‘Experiential Marketing’ - What Does It Really Mean?

You may have heard the term ‘experiential marketing’ floating about a lot recently. It’s the buzz word that everyone says and marketers all want to do some “experiential marketing”. But what does it really mean within the marketing and advertising community?

There’s little difference between experiential marketing, experiential advertising or experiential brand activation. Essentially, it’s a promotional technique used to engage an audience with a brand without them knowing it; cunning right? The techniques contribute to something known as brand activation. The best are those that stir genuine, positive emotions in people, hence why fun, immersive and memorable brand events prosper. Benefits arise in the future when people begin associating certain emotions felt at the event with a brand. Let me provide an example. SWC Partnership, a full service marketing agency worked with the airline, Eurowings, to host an interactive slow motion booth in which videos were shot of people who had attended the event. Props and strong visual backgrounds were used to create a fun, quirky, and unique experience. Take a look here:

One famous content marketing campaign of the last 5 years you may remember was the Red Bull, Felix Baumgartner, ‘Stratos Jump’, where Baumgartner jumped to Earth from a helium balloon in the Stratosphere. Crazy, memorable, genius! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYw4meRWGd4. The event was amazing for those who live streamed, but perhaps lacking in physical involvement; something that couldn’t be said for the Adidas ‘D Rose Jump Store’ in London. Fans could win a free pair of trainers providing they could knock them off the shelf, which happened to be 10ft in the air. It was a relevant, exciting and memorable experience for all who took part. https://vimeo.com/99136533

Where the ‘D Rose Jump Store’ was a strong campaign, the lack of physical involvement in the ‘Stratos Jump’ meant it was treading the fine line of just a PR stunt – history suggests physical involvement is crucial in the success of this style of campaign.

The future looks bright for experiential marketing; especially when campaigns are integrated with digital elements to help measure campaign deliverables and KPIs.

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