Interact, Engage, Evoke: Brands Leveraging Experiential Marketing

Praveen Kumarr Sahni Sep 16, 2022

The success of a business is most often seen as a quantified analysis of its profit, growth, new customer base, and some other parameters of achievement. However, lately, as the world moved at lightning speed to adopt all things online, businesses needed to pivot to new hotspots to determine their success. Then whether it was digitalisation, online reputation, or engaging with the consumer to build loyalty – each became equally important in defining successful businesses.

The waves of pandemic over the last couple of years were harbingers of change for organisations looking to explore hitherto uncharted waters, offering opportunities to transform at a pace like never before, and of finding new innovative ways of staying connected with their consumers, which they did with great gusto. They had their Eureka! moment when they discovered new-age marketing tools that enhanced demand, sales, and consumer base. The icing on the cake was an enhanced consumer experience and engagement.

So, what’s this magic wand marketers all over the globe are in hot pursuit of? It’s interaction in a real-world situation with consumers, aka Experiential Marketing. According to “Hubspot Blog’s 2022 Marketing Industry Trends Report” marketers believe experiential marketing is one of the most effective tools and are growing their investments in this space to create a closer connect with their customers to help establish bonds that may otherwise be challenging.

So, what exactly does experiential marketing do? It creates a unique experience for customers with a guaranteed return on investment on their time and is therefore seen as one of the most successful ways for brand activation as it makes customers feel valued and engaged with the brand. Marketers know that the strongest motivator driving purchase decisions is how the buyer feels about the brand. As per reports, 83 per cent of consumers are more inclined toward the brands they feel emotionally connected to, and experiential marketing is by far the best way to do this.

It is interesting to note that just like individuals, every brand also has its own story, history, personality, and relationships, which are built on the experience consumers have had with the brand. The oldest, most traditional, way of experiential marketing is using associations, organising and sponsoring events to give unique, memorable, and enjoyable experiences to customers, thereby resulting in a positive rub-off for the brand as well as gaining brand loyalty.

The paradigm shift in consumer behaviour and engagement has spurred newer experiential tools. Used well, these are a powerful tool in the armour of a successful marketing person as brands closely watch ROIs and want the biggest bang for their buck. Take, for instance, experiential retail stores – they create an immersive and shareable experience, prioritise customer engagement, stimulate customer senses, and help nurture communities. A beautiful example of this is The Hab by Usha, an innovative experiential store that offers its audience a fresh and contemporary perspective of the world of sewing, offering a diverse range of experiences that encourage learning and creativity through workshops, demos, and store exhibits, across all age groups.

The need for experiential marketing:

Authentic & Exclusive

People crave uniqueness and authenticity, and experiential marketing lends to both. As people get involved and invested in a brand, it also helps drive the positioning narrative of the brand in the market. Experiential marketing generates fresh awareness and creates a meaningful image of the brand.

Custom-made

Creating unique experiences is the best way for a brand to get closer to customers and make them feel special. Personalisation is a vital component of experiential marketing – customised invitations, branded goods, and curated one-on-one interactions with brand representatives at company stores or experiential zones – all these help create an immersive journey for the customer creating a positive long-term impact.

Inexpensive

Traditional marketing is a laborious and lengthy process that needs huge sums of money to execute. However, with the new-age experiential marketing avenues, smart marketers can achieve the brands’ goals and let people know about their brand’s presence at a fraction of the cost.

As a sewing machine company, we have seen the impact of our sewing demos and DIY workshops – these have a Wow! factor as customers realises the creative potential of the modern-day sewing machine. Moreover, online content and sewing tutorials, further help generate interest in sewing adding to the ever-growing customer base for the category.

Engaging

In the post-pandemic environment as people are still finding their way back to ‘normalcy’, experiential marketing is a powerful way to reconnect with customers. While offline experiences have a long-lasting impact, experts believe that digital/online experiences can be equally engaging if curated well and spark the same engagement as offline experiential style.

Social media platforms and digital realms have taken over every other form of consumption/engagement thanks to their omnipresence, and on-the-go nature. This is exactly what experiential marketers leverage for brands, allowing customers to engage, connect and spark interesting experiences, and more, in ways unimaginable before. Needless to say, experiential marketing has become a pivotal part of marketing strategy to build a stronger brand image and a community of loyal fan base.