In a world overrun by adverts, promotions and deals promoting every product, service and apparent necessity, it’s become almost impossible to filter quality from quantity, value from junk. Our inboxes are flooded with weekly announcements, Google and Facebook exploit our recent searches for advertising purposes, and our phones buzz constantly with another marketer who’s found access to our numbers.
It’s with good reason, then, that marketing executives who are serious about making an impact continue to invest their time, energy and resources in live events and brand experiences. These methods, they say with good reason, are the future of marketing.
On the up and up
Experiential marketing refers to any event or activity that helps businesses or consumers engage with a brand. This is opposed to simply being on the receiving end of a deluge of information that may or may not be interesting or relevant. By using innovative and creative ways to immerse users in their service or product, brands are able to form an emotional connection to this customer base. As a result, they’re more likely to secure their customers’ long-term loyalty.
These experiences might take the form of interactive tech conferences that use augmented reality, sportswear showcases that invite participants to test their skills in exchange for merchandise, or pop-up spaces that offer visitors a glimpse of luxury safari venues elsewhere on the continent.
But are brands really adopting this approach? What do the numbers say?
Agency EA, a global full-service brand agency, recently conducted a major research study among 700 industry professionals to assess how much they used experiential marketing to achieve their goals. The results were unequivocal: “Integrating experiential into the greater marketing funnel is now imperative to a brand’s success,” EA reported. “Experiential is helping brands reach their goals – of lead generation, audience engagement, brand awareness and more – like never before. This explains why experiential budgets have been growing for the last three years with no signs of stopping.”
The study specifically focused on B2B engagements and revealed the following:
B2B marketers who see value in experiential marketing as a tactic
- 2017: 61%
- 2018: 75%
B2B marketers who anticipate a growth in budget for experiential marketing
- 2017: 50%
- 2018: 67%
The most engaging B2B marketing events
- Networking events: 42.86%
- Evening events: 63.10%
- Product showcases: 58.33%
Keep up with the times
Engaging with consumers in this way is no easy task – but nothing worthwhile ever is. Strategies have to be carefully developed, clear outcomes agreed upon, target markets thoroughly researched, and smart human-to-human activations created. Oh, and don’t forget about the social media component! Above all, an experiential campaign or event has to offer your consumers something memorable and valuable, something that will ensure that the next time they need your product or service, they bypass the clutter of your competitors and contact you directly.
With experiential marketing on the up and up, it’s imperative that you keep up too. Don’t get left behind by relying on outdated and ineffective promotional tactics. Whether you’re considering starting small as you find your feet in this space, or already have an ambitious project in mind, the Worx Group team is fired up and ready to help you.