- December 6, 2016
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4 Ways to Turn Events Into Unforgettable Experiences
One of the latest popular buzzwords and trends in integrated marketing circles is “experiential marketing.” If you’re wondering how experiential differs from event marketing, you’re not alone. Allow us to elucidate.
Thanks to social media and new media vehicles, event marketing goes much deeper than just the event itself. Communities can form around your event, before, during and after it.
Experiential marketing can be defined as a promotional strategy that involves creating an interactive experience in which customers can participate in the hope of motivating them to talk about your product or company. This makes experiential marketing a truly integrated marketing strategy that relies on unique creative thinking to grab attention and get people to become involved and share their impressions and stories with others.
Here are four factors identified by Help Scout that can make your experiential marketing share-worthy:
Brand Integration. Ideally, the product tie-in should be more organic and natural than simply slapping the brand name in front or after the event. The event should weave in a selling aspect that targets consumers either through the actual use of the product or a relevant connection with the brand’s attributes (as with the Red Bull Stratos event).
Extreme Creativity. People don’t share “meh,” they share awesome [experiences]. Make sure your experiential marketing captures attention and sparks the imagination so that people feel compelled to share. No amount of media spending can bring attention to a boring, uninteresting event.
Attract Crowds. Awesome experiences tend to draw big crowds, either by attracting people to watch in person (or via live broadcast) or by getting people to tell others through their favorite social networks. Give people easy opportunities to share the awesomeness you create and you’ll get considerably more mileage from your marketing efforts.
Listen & Engage. In the age of social media, your marketing should not be a one-way conversation. Listen to what your customers say about your products, the actual event, as well as the marketing campaign. No need to pay for a focus group! By simply listening, you may learn some things about your product that you didn’t expect, while also discovering new ways to attract their interest and build loyalty.
