Jury Speak: What Bausch & Lomb's Sanjay Bhutani Expects From Nominees

Jury member Sanjay Bhutani, Managing Director - India & SAARC, Bausch & Lomb, speaks to Everything Experiential in this exclusive interaction to outline the importance of experiential marketing, best practices for brands looking to create experiential elements for their customers, upcoming industry trends in 2024 among much more.

Excerpts:

What according to you makes experiential marketing a pivotal function in a brand’s marketing strategy?

Experiential marketing is pivotal in a brand's strategy because it creates direct, immersive connections with consumers, fostering emotional engagement and brand loyalty. By offering memorable experiences, brands can differentiate themselves, generate word-of-mouth marketing, and gain valuable insights into consumer preferences and behaviour, ultimately driving long-term success.

As a Juror, what do you expect from the nominees for this year's awards?

As a juror, I expect nominees for this year's awards to demonstrate innovation, creativity, and excellence in their respective fields. I look for clear evidence of impact, originality and adherence to relevant criteria or standards. Additionally, I anticipate nominees to showcase integrity, authenticity and a commitment to ethical practices. Clear communication of achievements, supported by compelling evidence or testimonials, is also crucial in the evaluation process. Overall, I seek nominees who have made significant contributions to their industries or communities and whose work exemplifies the highest standards of excellence and integrity.

What are the key objectives of your brand’s experiential marketing initiatives?

By aligning experiential marketing initiatives with these key objectives, brands can effectively engage consumers, differentiate themselves in the market, and drive long-term success.

According to you, what are the best practices brands should keep in mind when designing experiential marketing campaigns?

In designing experiential marketing campaigns, brands should prioritise understanding their audience, setting clear objectives, creating memorable experiences, integrating technology thoughtfully, ensuring consistency across touchpoints, encouraging active participation, providing value to participants, measuring results, remaining flexible, and prioritising safety and security throughout the process.

What trends do you foresee taking the forefront in this realm as we head into 2024?

As we enter 2024, trends in experiential marketing will likely revolve around hybrid experiences blending physical and virtual elements, sustainability-focused initiatives, personalised interactions at scale, immersive technologies like AR and VR (augmented and virtual reality), interactive storytelling techniques, increased emphasis on emotional engagement, integration of live streaming and social media, and continued prioritisation of health and safety measures amidst the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.