As bigger brands continue to invest more in experiential activities, they continue to carry out engagement initiatives round the year. Having the importance of engagement recognized, bigger brands plan their calendar well in advance, whereas, mid-sized and smaller brands in terms of market may not find it compelling to take the engagement approach. Big or small, experiential way provides an instant connect with potential consumers that traditional TVCs and ads may not provide.
Although experiential marketing is an added cost to traditional marketers and measurement may not be easy, there are takeaways that provide the right reasons to invest in experiential marketing. Let’s look at some of those reasons that makes engagement important for all brands.
Awareness
There is no other best way to make the masses aware of a product than physically making it available within the reach of potential consumers. As most of us get busy with our lives, we tend to spend the least amount of time watching ads on TV and print to know what a brand has recently launched and the takeaways of a certain product. But, when a brand does an on-ground activity that gets people talking, the chances of spreading awareness among people is much higher, faster than other mediums. It also lets the prospects experience how a product can be part of their lives helping brands achieve more conversions.
Drive Purchasing
India being a market where consumers tend to spend only after careful deliberations and recommendations, it certainly helps to let them experience a product first-hand. The more a brand gains trust by letting prospects experience their products, the more the consumers are likely to make a purchase. Also, when a potential consumer experiences a brand and then visits a local store later, he or she is more likely to recall a brand that they recently engaged with more than other brands. It all boils down to the fact that if a brand has a good product and a potential consumer experiences it, the chances of it getting converted into a purchase goes up.
Cut Through Spamming
We get spammed with marketing so much these days that even electronic mail services like Gmail has a separate tab for promotional content. All it takes for a brand is some creative design, content and a designer to get mailers and promotional materials sent through the digital medium, but the question we must ask ourselves is how many of them get read or even noticed by an user, probably very little. Even the TV and print mediums are littered with marketing materials that we hardly pay attention to a marketing message unless it stands out. Engagement activities cuts through these marketing messages by providing a first hand experience to consumers. It allows a marketer to get the front seat at a show by directly engaging with consumers who are his/her prospects before an attempt to convert them is made.
Feedback Loop
Although social media is a great medium to gather feedback on products, it is often used for conversations that may not establish a clear communication from consumers to brands, moreover chasing credible material might prove difficult given the expanse of social media. Whereas, through experiential activities, brands can actively receive real-time feedback on their products from consumers that they can leverage to improve and innovate. Just like the first hand experience one gets in experiential marketing, brands can get first hand feedback from consumers.
Acquire Credibility
What could be more credible than a brand presenting itself to consumers on the ground. Usually, people see brands as a bunch of corporate employees sitting behind glass walls in some fancy building. But, when brands get involved with the community and reach out to the masses, the relationship gets humanized. The more conversation a brand establishes with its potential consumers, the more the people will feel a connect and find the brand credible, which helps in driving loyalty from consumers eventually leading to long-term conversions.
