The power of content is tremendous. It can capture the attention of millions at one go, and it can drive the reach of a message far and wide. We live in a world where people can share content at the swipe of one finger. At the same time, thousands of companies are bombarding the audience with new ads everywhere. Adblocking technology is evolving across the world. Close to 32% of all internet users now use plug-ins with their browsers to block annoying video ads and pop-up ads. Reaching the target audience was never as much of a challenge as it is now. These are only a few of the reasons that make experiential marketing indispensable today.
Experiential marketing events should provide consumers with the chance to engage with the related product and the brand. It should establish and maintain new channels of communication. In the age of mobile phones and the internet, people want to experience something that is tangible. E-commerce has made life a lot easier for the millennials, but at the same time, it has also raised doubts about customer services, brand relations, and approachability. Marketing is a lot more than product launch and quality control right now. It is about eliciting positive emotions among the target audience.
How lucrative is experiential marketing for new brands?
This year is the perfect timing to kick off any experiential marketing campaign. Here are a few reasons you should consider including experiential marketing into your marketing mix –
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- Almost 80% of the participants state that free samples, live demos, and interactive activities influence their buying decisions.
- About 70% of all participants turn into regular customers as a result of experiential marketing campaigns.
- Three-fourth of the companies that have event budgets between $50 million and $100 million state that they expect a 5:1 return from the experiential events.
- Over 79% of all surveyed brands state that they will begin their experiential journey by next year.
- More than 80% of the brands that engaged in experiential marketing this year are also likely to invest in new rounds of marketing this year.
- 65% of all brands state that event-based marketing helps with sales.
- Over 60% of the CMOs believe that brand experience has the potential to establish ongoing relationships with the key audiences.
- 90% CMOs state that experiential marketing has opened the avenues for interaction between their brands and their audience.
- Close to 80% of all millennials value memorable experiences more than material objects.
- Close to 71% of customers report an increasing sense of loyalty towards a brand after participating in a brand event.
- Over 80% of all marketers believe that live marketing is the only effective form of marketing that can reach all audiences on all platforms.
Why should you think about experiential marketing?
Experiential marketing is not just a marketing expense for any business. It is a smart investment for the long run. Any brand that wants to capture a new audience or explore a new market requires a tool strong enough to convince the potential consumers to convert. Event marketing undertaken by an experiential marketing agency has the power to do that with finesse. For example – did you know? The Netflix team turned over 200 local cafes into Luke’s Diners to promote the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Each location pulled strong crowds that consisted of old fans, the new fan following, and curious folks, who just wanted a taste of whatever was new on the block. The result? These fans viewed Luke’s Diner Filter on Snapchat a whopping 880,000 times!
Whether it is Selfridges, Lays or Budweiser, every big brand has indulged in experiential marketing at least once. Even the smaller brands, as well as the startups that are just poking their heads, understand the value of something as unique as events in the lives of their millennial customers. Millennials are always doing something – they are driving to concerts, going to music festivals and art exhibitions. If nothing else, they are hanging out cool places and posting selfies. That is one of the most significant trends experiential marketing has leveraged right now. All you need is an event that will convince millennials and Gen Z consumers to participate. Give them enough material to click selfies and post them on Instagram with branded hashtags, and more than half of your marketing work is already complete!
We will admit. We made experiential marketing sound overly simple back there. In reality, there are innumerable intricacies that often result in confusion and failure among inexperienced experiential marketing companies. So when it is time for your brand to try experiential marketing, give the experts a call. The upfront cost might seem insurmountable, but you will save quite a bit in the long run.
Infographic provided by Orbus Visual Communications®, a top company to get an outdoor serving counter
