Technology

Experiential marketing: The best practices that can maximize your reach and ROI

Joe Ford

In New York, you will hardly find a business that invests in digital marketing only. Most entrepreneurs have realized that print marketing and digital advertising platforms are not enough to make an impression on the millennial and Gen Z consumers. Even the Baby Boomers are now looking for something more than the proverbial “sell and forget” strategies that veteran brands have used this far.

The consumers want to connect with the brands they use before they can pledge their loyalty. The craving for something more tangible has led to the birth of experiential marketing in New York and other cities of the US. Engagement marketing adds value to each consumer, and events are the best instruments to execute that. With the rampant success of event-based marketing tactics, thousands of brands and marketing agencies are coming up with experiential marketing strategies to engage their target consumers.

However, like all methods of marketing, experiential marketing also has a few best practices. Adhering to them can maximize the chances of your brand and event’s success.

How do you think the target audience would feel when they see a healthcare brand dole out brownies and ice cream during an event? There should be a parity between your brand’s image and the experience you are offering to the participants.

A healthcare brand is more likely to give our free, low-fat, gluten-free recipes. Or offer free on-spot registration for healthcare apps for mobile users.

You need to ensure that your consumers have positive memories that lead them back to your brand. That is one of the primary aims of experiential marketing.

  • Always take steps to measure success

When you are investing money in any marketing campaign, you should have ways to monitor and quantify success. If your marketing agency tells you that engagement marketing is only qualitative, you need to begin looking for another New York experiential marketing agency.

Specific KPIs of experiential marketing is always measurable. These include brand affinity, brand recall, brand recognition, lead generation, and conversion rates. It is true that measuring the ROI is not as direct as it is for digital marketing or print advertising, but you can eventually quantify your ROI by monitoring the metrics that influence it.

  • Create an urgency among the target consumers

The very idea of mobile truck stores and pop-up shops inspire a sense of limited opportunity amidst the interested shoppers. Netflix is one of the pioneers of creating urgency by pushing the “because you watched” experience. The stunt not only gave it a sense of exclusivity but also skyrocketed the value of tickets just over a year ago (June 2018).

People are not only afraid to miss out on a limited time offer, but they are also scared to miss the opportunity to share it with their friends and family. Social media plays a critical role in creating and nurturing the air of exclusivity during all experiential events.

  • Find your partner

Modern marketing is becoming incredibly exciting. Experiential marketing is witnessing non-competing brands with overlapping target crowds collaborate to create exclusive events for their audience.

When you finally find a company with an overlapping target market, you can strike up a symbiotic relationship, provided you are not offering the same products. Investing in a collaborated creative marketing can help both of you reach new markets.

One of the most successful collaborative stunts in the recent past is Google and Zappos’ #PayWithACupcake marketing event.

  • Don’t forget social media

Standing in 2019, it would be foolish to ignore the power of social media. No matter what your product or service is, you should inform the target audience about the event beforehand. That will ensure the efficient promotion of your New York-based campaign. If people don’t know where and when to go to the event, you might find yourself standing in an empty field.

Encourage your participants to share photos and videos with branded hashtags from the spot. Social media can keep your experiential marketing campaign alive through the ripple effect long after it’s over. It can set up the premise for your next marketing event. Do not forget to intimate your marketing team about your desire for social media promotions early-on during the planning phase.

Experiential marketing is a combination of several existing and new marketing tools to create a wholesome experience for the audience. The goal of every experiential marketing campaign should be to create a memorable and exclusive event for the participants that they can relate to the brand and share on social media easily.

Keeping the five best practices of experiential marketing can help you set up an invasive campaign that can reach the furthest corners of your target market in New York City and the suburbs.