There was a time when the major focus of budgets relied mainly on distribution to score an edge. Today, in this competitive scenario, innovative marketing campaigns are stealing the thunder. It is more of a ‘pull’ strategy that the brands are looking to create so as to generate customer loyalty. The ultimate aim then becomes to retain the customer and make him loyal, such that he doesn’t settle for Product B, if Product A isn’t available.
As per industry reports, more than three quarters of the money and time invested by major brands, goes towards acquiring new customers and subsequently retaining the same. From a seller’s marketplace, it has transformed today into a lively, customer-centric scenario, where a WOW factor is the buzzword. Experiential marketing effectively helps in customer retention and offers a high recall value. And if you’re lucky, this customer becomes your new brand ambassador.
A dynamic step forward
The convergence of experiential and digital could represent one of the most important steps forward in modern marketing. It is little secret that today’s consumers are demanding a much more personal relationship with the brands they choose, and this has been a key factor in the rise of experiential marketing. Experiential campaigns have a lot to thank the digital world for. Most digital campaigns are now seamlessly integrated on-ground. When digital and experiential campaigns are integrated, experiential gives digital the ability to master proximity, and digital gives experiential the power to extend its reach and add value for both the brand and the consumer.
Says Vineet Gupta, Managing Partner, 22 Feet Digital, “There was a time when anonymity was the mantra of the digital world. Aliases were always sought after. But with the rise and rise of social media, everyone knows who you are, what you do, where you stay, what exactly you’re doing. Your opinions are being heard, broadcast and shared, and this is a make-or-break for brands. If even one consumer does not like the experience you provide him, he has all the liberty to showcase it on the social media.”
The convergence of experiential and digital could represent one of the most important steps forward in modern marketing. It is little secret that today’s consumers are demanding a much more personal relationship with the brands they choose, and this has been a key factor in the rise of experiential marketing. People are now less concerned about brands violating privacy laws and bombarding them with promotional emailers, because they are engaging with brands they trust, thus the experiences are now richer and more dynamic.
Competitive space, smarter consumers
Every day, there are several products that are being launched. To make matters complex, there is category creation. Products are becoming congested with a lot of display information and features, making it difficult for the customer to distinguish one product from another. This environment is now forcing brand managers to find new ways to create and maintain a relationship between their product or service and the customer. This is where experiential marketing comes into place.
“Customers today are more skeptical than before about mass media marketing campaigns and advertising of claims. They are more aware and have easy access to information,” adds Gupta. Integrating digital media by way of social media campaigns into experiential marketing is not as simple as throwing a link, hashtag or a QR code. The integration of digital communication needs to be seamlessly bonded to provide the brand experience. Brands are now realising the importance of creating a dialogue with the consumers to make them feel heard and validated. The integration of digital media with experiential campaigns thus helps achieve this.
