagen-Dazs
This is a pretty standard campaign- but of course effective as the brand is fantastically represented in a number of methods which allow the consumer to interact. The campaign involves sampling, photo (so the consumer can take away something physical) and a competition. Great touch points which last outside of the event. They also managed to get their brand heavily covered across the fashion event.
Pepsi
This is a brilliant use of technology and Pepsi's video went viral which can be an important objective when executing campaigns. I can guarantee those participants definitely told someone about their experience!
Audi
Another example of how technology is driving outstanding brand experience from Audi. There really is so much more brands can do to engage their audience. This is directly related to the product and therefore conveys innovation, forward-thinking and creativity.
In summary- experiential marketing is physical, tangible, conveys emotion and happens in real-time.
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