With traditional marketing channels delivering lower ROI, brands are seeking new ways to connect with consumers. Experiential marketing offers the unique opportunity to create memorable experiences that leave a lasting impression.
Influencer collaboration, gamification, and pop-up events are among the emerging experiential marketing trends that marketers can leverage to create more meaningful and impactful engagements with their audience.
Art Installations
Art installations are a popular way to engage consumers and share brand stories. They are socially-friendly and evoke emotion, making them a great option for experiential marketing. The popularity of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) also gives brands new ways to captivate customers.
Brands like Snack manufacturer Paqui are using branded art to create unique experiences that are social media-friendly. One of their most effective campaigns was inspired by the movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. The company created a series of food-inspired art pieces, including a giant upside-down ice cream cone and a large hamburger that resembled it was sliding down a staircase.
Musicians are also using art-inspired experiential marketing to connect with fans. As streaming services turn many people into casual listeners, musicians need to build powerful connections with their audience through physical experiences. Whether it’s a pop-up shop promoting a new album or an interactive exhibit that invites audiences to step onto the set of a music video, experiential strategies can help musicians form prominent relationships with their fans.
Another type of experiential marketing is hybrid events that combine virtual and in-person experiences. Brands like Ben and Jerry’s ‘Tweet, Tweet the Truck’ demonstrated this concept by encouraging fans to tweet locations where they wanted the ice cream truck to visit, resulting in a viral promotion that expanded the reach of their experiential marketing campaign.
Advocacy-Based Events
As the economy faces uncertain times, brands are increasingly seeking to endear themselves to customers and sear a positive association into their psyches. Experiential marketing, with its ability to enchant and entertain, is an excellent platform for this.
Brands are also turning to experiential marketing to further bolster their social good and environmental advocacies. This is a particularly attractive trend to capitalise on with Millennial and Gen Z audiences, as research shows that 57 percent of them believe that brands should support a cause.
A great example of this is the Vans Warped Tour, a music festival that has made bands like NOFX and Pennywise famous for years, but has now added a number of corporate sponsors to the mix to draw a more diverse audience. Other examples include the reimagining of a store to give it a new identity. When The Simpsons Movie was released, 7-11 stores were transformed into Springfield-themed Kwik-E-Marts to create a unique experience that appealed to fans and helped build the film’s buzz.
As virtual reality and augmented reality become more readily available to consumers, they will be increasingly used for immersive experiential marketing. For example, augmented reality Snapchat filters allow people to experience their surroundings in a different way or IKEA’s augmented reality home environment lets shoppers visualize how products will look in their homes.
Virtual Experiences
After a COVID hiatus, in-person industry events are back, and brands are looking for unique ways to connect with their audiences. In an era of rising social consciousness, advocacy-based events are a great way to get in front of consumers. This is especially true with millennials and Gen Z, who are more likely to buy from brands that support their causes.
Virtual reality can be used to create immersive experiences that allow customers to interact with products in new and exciting ways. This technology can help customers understand how a product will fit in their home or workplace, and it can also be used to promote environmental awareness. For example, Miller recently launched a giveaway inside a branded pub in the online virtual world Decentraland.
VR can also be used to teach professional skills in a safe, risk-free environment. For example, construction workers can practice using heavy machinery or performing dangerous tasks in a simulated environment without risking their lives. This can help them build up confidence in their abilities and improve their performance on the job.
Another benefit of VR is that it can be used to create interactive games and entertainment experiences. For example, Kentucky Fried Chicken has a VR game that allows users to experience e-training on how to make its famous fried chicken. This is a fun, engaging experience that can also be shared with friends.
NFTs
NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are a newer technology that uses blockchain to prove ownership of digital assets. NFTs can be anything from a song to a 3D printing blueprint. They’re popular with artists and gamers who want to sell digital versions of their work, but they’ve also become an attractive way for brands to engage audiences in unique ways.
For example, the Utah Jazz launched an NFT-based rewards program that lets tier-one holders tour the team’s locker room using an Oculus headset. This is a great way to create hype and build loyalty. NFTs can also be resold on secondary NFT marketplaces, so they offer an opportunity for brands to keep growing their audience long after an activation is over.
Another way to use NFTs is with an augmented reality app that lets users experience their favorite teams and artists in a virtual world. For instance, Budweiser recently partnered with the virtual horse racing game Zed Run to allow fans to race with their friends in an NFT-based digital environment.
As NFTs and other emerging technologies continue to change the marketing landscape, it’s important for marketers to understand their value as a marketing tool. Avoid treating NFTs like commodities and instead consider how they fit into your brand’s story and holistic customer experience. If you’re still unsure whether or not NFTs are right for your business, consider starting small by offering a limited-edition collectible and expanding as your budget allows.