Think about how you have recently engaged with brands. Can you sense a subtle shift from rather dull, passive traditional marketing campaigns to exciting, technology-driven engagement? That’s because many brands are beginning to see that their customers seek more personal experiences. Companies are leaning on the power of experience and employing branded experiential marketing tactics to build a strong, emotional connection with today’s modern audience!
Branded Experiential marketing and brand activation refer to a newer experience-centered approach to marketing that is high-touch, event-based, and engagement-focused. This new form of marketing aims to deliver unique customer experiences they can’t get anywhere else. After all, today’s consumers are always-on and used to being delivered amazing brand experiences, which means that many brands are left looking for ways to step up their marketing efforts.
How Experiential Marketing Works
There are many different ways that companies employ brand activation and branded experiential marketing campaigns to engage customers, including (but never limited to)
- Custom games targeted to a specific target audience
- Drone air shows designed for large groups of potential customers
- Projection mapping and other larger-than-life visual installations
- Themed destinations and entertainment campaigns
- Photo and visual engagements for social media sharing
- Custom interactive elements that provide an immersive experience
- Well-designed demos to showcase products and create positive experiences
If you’ve ever leveraged a brand activation campaign before, you know that there is a reason these experiences are such a hot topic in marketing – they work, and they work exceptionally well. Audiences are always looking for the ‘hot new thing’; regardless of the industry, well-executed brand activation can make your organization stand out.
Think of the last time your team exhibited at an event or presentation. How ‘next level’ was the competition? How creative were the campaigns to get customers to booths? What about capturing lead information? Today’s industry is full of noise and distractions, and companies must work harder to build brand awareness.
The Benefits of Experiential Marketing
When employed correctly, brand activations and experiential marketing campaigns offer several unique benefits. They draw in customers in a large audience, deliver memorable experiences and touchpoints, influence the creation of user-generated content and responses (great word-of-mouth advertising), can “go viral” and spread across the internet, and effectively move products or services for a brand. Most importantly, they can develop brand affinity and get you loyal customers.
So why are some brands hesitant to get started? There isn’t a secret button that brands can press for amazing, well-thought-out visual installations. These programs require as much planning and support from a marketing team to implement as they do from a branding, UX, and strategy team to curate. The tradeoff of this investment of thought capital? Incredible customer engagement and increased brand sentiment.
<> on January 22, 2016 in Park City, Utah.
Implementing Successful Brand Activation
Look for experts to partner with to ensure your company gets the most out of your branded experiential marketing and brand activation campaigns. Bluewater works with agencies to design amazing, one-of-a-kind marketing experiences that will leave a lasting impression on your customers. Our technical staff will engineer and deploy incredible custom brand activation solutions for pop-ups, trade shows, virtual or live events, stunts, and installations. As a leader in event marketing, we work with some of the nation’s largest brands and companies to help them attract more customers and build brand loyalty by bringing new excitement to their events.
If you’re looking to up your marketing strategy and create next-level branded experiences, tap the engagement marketing experts at Bluewater to assist. You can set up your personal consultation here.
