According to an Eventbrite survey, 65% of millennials prefer to spend their money on experiences than material goods. As a result, your brand must find new ways to connect with your customer base in order to stand out.
Experiential marketing allows your brand to connect with customers in a more interactive, meaningful and engaging way. Experiential marketing and interactivity activities that focuses on increasing audience engagement can be the foundation to stronger customer relationships.
Here are a few experiential activity ideas to help increase audience engagement at your next event:
1. Immerse attendees
When launching a new product, it’s great to put your product in front of your target audience. However, showcasing the product and listing its features to attendees is an ineffective event marketing tactic as customers don’t like to feel as if they’re being pressured to purchase. Instead, consider ways attendees can experience your product.
When Huawei released their P30 Pro smartphone, they wanted to demonstrate the phone’s incredible functionality abilities, specifically, how the front-facing camera allows for high-quality detail and colour in low light conditions. Utilising our Impact event container, they created a darkroom and invited guests to take the perfect selfie in the dark.
2. Get influencers on board
A recent study found 92% of consumers trust influencers more than they do advertisements. Therefore, getting influencers on board with your event is a great way to boost visibility, attendance numbers and overall anticipation. By associating your brand with influencers, their fanbase is likely to become your fans too.
In 2019, Chi Chi London were the official sponsors of the Epsom Derby Investec Ladies’ Day Style Awards. As part of the sponsorship, using our Gallery Plus event shipping container, the fashion brand hosted a “Save Your Feet” station where attendees could swap their heels for a more comfortable option. Helping promote the station and the brand’s latest range of evening dresses were several fashion influencers and celebrities, including Jorgie Porter and Lucy Fallen
3. Hand out memorabilia
Event memorabilia is a great way to get people to remember the event for years to come, helping solidify the connection between your brand and attendees. Event memorabilia is also a great way to drive brand awareness beyond the day of the event. As customers continue to use their souvenirs, they’re continuing to endorse your brand.
When Dr Martens brought their legendary DM Boot Room stage to Field Day festival this year, they hosted a brand activation area where fans could print their own tote bag for free while learning more about the brand and its music heritage. This gave fans something personal to take away and remember the event and the brand.
4. Host a photobooth
We’re living in the smartphone era, where people want to capture their memories and share them online with their friends. Hosting a photobooth is a positive experience that gets customers talking about your brand offline and online.
As part of their “Keep the Good Times Going” campaign, Now TV sponsored Goodwood Racecourse’s Three Friday Nights and hosted a brand activation at each event. Utilising our Studio Premium event shipping container, the activation included a photo capture experience, encouraging fans to interact with the brand and share branded content to social media. After sharing the content on social media, the user received a still print of their experience to further maximise brand reach.
5. Play a game
Everyone loves getting stuck into a good game or competition. By creating a branded play zone, you allow attendees to release their inner child and unwind. By hosting a game, attendees will remember you as the brand that brought fun and laughter to the event. Montblanc’s TimeWalker collection is inspired by the performance and spirit of motor racing.
As the official timing partner of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Montblanc hosted a brand activation at the event using our Statement event shipping container cluster. The activation included a gaming station where contenders could race on a virtual racecourse and battle for the number one leadership board spot. The game showcased the inspiration behind the timepiece collection in a fun and engaging way.