Experiential Marketing 3-6-0

Technology and social media has made it much easier for brands to reach the consumers, but does that necessarily mean that they are able to create an impression virtually? Let’s think about the number of advertisements, billboards and commercials we come across when surfing the internet or driving around, out of these how many advertisements can we actually recall right now? Probably none. The huge amount of advertisements and their lack of interaction fails to create an impression. So how can brands cut through these stagnating techniques? The answer is Experiential Marketing.

Experiential marketing, sometimes referred to as “engagement marketing” is an immersive strategy that engages the audience in a hands-on, physical experience. It can thought of as the epitome of “audience participation.” It is also considered as the more strategic, well-intentioned, sophisticated cousin of “publicity stunt.” It could mean something as simple as offering free samples to creating a pop-up store experience or engaging in guerrilla marketing tactics such as delivering your message using chalk on a sidewalk or promoting, something like the Ice Bucket Challenge. (Remember that from a few summers ago?) Guerrilla marketing is outside-the-box marketing that gets big exposure from a small expenditure.

Experiential marketing can reap big benefits for brands, ranging from more personal communication and relationships with consumers that increase loyalty to helping your product stand out in a noisy environment. It is a strategy that can really set apart a brand from its competition by creating emotional connections between a brand and a consumer that foster loyalty and heighten the overall customer experience. 

Yes experiential marketing in reality is as fun as it sounds and we’ve come up with some of the most exciting and successful examples of the same.

IKEA’S FURNISHED CLIMBING WALL

“OOH as a medium, has only 4 seconds to catch the audience attention”

On the event of IKEA’s 30^th store opening in France, the Swedish furniture company installed a huge vertical rock-climbing wall which was decorated with IKEA furniture in Clermont-Ferrand. This was done in partnership with an event communication agency Ubi bene. It was a nine-meter-tall and 30-foot-wide artificial rocking climbing wall, displayed just like a showroom flipped on its side. Hand grips and steps were placed on the wall which helped the passer-by to climb it, with a safety harness coupled with guidance from a professional. The execution was flawless in terms of art, colours and layout. It was a creative and interactive way to promote and invite a conversation about the brand along with proving the sturdiness of its products as the furniture on the wall could support participant’s weight. It was a unique product display window on a hoarding which created inquisitiveness and recall. It was a four-day event and was open to everyone.

REFINERY29

“Aim to create a world in which women feel, see and claim their power”

The company’s immersive exhibition 29 rooms, celebrated an audience of young women during their four-day event at the New York Fashion Week which was centred around the theme ‘Turn it into Art’. The installation was 29 interactive rooms with different experiences. Refinery29 partnered with several brands to get their products and identities to shine in creative ways. There were some simple exhibits like one room contained 150 pillows for people to play and click photos with to expansive rooms which allowed visitors to imagine a vacation in the tropics. Brands offered exciting samples while food brands gave guest the opportunity to try their newly launched flavours and food items. The event was a combination of unique experiences for the guest along with content creation for their digital lives while seeing a more innovative take on marketing. This also gave the artist an opportunity to showcase their work and inspire visitors.

VOLKSWAGEN PIANO STAIRCASE

“Never ever underestimate the importance of having fun.”

The brand came up with a concept called “the fun theory” which was an effort to influence people’s behaviour with an element of fun. For this experiential marketing the team created piano stirs in a subway stop in Germany next to an escalator. Usually, the commuters choose the escalator but this led them to take the stairs, playing their own tunes as they went up and down each step. As a result, 66% more people chose the stairs instead of escalator. The reason this strategy worked for a car company is because it resonated with a simple human emotion: having fun. 

WESTJET’S REAL TIME CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

“Yes, there truly is a joy to giving.”

The airline company was generous, ambitious, filled with authentic emotion a little different from practical advertising perspective. The entire idea and strategy was simple but logistically complex. The guest were flying form Hamilton and Toronto to Calgary. The guests were asked at the originating airport what gifts they wanted for Christmas. Kids asked for gifts like video games while adults wanted big gifts like big screen TVs etc. When the customer was done telling their wish, the team in Calgary sprang to action hitting local stores and malls to gather the gifts to be put into boxes. They put 5 hours to get the gifts wrapped and put it on the baggage carousel. Instead of the luggage, the gifts were presented and the reaction was overwhelming. Mini stories were posted like a family that was moving from Hamilton to Calgary and having a difficult time with the change and this put smile on their face. In every case, the customers were overcome with emotion due to the gesture and they thought it was the perfect way to celebrate the season.

COCA COLA

“Cultural and social tensions exist around the world, and they exist for selfish reasons. But deep down, humanity is about togetherness and happiness.”
In 1971, Coca-Cola taught the world to sing through its iconic “Hilltop” ad. More than 40 years later, the brand invited the people of India and Pakistan – two groups used to living with conflict – to share a simple moment of connection and joy with the help of technology.
High-tech vending machines installed in two popular shopping malls in Lahore, Pakistan and New Delhi, India – two cities separated by only 325 miles, but seemingly worlds apart due to decades of political tension – invited consumers to put their differences aside and share a simple moment over a Coke.

The “Small World Machines” provided a live communications portal linking strangers in two nations divided by more than just borders, with the hope of provoking a small moment of happiness and promoting cultural understanding around the world. Coke and Leo Burnett used first-of-its-kind 3D touchscreen technology to project a streaming video feed onto the vending machine screen while simultaneously filming through the unit to capture a live emotional exchange. People from both countries and various walks of life were encouraged to complete a friendly task together – wave, touch hands, draw a peace sign or dance – before sharing a Coca-Cola.

MYNTRA

“Video Games are bad for you? That’s what they said about rock ‘n’ roll.”

Myntra, has its famous annual end of season sale. The retail giant wanted to promote their end of season sale this year with a twist. Myntra collaborated with Tagbin who came up with the promotion interactive, exciting, and fun at cyber hub to make it successful.

Tagbin set up a game on a huge screen in the middle of cyber hub, Gurgaon. People participating in the AR Interactive Game and had to virtually dunk the boxes of discount into a basket. The more boxes they collected, the more discount they will get in the sale. They could also get extra time with the help of tweets by using a specific hashtag designed for the event. Interactive AR Games is one of the best tools for any brand if they are looking forward to attract audience to their stall. It keeps you one step ahead of your competitors and also advertises your brand through word of mouth. All Myntra did was rent this AR Interactive Game from Tagbin to stay in the game. As a result thousands of visitors got attracted to this appealing game strategy and participated in it to get mind-blowing shopping offers.

What are the experiential marketing promotions you have been impressed by? Let us know in the comments!

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Recipe of making an effective experiential marketing campaign:

• Before starting off with the recipe, put all the ingredients together like brand understanding, deliverance, target audience & customer expectations.
• Customer’s feedback on the current experience is the key ingredient we are going to use so gather it as much as possible
• Put ample drops of the brand essence that would fill it with the inevitable aroma of your brand
• Once all this is done.. Remember the following-
• Add the right venue to the pan that would attract a large number of the the target audience. 
• Holidays and seasonality ingredients are necessary for this recipe
• Put a drop of surprise and mix well
• New ingredients like live streaming is available in the market. Make use of them. 
• You can experiment with your recipe by adding VR experiences if available. 
• Stir slowing so as to involve as many senses as possible. 
• Take partnership from other brands that would complement your dish. 
• Now the dish is ready..
• Don’t have it alone.. There may be other people who would want to grab a bite so share it with them through social media platforms.

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