Why experiential marketing makes brand sense
Keith Austin, CEO of Event Marketing Solutions looks at the latest thinking on sensory marketing and why experiential activity makes brand sense.
We talk daily at EMS about how we can ensure that our campaigns really strike a chord with target audiences and drive them to engage deeper with a brand. It's part and parcel of our everyday business, so when I hear about research that looks at the metrics of brand engagement it certainly grabs my attention.
Martin Lindstrom is a brand expert and author, he even made it into Time magazine's Top 100 'most influential'. According to a study by Martin, when brands appeal to more than three senses, and therefore different parts of the brain, sensory print can increase brand impact and engagement by more than 70%.
This fact is part of a more in-depth article on sensory marketing in Marketing Week, and whether it could be worth $100m to brands – you can read the piece in full here.
Experiential marketing is all about immersion. The inherent nature of the activity is to touch people through every sense possible. From visually stunning graphics to hands-on demonstrations as well as opportunities to sample and taste, which all work together to the backdrop of a soundtrack specially selected to further influence the consumer. Even the temperature of the environment can be manipulated to enhance the experience.
Activity which engages multiple senses isn't reserved for certain sectors either. This approach may be an obvious choice for a food and drink brand, but we've worked with a myriad of businesses from the high-tech and scientific to luxury motors and tourism - all who have used the way their brand translates through sound, sight, smell, touch and taste to drive sales.
The power of this approach is further demonstrated inThe Business Generator research by FaceTime, the promotional body for face-to-face marketing. My three favourite findings of the study, which surveyed marketers and business directors, are:
- 80% agree that live events deliver better ROI than other media
- 93% feel that face-to-face marketing is the most effective media channel to convert prospects
- 80% agree that a person spends more money with people or companies they have met face-to-face than with people not met
Compelling stuff
There's no doubt that connecting brands with their target audience through an experience that stimulates multiple senses deepens consumer engagement, creating stronger emotional ties, which also have longevity. If you'd like to talk to us about how we can translate your brand through sound, sight, smell, touch and taste get in touch today.
