Experiential marketing packs a big punch when it comes to ROI. These events generate brand awareness in a way that people are much more responsive to than advertising alone.
They drive word-of-mouth marketing and create lasting impressions with consumers. It’s not just about pushing a product or service; it’s about making a real, authentic connection with people.
Before you start your next experiential marketing campaign, give yourself an edge with these six strategies for getting more attention.
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#1 Outdoor Digital Billboards
Planning an activation at an outdoor event or in a public place doesn’t have to be a logistical nightmare. Outdoor digital billboards have come a long way if you work with the right partner.
Today, you can find portable digital billboards that are built for outdoor environments, including battery-powered billboards that will last the day and reach anywhere you need them and that are easy to place without expensive installations or site permits.
Outdoor digital billboards should be designed for movement and vibration and be gesture-enabled for interactive experiences.
It opens the door to new possibilities in experiential marketing in outdoor environments.
#2 Gamification Experiences
Successful experiential marketing doesn’t just push your narrative. It delivers something valuable to consumers.
Brand activations are part of the excitement at major events like sports games and music festivals.
Organizers plan on their sponsors delivering more to discover and giving attendees a feeling that they’re getting more for their money, all while sponsors have the opportunity to deepen their connections with event attendees.
Gamification in marketing might just be the ace up your sleeve. When you’re planning a sponsorship activation or pop up event, gamification encourages engagement and can turn into a memorable event in its own right.
You can incorporate features like leader boards to encourage competition, giveaways and prizes to motivate your audience to get involved, and digital billboards that let you make an immersive, one-of-a-kind experience.
#3 Not Just A Giveaway
There’s a reason giveaways and sampling campaigns continue to have so much popularity in experiential marketing: people love them.
Free samples and giveaways are always a hit with consumers, but the biggest and most successful brand activations do so much more than just distribute free products.
While samples and giveaways may be the draw that gets your audience excited to show up to the event, this is your chance to make a big impression with a bold idea.
Brands are increasingly building bigger interactive experiences around giveaways. They’re creating events that aren’t just about direct sampling but about having fun, snapping selfies, and generating social media buzz.
#4 Virtual and Augmented Reality
Virtual and augmented reality experiences make the most of the latest technology to create a truly unique experience.
VR and AR expand what’s possible in experiential marketing and make it easier to conduct product demonstrations.
Some great examples include using VR to create a virtual car showroom or augmented reality to create a digital change room that lets users see what an article of clothing would look like without actually having to try it on.
The development of VR/AR technology has made it vastly more accessible for brands and marketers.
Bring it into your experiential marketing campaign to really impress a crowd. With VR/AR, you can take your audiences anywhere.
#5 Sponsorships and Pop Up Activations
When you sponsor a big event like a concert, street festival, or sports game, you have a chance to flex your creativity and come up with a truly unique experience.
You’re only as limited as your budget and your imagination. You can also head out to public places that are going to be big draws themselves, such as popular beaches and train stations.
The key to a successful pop up is giving consumers something fun and useful. It has to attract attention, whether you’re the main event or not.
There are tons of great examples like this, but some include campaigns like Sprite’s Cut Through the Heat Shower Activation or Coca-Cola’s FIFA World Cup VR experience.
With Cut Through the Heat, Sprite installed a massive, branded beach shower made to look like a soda fountain at some of the world’s biggest beaches.
Meanwhile, Coca-Cola created a VR experience at a train station in Zurich that allowed users to practice their soccer moves with VR versions of their favorite players.
#6 Integrate Social Media Advertising
Out-of-Home advertising doesn’t have to live in a silo separated from your digital efforts.
Experiential campaigns are the perfect material for your social media feeds, especially if you have an event that’s traveling from city to city.
Generate organic interest by encouraging users to post videos and pictures of your experiential campaign. Turn your experiential campaign into a social asset to maximize your ROI.
These six strategies will help you make more from your experiential campaigns.
Deploy outdoor digital billboards, create unique gamification experiences, utilize VR/AR, do more with your giveaway campaigns, get creative with pop up activations, and don’t forget to integrate social media advertising.
