Experiential marketing, also known as “engagement marketing,” involves creating a real, tangible connection or experience between customer and brand. Sometimes referred to as ‘hands-on’ marketing, experiential marketing does just that – creates experiences for the customer that demonstrate what the brand is about and how the company’s products and services can benefit the client.
To effectively engage your audience, consider integrating experiential marketing tactics into your promotional bag of tricks. Here are several intriguing examples of experiential marketing to help spark ideas.
Red Bull: Stratos
Remember when Red Bull live streamed a gentleman named Felix Baumgartner ‘diving’ from a platform 128,000 feet above the surface of the Earth? That’s 24 miles, by the way.
Eight million people tuned in to watch this incredible feat and cemented Red Bull as the company that drove the most viewing traffic ever of any YouTube live stream in history. Viewers collectively held their breaths and rejoiced when Felix landed safely – all while thinking Red Bull the entire time.
Budweiser’s Beer Garage
Attendees of SXSW had the opportunity to slide into the Budweiser Beer Garage and enjoy more than just a frosty beverage. They could also engage all their other senses and feel the sensation of a full-immersion, experiential marketing campaign. From smelling real hops to sipping cold beer, taking a virtual tour of a Budweiser factory (complements of VR Oculus Rift headsets), and sitting on a cozy couch, Bud scored big time with this engaging marketing strategy.
HBO’s Escape Rooms
Escape rooms are popular today among those of all ages and have even become a go-to workplace bonding destination for businesses of all types. Knowing that people will pay good money to be locked in a room and given clues to facilitate an escape, HBO created a truly unique experiential marketing campaign to bolster visibility of their leading TV series.
The masters of cutting-edge TV created three escape rooms patterned after actual sets from acclaimed HBO series Game of Thrones, Veep, and Silicon Valley. Fans of the shows were immersed in each series’ look, feel, and tone, as the rooms each brought the fictional series to life in front of their eyes.
JetBlue’s Ultimate Icebreaker
In the bone-chilling cold of a New York winter, popular airline company JetBlue placed a massive block of clear, solid ice in the middle of the city and filled it with all kinds of promotional giveaway items (think: flip flops, wide-brimmed hats, and even free tickets on the airline!). These were all used to advertise its upcoming direct service to sunny Palm Springs, California, and up for grabs for anyone who could chip the goods from their icy entrapments.
JetBlue created an experiential and engaging way to break the ice with prospective travelers and made a huge splash in the process. The bottom line? Customers love free things, love to travel, and beating up a block of ice is just plain fun.
If you’re looking to boost the visibility of your brand and have some fun in the process, consider creating an experiential marketing campaign that can put your customer in the driver’s seat. Add a vibrant and compelling twist to your promotional activities and you’ll attract new clients and create raving fans in no time.
