Are you looking for something unique and fun to complement your traditional marketing tactics? Sure, those email campaigns and radio ads still may work to bring in new customers, but there’s only so much you can do with them.
If you’re looking for a way to wow potential customers and make them remember your brand, consider doing an experiential advertising campaign. But what is that exactly?
Well, simply put, it’s a way of marketing that lets your target audience experience your brand by involving them. This can be as simple as setting up a physical booth downtown to let the public vote on your next product by pushing buttons. It could be as complex as Refinery29’s 29Rooms exhibit.
Of course, there are a million ideas that fall in between these two.
Do you want some more inspiration? Keep reading to discover 7 experiential advertising ideas that will get your customers talking.
1. Take the Focus off Your Products
Alright, so this may be a little hard to wrap your mind around. After all, the whole point of advertising is to help sell your products, right?
Well, experiential advertising is a little different. You don’t need to put the focus on a specific product or products in general.
Instead, you just want to make sure it encapsulates the energy of your brand while giving the public something to remember. When they have a positive experience with your campaign, they’ll be more likely to remember your brand. That means there’s an increased chance they hop on your website to learn more, which will increase your bottom line.
2. Make It Positive and Personal
It’s no secret that brand loyalty is important. And one of the best ways to increase your brand loyalty is by helping customers connect with your company in a positive and personal way.
This can be a long process when you’re only using traditional marketing techniques. But experiential advertising makes this much easier.
Keep your campaign lighthearted and fun. If possible, ask for audience input.
For example, Lean Cuisine asked people walking by for meaningful alternatives they want to weight themselves by. People came up with all sorts of answers, including love and work ethic.
This was a great way to put a positive spin on body weight and weigh-ins, which can be upsetting and frustrating for many people.
3. Offer Prizes
Who doesn’t love free stuff? Offering prizes actually does a few different things.
First, the possibility of winning something convinces more people to stop by the demonstration. Secondly, it helps encourage that positivity (especially for those lucky winners). Lastly, it gives those who won something physical to remember your brand by.
Of course, your prizes don’t have to be overly expensive. You can give away t-shirts, keychains, and the like. You also don’t need a complicated way to choose prize winners.
Guinness did a great job employing this idea. They set up shop at a bar and told guests that all they had to do was order a pint of Guinness to participate. Then, they’d shake a tablet to reveal the prize.
You could also add an air of mystery here. Ship boxes of mystery prizes to some lucky winners, so they can relive their experience and be reminded of your brand days or weeks later. You can learn more info about this idea here.
4. Use the Latest Technology
There are so many impressive gadgets out there today, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they can be a real crowd pleaser. Using the latest technology is a sure-fire way to wow your potential customers.
While the options are limitless, two of the best ideas involve 3D printing and virtual reality. You can call volunteers from a crowd to print something using a 3D printer (like when Oreo has participants 3D print a cookie) or immerse them in a VR experience related to your brand.
If they’ve never used this technology before, it’s sure to stick in their mind for quite a while. Even those who have will enjoy another chance to play with the latest technology.
5. Put on a Show
Have you ever seen a street performer in a big city? Chances are, there was already a crowd formed by the time you got there.
You can use this as inspiration for your next experiential advertising campaign. Set up a show or performance in a busy area of your city.
But don’t just stop there. Get the crowd involved.
If your company centers around art, hire a street artist to do free caricatures of passersby. If your company is all about the wow factor, hire stuntmen to do tricks while jumping over crowd volunteers.
6. Partner Up
There’s a reason big-name musicians can charge top dollar for concert tickets and backstage passes. People are thrilled to see their idols in person.
Consider who your target audience looks up to. This could be a celebrity, or it could be a certain vlogger, artist, or social media personality.
Partner up with them for your next experiential advertising campaign to really draw the crowd in. Of course, you can also offer meet-and-greet opportunities and photo ops for those who attend.
7. Bring Your Company to Life
Does your company have something interesting or meaningful to show? People will immediately feel more connected with your brand if they get a chance to experience that in real life.
A great example is when 20th Century Fox turned several 7-Eleven stores into Kwik-E Marts while advertising the new Simpsons movie in 2007.
Another one is GE’s Healthymagination initiative, which promoted global healthcare solutions. They created various “movie sets” that depicted some places Healthymagination was involved in, such as an urban clinic and a rural African clinic. Then they had doctors share their stories on these sets.
Think about how you can bring the most meaningful or iconic parts of your brand to life.
Experiential Advertising Tips
If you’re bored of the same old advertising campaigns, it may be time to shake things up. Just follow our tips to create an unforgettable experiential advertising campaign that’s sure to bring in more customers and increase your bottom line.
Are you always on the lookout for more great ideas? Then, check out our business advice blog page today!