So, what is experiential marketing?

Experiential marketing sets itself apart from traditional marketing by offering a unique, immersive, and engaging way to engage with your products or trade stand in real time.

What do you want your customers to feel when they think of your brand? Using experiential marketing, you can give potential customers or investors a taste of your identity. Sound and light shows, virtual reality or hands-on product displays, the sky’s the limit!

Events and exhibitions provide a great platform for experiential marketing. They are the ideal place to highlight your brand to potential consumers, launch new products, share achievements, and set future goals in a more engaging way through ‘branded experiences’.

Where is experiential marketing used?

In the modern world, there are plenty of opportunities to employ experiential marketing. These could be in-person, virtual or hybrid, and may include technology for live streaming and social posting in real time. Examples of where you may see experiential marketing include:

  • Workshops
  • Conferences
  • Product Demos
  • Tours
  • Pop-up Stores
  • Team Building
  • Exhibitions

What can experiential marketing include?

There are no limits when it comes to experiential marketing; the key is that is happens in the moment and in the ‘real’ world. Examples of experiential marketing include:

  • Samples
  • Demos
  • Activities
  • Taste Tests
  • Product Giveaways
  • Shows & Performances
  • VR Experiences
  • Exhibition Stands

You can even use current trends to your advantage, such as adapting dances or hashtags on social media to fit with your brand. This must be done in a careful and purposeful way to ensure its inclusion feels organic and therefore resonates with potential customers, rather than simply jumping on a trend for the sake of it.

The goal is to stand out against your competitors and engage potential customers so that they don’t feel simply ‘sold at’. If someone has a memorable experience because of your brand, they may be more likely to seek you out in future and disregard your competition – it’s dog eat dog out there!

Who might use experiential marketing and why?

Many companies can benefit from an experiential marketing campaign. We have created branded experiences for clients across a wide range of sectors. For example, we created an interactive stand for JBL that allowed visitors to try out their range of headphones and speakers.

For Muirhead, a leading leather seating supplier for the transport sector, we created an exhibition stand that allowed visitors to touch samples of their chair materials and find out how comfy their seating range was for themselves.

Just from these two examples, you can see how varied experiential marketing can be, and wide the range of industries it can benefit. You can check out more of our interactive exhibition stands here.

jbl event stand by extreme group
Muirhead exhibition stand

The benefits of using experiential marketing

There are many reasons why your business should consider an experiential marketing campaign or interactive trade stand:

Raise brand awareness

Get your name up in lights – why not literally! Whether it’s through an interactive exhibition stand or otherwise, experiential marketing will help you get your brand noticed. If you offer an exciting, worthwhile experience, people are much more likely to remember you and spread the word. What’s more, if your campaign is engaging, you’re much more likely to be featured by journalists and relevant news networks also.

Stand out from competitors

People are busy and have shorter attention spans than ever. Experiential marketing is all about ensuring that you set yourself apart from the competition and stand out from the crowd.

Engage with your audience

Experiential marketing allows potential customers to get hands-on with your brand and products, so they can get a better understanding of your brand and message. Exhibition stands and hosted events also provide the perfect opportunity for them to ask questions.

Allow customers to try before they buy

Potential customers like to know what they’re buying before they spend money on it. Giving them the chance to try out your product or service for free is a great way to get them onboard.

Inspire staff or thank stakeholders

Experiential marketing doesn’t have to be all about the hard sell – it can be used to lift the morale or engage with your current stakeholders too!

Want an interactive exhibition stand of your own?

Want to harness the power of experiential marketing through your own exhibition stand or event? Extreme Group are experts in exhibition stand and branded environment creation and will ensure your brand stands out from the crowd.

Incorporate an exciting event or product launch into your strategy, with a bespoke experiential campaign created bespoke for your audience. Contact our friendly team or call us on 01202 620550.