Experiences as a marketing tool are becoming more and more popular, with brands adopting a hybrid approach to offering linked in-store and online user experiences that grab attention and improve customer retention. New data from Momentum Worldwide shows that pent-up demand for experiences and events could pose increased opportunities for brands as lockdown restrictions continue to be loosened in the UK. Forty-eight percent of consumers that took part in a May 2021 study said they were planning to try new experiences this year, while another 41% said they hoped to try even more experiences than they did before the pandemic.
What can experience marketing offer brands and consumers?
Experiences can help potential consumers get a feel for a brand, your products, and your USPs in environments that are less related to advertising or sales – allowing for more natural interactions, and less comparison to competitors. They offer greater degrees of interaction, as well as opportunities for social influence and improving organic reach via word of mouth.
These longer-lasting interactions can take many forms, from subscription boxes to treasure hunts and scripted events that occur over a specific time frame – keeping content fresh whilst maintaining engagement beyond the initial interaction. This can also serve to generate emotional, as well as time and physical investment, promoting brand loyalty. According to research reported by Econsultancy, 55% of subscription box consumers stated that they signed up to a regular service last year because they wanted to treat themselves or to cheer themselves up during lockdown, and emotional factors are central to people’s motivations for signing up [to subscriptions], as 32% of US consumers surveyed [in our research] admitted they signed up to the subscription because it feels nice to receive something every month.
Social participation and sharing can emphasise these connections, allowing users to feel like they are part of a wider group with shared interests, as well as providing brands with greater organic exposure. Video and photo-orientated social platforms like TikTok and Snapchat are actively designed around this premise, and can be straightforward to incorporate into your Experience marketing as part of a wider digital strategy.
How are brands directing experiences?
The uniquely social and interactive aspects of experience marketing are great for social and influencer campaigns that can most effectively demonstrate the key selling points of both your experience and the brand itself. Digital opinion leaders (also known as key opinion leaders) can be essential in directing experiences and encouraging interaction amongst other customer groups. Events, mystery boxes or surprise items, and elements that require physical or digital actions to properly operate are all natural material for social media channels, as well as being avenues to encourage users to try your product or service without comparison to competitors.
By melding online and offline into your experience marketing strategy, you can create experiences that extend beyond a one-off interaction, allowing users to maintain engagement with your brand across a longer period of time – giving a much greater impression of value for customers, whilst increasing retention and brand loyalty for your business.
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