Every brand strives for establishing a profound connection with its customers by gaining their trust and providing them an immersive brand experience that is long-lasting. It’s our experiences that shape our memory. We often tend to relate particular products with specific brands based on our past experience. For instance, when you think of a burger, more likely Mac D or Burger King would flash in your heads. Prints ads, TV commercials, Bill Boards are ignored and fail to grab the attention of the audience.  Brands are constantly looking for ways to stay on top of their audience’s minds.

Experiential Marketing focuses on engaging customers with the brand by providing them with a personalized experience. Brands invite potential customers to interact with their products and services for attaining real-time exposure. These experiences can be achieved offline as well as online. Being relevant for your customers is the key, this form of marketing works towards building a meaningful and highly relevant communication with the prospects.

Experiential marketing is often considered similar to Guerrilla and Event marketing but it is much more than just a publicity stunt. Instead of advertising products to a passive audience, it aims to establish emotional connect with consumers by endorsing brand values and aesthetics. Multiple marketing avenues like social media platforms and event-based activities are often merged to enhance the performance of marketing campaigns.  An event like a trade show or live concert is the most effective medium of pulling large audience and glimpses of these events can be shared on a social platform to expand the reach. Experiences usually occur offline via workshop, event, seminar, and information about it can be made available online as well.

  • Product Demonstration: Brands organize live demonstrations of their products which provides an opportunity for users to touch and feel the products. This in-person participation provides a memorable immersive experience to consumers. Most people find product demonstration the most helpful source of gaining a better understanding of the product.
  • Workshops: This is considered one of the most effective means to connect and educate your audience. Brands showcase their premium as well as upcoming products, highlighting their features aiming to inform the audience why they should make the purchase. These workshops also provide an opportunity for brands to interact with their consumers and get their valuable feedback. The user feels engaged and being heard which helps in building long term relationships.
  • Event/Concert: Events like trade shows, seminar or a quiz competition with brand-related questions engages the audience and also provides them more insight into what exactly the brand does. For each correct answer, participants can be provided goodies, free product install or even a tour to the company’s manufacturing unit. These pop-up events are aimed towards enhancing user experience. Being available for a limited time these events usually creates excitement among the audience to participate and engage in fun activities.
Benefits:
  • It creates a buzz in the market with positive word of mouth and getting people to talk about the brand.
  • Memorable experiences are shared on social platforms which expands social presence.
  • It enables the brand to create a long-lasting impression on the consumer’s mind.
  • Forms emotional connect with customers by providing them hands-on experiences with products which also establishes a long-lasting relationship.
  • A highly satisfied and happy customer is more likely to become a brand influencer and recommends products among his connections.

Examples:

  • Pepsi Like Machine – At a concert by Beyonce, Pepsi installed vending machines that didn’t accept currency to dispense the Pepsi but only Facebook page like. Users had to use their smartphones to visit likepepsi.com and like the Facebook page. Each like gave user’s a free Pepsi can. Users without Smartphones could use a touch screen fitted on the machine itself to login to their Facebook account and like the page to get their free can.  This proved to be a brilliant concept for engaging an audience and interact with them.
  • Coffee Alarm Cap: Coffee giant Nescafe came up with the idea of revamping their packaging. They changed the cap of coffee bottles into an alarm by fitting them with lights and alarm sounds. The aim was to wake coffee lovers with a lovely coffee aroma. As the cap was turned and the bottle was opened, the alarm went off. It was received well by most of the beverage consumers.