Added: 2nd November 2016

If your agency or brand isn’t putting experiential at it’s centre then its time to ask why? Before your left in the marketing past!

 

So yet another Institute of Practitioners in Advertising’s (IPA) bellweather report has been released which shows another rise in event marketing budgets for the 12^th successive quarter seeing a predicted 9.9% with experiential and live marketing driving that increase.

We are seeing across the board that consumers are looking for richer and more authentic relationships with brands and one way to deliver that is via experiences and real world marketing. Consumers have changed, the way they communicate has changed now they are looking for deeper brand connections and for the brand to be more than a sound bite or witty one liner. They want deeper engagement and for the brand to become part of their network, direct brand experiences and build real tangible brands in consumers mind.

It’s also been widely reported that more than 3 in 4 millennials (78%) would choose to spend money on a desirable experience or event over buying something desirable today, experience has become king and its also clear to all that if its not worth sharing then its not worth happening, so it’s no surprise that the march of experiential goes on and on. The strength of experience economy has directly translated into the way people want to be marketed to.

And don’t let them tell you it’s all about digital because it’s clear that digitals position at the top of the pile has been supported in many ways by the growth of experiential and vice versa. The two both compliment and amplify the reach of each other and increasing we see that the best campaigns blend the two to create that true 360° activation.

The Content Marketing Institute ‘Content Marketing Survey in 2015’ experiential topped the “most effective marketing tactic” with 72%.

Not only does experiential create outstanding content with authentic engagement but the development of smart technologies, social media have allowed the live activations reach to grow beyond the initial experience, which in turn has resulted in it being far more measurable, accountable and able to show its ROI much easier than in the past, which was once one of the most common objections to the discipline.

Yet I still see agency’s and brands pushing it back down the ladder and viewing it as the add on it once was and not the marketing focus it is today and not investing in this discipline. The desire for live experiences and real world connections has never been stronger.

The Pearlfinders Global Index summed it up “Experiential has come a long way from the sample-driven add-on it once represented. It has become a key player within brands’ marketing communications and this growth looks set to continue.” 

So its  the out-dated notion and sticking a “couple of days” leafleting on the end of campaigns and thinking that will do is a thing of the past. If your brand experience activations are not at the centre of your communications and working in a 360 way with your other elements then your brand is at risk of being a thing from the Natural History Museum “artefact” from another era.

Independent Events is a multi award winning creative-led experiential marketing agency, that drive connections through real world live engagement.Creating live event experiences that live long in the mind of your customer, driving bonds, positively impacting on your profitability. If you would like a free experiential health check or would like to discuss anything else then contact us on 0161 6410050 or email info@independent-events.com

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