Why experiential marketing is on the rise?

Think about how many advertisements you see when surfing the internet, billboards while driving, and commercials while watching television. How many of those advertisements could you recall right now? Chances are you probably cannot recall a lot due to the huge clutter and lack of interaction. This presents a challenge as well as an opportunity for marketers to advertise their products aptly.

Technology and social media have made it easier for companies to market their products to their consumer in some ways. However, these marketing tactics lack the connection and interaction that makes a lasting impression on a consumer. Hence, creating a way for experiential marketing.

Experiential marketing is a strategy that engages the customer and creates real-life experience that will be remembered. Companies utilizing this strategy want to help customers form memorable, emotional connections with a brand to foster customer loyalty and improve relation.

The premise of experiential marketing is to create a closer bond between the consumer and the brand by immersing them in a fun and memorable experience.

The most rewarding benefit of this marketing strategy is the way in which it drives word-of-mouth advertising. A research conducted by Google, Ogilvy, and McKinsey shows that consumers are influenced more by word-of-mouth when making purchasing decisions than they are by print media, television, movies, and brand websites. In fact, “experiential brand experience is the most powerful form of word-of-mouth driving activity for 50 to 80% in any given product category.”

Khushroo Kekobad, Director, Live On Stage Entertainment Private Limited, believes that experiential marketing uses creative solutions to help brands reach their objectives through the channel of experiences and people engagement.

He says, “Experiential marketing has the ability to transform the connections brands build with their consumers.Experiences have the power to move people emotionally and gain their loyalty in a way that static marketing doesn’t. Brands with limited marketing budgets carry out effective experiential experiences.”

According to him,experiences also create more credibility for an event, as well as helps brands to plan around a definite number of attendees.

Siddhartha Chaturvedi, Founder and CEO, Event Crafter shares how experiential marketing is important for the Digital media. He said, "We are entering times when marketers are in extreme pressure to display the judicious return on every penny of investments and moreso the objectives of those investments. Experiences are the most fluid form of marketing and it is this flexibility of environment and tools one can plug and play according to the need of the hour is where it scores above the traditional media. Even digital in silos is not effective as much till the time you add some experience to it which can be both virtual or on ground.”

Further mentioning experiential marketing’s relationship with the youth, he added,“The youth today wants to only spend on experiences than any other material pleasures is another reason brands need to be seen talking the language youth relates to. Experiential marketing is also hyper local than no other media and most impactful too. Hence you will see its growth trajectory going healthy and upwards only”.

The challenge of changing the way businesses interact with a generation that demands personalization will span every industry. Segmentation and demographic-based outreach has powered marketing departments for generations. The market is rapidly changing, and hence there are changes in marketing approaches of advertisers.

A clear path for happier and more loyal customers is investing in experiential marketing and organizations that don’t take that path will lose ground to competitors that develop a deeper understanding of customers not only at the demographic level, but at the individual level. Organizations that do this effectively will enjoy longer, more fruitful relationships with the customer of the future.