Keys to Building a Hyper-Local Experiential Campaign (Elevate Connect)

Key Takeaways:

• Whereas digital has micro-influencers, experiential has hyper-local campaigns. There are key elements to follow to drive results with these smaller, but more targeted, activations.
• Experiential is one of the most intimate ways to interact with consumers, and therefore excels at building trust and, in turn, brand advocacy.
• Technology has opened many doors, one of them being the demonstration of ROI at marketing events. But not all ROI solutions have to break the budget.

How to Build a Hyper-Local Event Campaign

Social media has made the world a lot smaller. It has connected friends from real life, but it has also created communities of strangers who bond together over a shared activity or interest. It has changed how we think of “celebrity,” giving rise to social media influencers, who, until recent controversy, have been seen as more “real” than traditional celebrities. Over the past few years, brands have gotten even more granular related to their audiences and tapped into micro-influencers – people with smaller, but more targeted, followings.

In the world of experiential, brands have embraced the IRL version of this strategy by focusing on hyper-local event marketing. According to Sparks Agency, this approach aims to “reach micro-communities and drive local impact.” The article goes on to say that, “hyper-local event campaigns need a hyper-targeted approach. Brands need to understand the community in question – its needs and its pain points.” Visit the article for insights on the best ways to use these hyper-local events to reach marketing goals.

Can Experiential Marketing Build Trust and Advocacy?

Between tumultuous politics, private data mishandling, and rampant social media sharing of the most personal aspects of our lives, it’s no surprise that we live in an age where trust is hard to come by. For brands, this means working harder to win over consumers. Companies now have the added challenge of not only establishing awareness, but building authentic, two-way relationships to gain trust.

By putting in the work to establish a trust-based relationship, brands can create brand advocates, which has an exponential effect in establishing the same feeling with new customers. As this article in The Drum points out, building trust is of the many reasons more brands are moving towards investing in experiential.

3 Top Tips for Measuring the ROI of Events

Once upon a time, conventional wisdom dictated that experiential campaigns were good for brand awareness, but marketers’ hands were tied when it came to measurement. Many times, metrics were limited to samples distributed and the best-guess recollections of brand ambassadors as they filled out event reports at the end of a long shift.

But technology has changed that. Now we have a multitude of methods at our fingertips to determine the success of an experiential campaign. And not all of them require an enterprise-level commitment (or price). Two ROI measurement techniques that are simple and often overlooked are surveys and hashtags. To learn more, read Penguins three tips on measuring the ROI of events.

Increased Attendance, Engagement: Inside AARP’s Experiential Program Revamp

Often experiential marketing is ideated in the context of millennials, a generation that has time again shown that brand experiences matter and help guide their purchase decisions. But what we sometimes forget is that these consumers are not the only ones who respond to experiential. The yearly experiential report, Event Track, concluded a few years ago that “a significant 98% of the respondents said that assuming the product or service promoted was one they were interested in, participating at the event or experience made them more inclined to purchase.” Not millennial respondents. All of them.

AARP, who traditionally has relied on conferences and its magazine for consumer engagement, has a diverse target audience. While the goal is to reach the population they serve, everyone ages, so brand awareness that reaches people of all stages is critical. And after careful analysis, the brand landed on in-person brand activation. Here Event Marketer showcases how the organization is using experiential to remain relevant.

Dermalogica Puts Education Front-and-Center in its First Pop-Up

Brand experiences present an opportunity to connect face-to-face with consumers. Not only have brands seen better, longer-lasting customer relationships through brand activation, but many also experience a direct increase in sales. But in beauty, an industry with a multitude of products and services, it can be hard for skin-care brands to stand out in an abyss of competitors.

To set themselves apart, Dermalogica has opted to return to its education-first roots in its newest NYC pop-up. The pop-up focused on the brand’s core pillars – human touch, personalization, and education – to inform the activities over the four-day campaign. The event included classes on topics like acne, anti-aging, and skin health, as well as a 10-minute skin consultation by facial pros.

Why HBO created an Exhibit of Actual Diary Entries

When brands achieve a deeper connection with customers, the Harvard Business Review found that “the emotionally connected customers buy more from the brand, care less about its prices, listen to what its marketers say, and recommend it more.” This is much easier said than done, and usually requires several touchpoints with the consumer for a brand to achieve this kind of status.

One key element in developing an emotionally-charged relationship with consumers is to design an activation that resonates with them. This past spring, HBO launched a pop-up in celebration of Women’s History month in New York city. With the goal of creating “a multimedia exhibit that felt respectful, but also interesting and artistic,” HBO designed a jaw-dropping Inspiration Room, filled with real-life diary entries. Read on to see how the brand achieved its vison.

The 7 ‘Senses’ of Self-Development

The secret is out. The best path to success and personal fulfillment (or what some may describe as the pursuit of happiness) is all in yourself…development. In knowing who you are and what you want from life, you have a foundation by which all other decisions can be made. Okay, easy enough. Now that you’ve made the commitment to develop who you are, where do you start?

This article in Entrepreneur outlines seven steps, “or senses,” that one requires to live his or her best life. The first is the sense of self. To become self-aware, one must develop a keen sense of one’s values, beliefs and larger purpose. Once a person has self-examined and gathered self-knowledge, he or she is ready for the next step. Read on to learn more.

Fitbit to Run One-Day Colour-Themed Event

Fitbit, a company that made their brand name synonymous with fitness activity trackers, is running an exclusive, fit-fueled event this week in the U.K. And the one-day-only event is sure to motivate attendees to get moving. The Fitbit community hit 25 million active users in 2017 and shows no signs of slowing, as consumers can’t get enough of the advanced tracking features, easy to use interface and social media integration.

The brand’s “Colour Works” activation will feature high intensity workouts and chilled-out yoga sessions all to promote their new Versa Lite smartwatch, that encourages users and attendees to “find their fit.” This heart-pumping activation aims to be a “truly immersive sensory experience” that will be flooded with color and fun group workouts throughout. If you find yourself in Shoreditch this week, a bold experience is only steps away

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Author: Nick Riggall