Experiential Marketing: Marketing a Brand Experience

In the era of technology, transmitting a life experience is now as easy as a simple upload. Thanks to YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, we can share images, videos, and thoughts with people in completely different hemispheres in the blink of an eye. On-the-go professional grade tools like GoPros and cell phones with HD video capability have made Internet media more professional than ever. But when it seems like even the amateur has the ability to create professional media, what are the true media gurus to do?

Change things up, of course.

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 Here at Campaign Creators, we’re always on the watch for new media campaign tactics. Media and marketing have gone hand in hand for as long as the two have been around; using an image, sound, jingle, or catchphrase is clockwork for the marketer. One of the coolest trends that we’ve caught on to lately is something the marketing world likes to call “Experiential Marketing,” or marketing a brand experience.

So what is experiential marketing?

Experiential marketing, in the most simple of terms, is using a physical, real-life experience to market a brand. Think of it as marketing a brand experience outside of your TV or computer screen. Companies combine pop-up shops & lifestyle marketing to create a real world advertisement.

If you’re a bit confused, check out this 2013 Adidas commercial to see what I mean:

This is probably one of the most innovative ways of marketing a brand experience I’ve ever seen. Adidas goes the typical spokesperson route, enlisting well-known basketballer Derrick Rose to draw in a screaming crowd—but there’s a twist: they give their audience the ability to not only meet Mr. Rose, but show him how high they can jump for a chance to win a pair of his signature shoes. As you can see, a row of shoes (in varying sizes) lines the wall exactly 10 feet up (the height of a league size basketball hoop). The task is simple: if you can touch them, they’re yours.

Adidas jumps into marketing a brand experience by creating personal connection with their audience. They link to not only the fans outside of their pop-up shop, but also those watching their commercial. By documenting the jump attempts, successes, and failures of each participant, the brand is using the emotion of both the athletic and human experience to their advantage.

Another awesome example of marketing a brand experience lies in this Coke Zero commercial:

In 2012, Coke Zero & 007 came together to promote the new James Bond Skyfall movie. Commuters in a crowded train station who approached a Coke Zero machine were given the opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the Skyfall premiere. Those who accepted were asked to enter their name, and unbeknownst to them, given 70 seconds to reach Platform 6 of the station. In true James Bond fashion, the contestants had to run through a series of planned but seemingly real-life obstacles before finally singing the James Bond tune to unlock the tickets. 

Coke Zero succeeded in marketing a brand experience, not only did this type of event create positive brand publicity, but it also engaged commercial watchers. Seeing the participants run, stumble upon, and surpass the fictional obstacles was both funny and exciting. Like Adidas, Coke Zero used the emotion of human experience to develop what would hopefully be a long lasting memory of their brand. Not only were they marketing their product; they were marketing a brand experience that represented innovation, honesty, and most-importantly, fun.

Why experiential marketing?

Marketing a brand experience involves a bit more preparation and work than a typical print or social media campaign, but the results are often exponentially more successful. An experiential-marketing-turned-PR-stunt by Blinkbox (a type of British Netflix) reported a 632% year-on-year revenue increase when they planted a fabricated dragon skeleton on a beach in Dorset, England, in an effort to mimic a scene from the popular TV show, Game of Thrones.

To get back to the core of this article, staying innovative in the current market is a tough task. This is why experiential marketing and marketing a brand experience over marketing a specific product has taken off in recent years. Staying creative is staying one step ahead. With all of the tools at our finger tips these days, it’s as simple as finding stronger ways to connect with your audience. 

How can I jump on the experiential marketing bandwagon?

Get out, make an event of your business. It seems nowadays that the best way of marketing a brand experience is showing your audience what they’ve never experienced before.

To keep up with the most current experiential marketing examples, check out Experiential Marketing News. These guys do a great job of keeping us up to speed with the most recent examples of life-size marketing.

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