For sales-hungry retailers, brands and advertisers, Christmas is the busiest event on the calendar. Right now, most marketers are gearing their strategies towards holiday-themed events and festive campaigns, and with little over a month to go before Santa arrives with a warm “Ho, Ho, Ho”, now is the time to sprinkle a little extra sparkle over your marketing efforts.
Here we’ll explore some of the key benefits experiential marketing brings, along with how your brand can win the hearts and minds of new customers before the year is out.
What is Experiential Marketing?
Simply put, experiential marketing is a way for today’s brands to engage with their target audience and create a memorable lifestyle experience that differentiates their product or service from the vast competition. Whereas more traditional methods have seen event promoters handing out free samples in popular department stores, fast forward to 2018 and experiential marketing has evolved for the better – with a much wider scope of ideas.
From tech-centered displays and product demonstrations, to calendar themed events, fun activities and entertainment: modern day marketers are constantly exploring smart tactics to excite and engage with their end users.
Experiential marketing is also about the execution of campaigns that appeal to the consumer’s five senses: smell, touch, taste, sight and sound. Take Reese’s latest Halloween concept, also known as the ‘candy-converter’.
Their October ’18 campaign involved the peanut butter giant researching how Americans feel about unwanted Halloween candy. After discovering that 90% of American trick-or-treaters would gladly trade in their old candy for a taste of Reese’s infamous peanut butter cups, a clever marketing concept was born. Their secret ingredient to success? By placing candy-filled vending machines in well populated locations, Reese’s were able to increase brand awareness and encourage a high level of public interaction in the process.
Boost Customer Engagement Over the Holidays
Whether your brand already has a loyal following or you’re currently in the process of attracting new customers, experiential marketing is certainly a tried and tested route when it comes to fostering that all important ‘human connection’. Holiday timing will work in your brand’s favour if the goal is increase product awareness and boost sales with a holiday-themed event.
An article on Marketing Dive recently reported that experiential campaigns can be a game-changer in terms of shifting consumer behavior around the festive period.
And with people continuously finding new ways to spend, your event will serve them a relevant purpose – to give shoppers a well-earned break from gift-hunting while redirecting their attention and fostering brand activations as a welcome outcome.
Encore Nationwide: Event Marketing done Right
So whether you’re preparing to host an exclusive one-off event and need the gold standard of event staff, or professional support is required to secure a seamless brand activation, here at Encore Nationwide we have all of your resources covered, including access to our own cultivated talent database of over 40 thousand event ready personnel, logistics and support on the big day. All that’s left for you to do is eat, drink and be merry – The Holidays will soon be here!
Larry Hess
CEO/Owner
Encore Nationwide, Inc.