Find the way to their heart

Intro

Tech gurus and business experts have been telling us for a few years: the Information Era is coming to an end. Thanks to mobile screens and wireless Internet everywhere, we’re entering a new paradigm. Welcome to the Age of Experience.

In a world driven by experience, we need to re-evaluate the way we think about marketing. People just don’t want to get hundreds of mediocre ads forced down their throats anymore, they want to experience a real connection with your brand. And that’s where experiential marketing comes in.

So, you’ve heard a lot about experiential marketing, but it all sounds a bit, well… vague? Let’s make it real!

Start a love affair with your audience

In short, experiential marketing or engagement marketing is a strategy that engages customers to connect with your brand on a deeper level. Consumers are no longer passive receivers of messages but are actively involved in the production and co-creation of your story.

By creating memories based on unforgettable experiences, a well-thought-out experiential marketing campaign boosts customer loyalty and encourages customers to act as brand ambassadors – sharing their experiences with their followers on social media and in real life.

Today, experiential marketing is a hot topic among marketers. And that’s because it actually works. In fact, in a recent study, 93% of consumers said that brand experiences are more influential than TV or internet ads. Moreover, 70% of those who engage in an experiential marketing event becomes a regular customer.

93%of consumers said brand experiences are more influential than TV or internet ads.

74%of consumers said when a company launches experiential content, they form a more positive attitude towards the company.

70%of people who enage in an experiential marketing event become a regular customer.

strong>98%of people who attend an experiential event report they are more inclined to purchase a product from the company.

3 key elements every experiential marketing campaign should contain

So how do you start a love affair with your audience? Although every experiential marketing campaign is different, these are the keys to make it a success:

• Sensations: Creating memories based on experiences depends on emotion. And emotion itself is strongly linked to the senses. Think about the complementary slice of sausage the butcher gave you as a kid: sensations have a strong impact on brand perception. So think outside the box and look for a creative way to offer you audience the sensory experience of their lives.
• Interaction: It takes two to tango. Engagement marketing is all about establishing a connection with your audience. And what better way to connect with people than to interact with them? Organising a hands-on event is a nice way for your audience to get involved with your brand. You can offer free samples, run competitions, or organise a concert. Whatever gets the conversation going.
• Creativity: No one remembers your typical dime-a-dozen marketing campaigns. Free samples in your local supermarket, a lengthy newsletter about your accomplishments? They’re kind of like cheese sandwiches. Nice, but boring! Your experiential marketing event needs to be the talk of the town. So organize a brain storm with the whole team and come up with a quirky way to attract attention.

A real-life romance: Impermo vinyl and the skaters

At Handlangers, we like putting our marketing creativity to the test. That’s why we decided to set up an experiential marketing campaign with the Belgian flooring distributor Impermo.

In 2019, Impermo launched VYGO, a new brand of vinyl floors that are impressively strong, easy to install and have a timeless appeal. To start the launch off with a bang, Impermo teamed up with us to organize an unforgettable event.

The idea? Simple, yet brilliant (if we do say so ourselves). We wanted to draw attention VYGO’s unique selling point: strength. So, a rollerskating rink was built using VYGO. Over a period of 5 weeks, we asked 10.000 people to come skate with us. The result? The customers loved it and the vinyl remained intact.