Marketing…a Quiver of Specialty Arrows

When all you have is a hammer, every obstacle looks like a nail.

The concept of Maslow’s hammer can be seen in many avenues of life. To us, it’s most apparent in marketing.

Agencies will pitch their specialty as the solution to a marketing or advertising challenge…often with little or no regard for the actual needs and expectations of the brand or the campaign. Broadcasting, rebranding, websites, social media, narrow-casting, print ads, digital ads, PPC, SEO, etc. All of these builders, with all of these hammers, seeing nothing but nails all the way to the horizon.

We prefer to look at marketing from a holistic vantage point…instead of wielding hammers, we’ve got a quiver of arrows like DC Comics’ character Green Arrow. Each part of an experiential campaign is a different specialty arrow, fired with expert precision to address a specific need…achieving a particular goal.

Do you want a way to maintain brand vitality, relevance, and drive sales? Of course you do! Here are 9 ways Experiential Marketing is the quiver of multi-tool specialty arrows to hit the mark for your brand!

1. Experiential Marketing Sets You Apart – With the world going completely tech, it’s getting harder and harder to grab your customer’s attention. After being constantly bombarded with advertising message after advertising message, it’s easy to become numb and to stop paying attention. Having face-to-face interactions with real people breaks through the clutter and engages your customer. This helps build your brand relevance and leaves a lasting impact on your costumer.
2. Experiential Marketing Gives You A Chance To Tell Your Brand’s Story – Experiential marketing offers the opportunity to have a meaningful one-on-one experience with your customers (and vice-versa). It opens up a two-way conversation where you get to discover your customer’s opinions, what they like and don’t like, and what they would like to see in the future. Having this genuine moment with your customer will go a long way in building and maintaining a lifelong relationship with them.
3. Experiential Marketing Brings Your Product To Life – One of the biggest downfalls to passive marketing is that customers can’t experience the product. They can’t try it out themselves without paying for it first. Many companies lose customers this way. With experiential marketing programs, you can bring the product out from their digital screens and into their hands! When customers can actually have an experience with your brand and product first, they get to build memories with you and your product.
4. Experiential Marketing Drives Sales – Experiential marketing programs have been proven to create awareness and influence, and most importantly, it is the strongest driver of purchase intent. The tactic of live, face-to-face programs has the greatest impact on a customer’s follow-through of purchasing your product and staying loyal to your brand. Companies are increasingly turning towards experiential marketing to drive their sales rather than just increasing awareness.
5. Experiential Marketing ROI In Real-Time – There are numerous ways to track your experiential ROI (return on investment). One of the best tools at your disposal is the easily correlated feedback from a specific engagement. You can track your brand’s success in real-time and make adjustments where needed to improve your strategy and continue to maximize your ROI.
6. Experiential Marketing Deepens Emotional Connections – Isn’t it every company’s wish to have a deep connection with their customers? We know experiential marketing achieves that goal. When you give your customers the opportunity to be apart of your brand by having a demonstration or event, you create a bond between you and your customer. You get to know them – and even better – they get to know you! Your customers will have an experience with your brand and product that they will want to share with their friends and family.
7. Experiential Marketing Creates Content – By utilizing an experiential marketing campaign, you can grow your content ten-fold! You can have video testimonials from your face-to-face customers which can be used in online advertisements and event footage in your commercials. Future customers will see you have opportunities for them to experience your brand first hand and they will be more inclined to scope out your social media sites to read about shared experiences.
8. Experiential Marketing Extends Your Reach – One of the best things about experiential marketing is the control you have over extending your reach to your targeted audience by being able to pick and choose specific events and venues for your programs. This reduces reaching out to the wrong people and helps create a more efficient and targeted program.
9. Experiential Marketing is Integrated – With an experiential strategy, your brand is able to take all of those hammers from the other marketers and turn them into trick arrows as well. Integrating print, digital, social, and the rest into your brand’s experiential campaign serves to hit all the targets, creating something that is much larger than the sum of its parts.

Experiential marketing is a powerful tool that allows your brand to get face-to-face with your customers! Stop blindly swinging hammer after hammer. Start using some trick arrows!