Running a successful experiential marketing event takes a lot of hard work, expertise, and patience. Experiential marketing campaigns differ from traditional marketing campaigns. Also known as engagement marketing, experiential marketing campaigns require the involvement of elements that offer direct customer interaction.
According to NVE Experience Marketing Agency, these campaigns need to be well-thought-out, meticulously planned, and executed perfectly as your audience and potential client base will have a hands-on experience that is representative of your brand. Done correctly, experiential marketing events offer a deeper connection with the audience, as it gets your product directly into people’s lives.
For example, in a study, nearly 80% of attendants of experiential marketing events said that the live demonstrations or free samples helped positively impact their idea of the brand, and influenced their purchasing decisions.
While every experiential marketing event has its own specific needs and focuses, the most important part of nearly every experiential marketing campaign lies in the strategy and planning stage. It’s important to take steps to ensure your event’s launch is fool-proof and works on a fundamental level. Below we offer five tips that are sure to help ensure the launch of a successful experiential marketing event.
Start Planning Early
When it comes to an experiential marketing campaign, the earlier you start to prepare, the better. Experiential marketing campaigns typically require a venue to host your campaign event, products, and merchandise which sometimes are event-specific, food and beverage providers, and whatever else your team can conjure up that adds to your event. Be sure to have an event execution team with members dedicated to each area of your plan. You should schedule a date for the event significantly ahead of schedule so you leave yourself plenty of room for error.
Create A Budget
A budget is a necessity when planning your experiential marketing campaign. Expenses are bound to pile up and it’s important to have an understanding of what your business is willing to spend on your event. If you’re planning an event for a business you’re employed by, make sure to get official numbers and estimates from your higher-ups and run any numbers by your finance teams. If you’re an independent business, gauge how much you can put in and risk not getting back. It’s also advised to either make your budget higher than you expect or have some money saved in case you end up going over budget – there may be some unpredicted expenses.
Incorporate Online & Offline Advertising
Advertising your experiential marketing event is imperative because the ultimate goal in hosting an experiential marketing event is getting the audience there to have an immersive experience with your business. Online advertising is a great and inexpensive way to do this. Look into advertising on social media sites like Facebook or Instagram, they allow you to use local filters to get your advertisements in front of the correct audience.
Also think about doing some offline advertising, print flyers and hang them around the town or city your event will be in, go to local stores, coffee shops, and businesses to see if they will advertise your event, and invite them to come. Getting yourself directly involved in the community will ensure some visitors to your event.
Understand Customer Wants
During the initial stages of brainstorming for your experiential marketing event, you should have some time dedicated to brainstorming about your customer’s wants and how they align with your brand. Successful experiential marketing events turn out that way because the team behind them not only has a deep understanding of the brand, they know how it translates into the wants and needs of the customers and potential customers they’ll encounter.
For example, Vans the skate shoe and related apparel company hosted numerous House of Vans pop-up shops near skate parks in major cities across the United States. They had music, food, merchandise for purchase, and gave skaters a place to hang out while enjoying the skate park. They picked locations where they knew the clientele would be interested in their experiential marketing event. It’s a perfect example of being able to identify the client’s wants and embracing them.
Define Your Brand Clearly and Efficiently
Your experiential marketing event is a direct representation of your brand to the audience. Anything that they come across during their time there, good or bad, will be a reminder of your brand and your business. This is why when launching an experiential marketing event, you and the team handling your event must have an understanding of your brand to be able to sufficiently communicate it to others.
For example, if your bakery is focused on promoting local foods and farms, you wouldn’t want to host an experiential marketing event partnering with a national food brand. You would want to invite and co-host with local farms, farmers, or other businesses that align with your brand’s goals to stay local. Stay true to your brand and the audience will be able to feel your authenticity.
