Experiential marketing provides a controlled environment for consumers to interact with your brand and receive positive impressions. When done right, they can become loyal fans.
Innovative brands can build customer loyalty and increase awareness in a competitive marketplace through experiential marketing events that showcase authenticity and emotional engagement. Here are some of the most innovative ways brands are achieving these goals.
1. Create a Virtual Reality Experience
In the digital age, consumers are surrounded by impersonal marketing messages that often fail to connect with them on an emotional level. Experiential marketing helps brands stand out by delivering an immersive experience that fosters strong brand loyalty and leads to positive word-of-mouth.
VR can be used to create a range of experiences, from interactive games and educational videos to product demonstrations. For example, GoPro—a camera manufacturer known for its action-oriented products—created a virtual reality experience that encouraged audiences to share their most thrilling adventures in order to win prizes. This helped increase brand awareness and encourage consumer-generated content.
Other forms of virtual experiential marketing include virtual try-ons and virtual stores. For example, some companies, such as Nike or Alo Yoga, host workout classes in branded environments to showcase their expertise and build trust with consumers. These types of experiences are often less expensive than traditional advertising campaigns but can still deliver high returns. They are also more engaging and can help to build a sense of community amongst brand enthusiasts. However, it is important to measure the success of these virtual experiences to ensure that they are achieving their goals.
2. Livestream Your Event
Brands can engage audiences online by livestreaming events, workshops, or product demos. This is a great way to reach an audience that cannot physically attend the event and also increases the event’s visibility and potential for word-of-mouth marketing. This type of experiential marketing also helps build brand loyalty, improves customer relationships and boosts revenue.
Whether your brand is hosting an in-person event or workshop or creating a virtual one, you need to focus on the details to ensure it is a success. Incorporating sensory elements into the event is a great way to create an experience that evokes emotions and leaves a positive impression on customers. This includes using specific music, visuals, and smells to subtly influence how a customer feels about your brand.
Make sure the person recording your live stream knows what’s important to cover, and that they have a clear plan of action. Also, send your audience crucial information ahead of time to help them prepare for the event (e.g. a worksheet that outlines key points or a Q&A session). This can help them stay engaged during the presentation and may even inspire them to share it with their own networks.
3. Create a Mobile Application
In today’s noisy digital world, it is harder than ever to get consumers to notice your product. This is why experiential marketing has become increasingly important. By creating memorable, real-world experiences that foster a connection with your brand, you can encourage loyalty and advocacy.
Experiential marketing programs provide the perfect opportunity to create connections with your audience in real life, where they are more open to receiving your message. However, you must be careful to choose the right type of experience for your audience. For example, a technology company might not want to set up an immersive experience at a counter-culture summer music festival like Coachella.
Experiential events are a great way to build emotional connections with your audience, but they can also be used to educate and inspire consumers. For example, a tech company can host an immersive experience that allows customers to interact with new technologies in ways that are fun and interesting. This can help your audience understand your products and services better, making them more likely to purchase them in the future.
4. Create a Virtual Reality Game
For the tech-savvy audiences of today, experiential marketing offers a unique opportunity to connect with brands that align with their interests and values. Creating immersive digital experiences with interactive elements can help businesses accelerate their brand promotion and build trust with consumers.
In addition to providing an engaging experience, experiential marketing is also a great tool for building brand loyalty and creating conversations about your brand. By transforming customers into passionate brand advocates, experiential marketing can give your company an edge over competitors.
The goal of experiential marketing is to create memorable, meaningful experiences that leave a lasting impact on consumers. This can be achieved by creating immersive virtual and augmented reality experiences. For example, Gucci created a virtual garden where users could wander through rooms and take photos using their avatars.
The immersive experience encouraged consumers to share their journey on social media, which in turn, drove brand recall and engagement. When you incorporate these digital experiential marketing tactics into your strategy, you can effectively engage and inspire consumers in a way that standard digital advertising cannot.
5. Create a Virtual Reality Experience
In the digital age, brands are challenged to connect with consumers in unique and exciting ways. Experiential marketing leverages interactive elements, immersive storytelling and personalized engagement to create lasting positive associations and build brand loyalty.
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are innovative platforms that enable brands to engage audiences in captivating, memorable experiences that are both real-time and omnichannel. Virtual experiences can be as simple as an app or as complex as a virtual store, and both offer the opportunity to interact with customers on a deeper level than traditional marketing campaigns.
For example, Refinery29 created a VR experience called 29Rooms that combines style, culture and technology. The experience encourages users to share their interactions with friends and followers, expanding the reach of the campaign beyond the audience who attended the event.
Another example of experiential marketing is Coca-Cola’s “Happiness Machine”, which surprised and delighted unsuspecting customers with everything from flowers to pizza. The heartwarming reactions captured on video went viral and generated positive brand associations. Virtual reality experiences are also a great way to conduct consumer research and foster a personalized connection with your customers.
