Brands are the composite of several variables.
Whether it’s the brand’s messaging, font, or primary colors, there are many factors that go into how the public perceives it. But how can brands distinguish themselves in increasingly saturated markets? By not only attaching a look, name, and message to their brand but also attaching a feel to it. Experiential marketing adds that tangible element.
Over the past 20 years, marketing has undergone a seismic shift: Experiences have become a key component of modern campaigns.
Several factors play into this transformation. The first is the availability of new platforms. Brands use everything from print, radio, and TV to digital, social, and virtual reality to reach their target audiences. Then there’s the ubiquity of analytics. With data readily available, brands know when, where, and how to appeal most to specific demographics.
It’s no surprise that experiential marketing’s popularity has grown. According to an Event Marketer/Mosaic study, 85 percent of consumers buy from a brand after attending one of its events or participating in one of its experiences. On top of that, the same study found that 91 percent of respondents said that positive brand experiences left them with positive feelings about that brand afterward.
When an experiential campaign soars, few people remember the logistics. Attendees focus on the event’s buzz, the overall atmosphere, and how the experience made them feel. They remember the vivid scenery and the engagement components.
Many marketers overlook the coordination necessary to pull such an experience together. Logistics — i.e., scheduling, staffing, and venue management — are the gears that help an activation come together. Clients aren’t likely to focus on them, but they play an important role in bringing programs to life.
The face of experiential marketing’s workforce has changed noticeably in the last quarter century.
When I took my first job in the industry, I was one of a few women I saw working in it. I feel blessed to have entered when I did and worked with the people I have, but I feel just as grateful about the diversity I currently see within the experiential marketing industry. Our workforce is now one where both men and women have the same opportunities to grow and ascend to management positions.
