Luke Smith
Senior Account Executive

Consumer Engagement: Branding Your Memories

The broad term “experiential marketing” can translate to a million different tactics and strategies, but the core goal remains the same–create consumer engagement and experiences that aid in the evolution of your brand.

Consumers are bombarded with anywhere from 3,000-5,000 passive messages a day. While the exact number is not known, we know that it’s overwhelming, and we know that it’s easy to get lost in the clutter unless we plan accordingly and support marketing efforts with outstanding creative.

Sensory Memory

While traditional advertising certainly serves an important role through reach, frequency and precision (and it’s easier on the budget), marketing through experiences with a brand will not only generate a personal interaction with a consumer, but also implant a sensory memory as well.

Sensory memory refers to how we remember the way things look, feel, smell, or taste. Typically, our brain stores this type of information as if it were taking a snapshot of the event using your senses as the camera. These are the sorts of memories that generate the building blocks for brand relationships.

Every marketer should strive for their brand to create a personal relationship with consumers.

Think about this–do you have a brand or product that you still buy today because your parents or grandparents raised you with this brand/product? You’re not just buying this because you like it; you’re subconsciously committed to the brand because of the experiences you’ve had and the relationship you’ve built with it.

Unforgettable Experiences

Let’s take a look at some recent, inspirational examples of brands that set the standard for experiential marketing.

While I’m sure that there were some strict rules and detailed planning, the execution and strategy is something to be admired. The positioning of this experience was clever. Not only did Carlsberg capture the interest of an already busy, vibrant street, but it was also strategically placed just around the corner from a popular craft beer bar, where the taste for local beers is taking dominance over more mainstream brews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfPbyG42iGE#t=18

At the 2015 Ted conference Delta Air Lines created an installation called “Stillness in Motion,” based on the book The Art of Stillness. This was part of a suite of different products designed to make a more productive use of your time. Approximately 800 visitors tweeted about it, resulting in 9.3 million Twitter impressions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_VWKEt2e3w

Creating Your Experience

Experiential marketing is another great tool to use in our marketing arsenal. If executed correctly, it’s a tactic that breaches traditional and emerges as a branded memory. It truly creates a powerful opportunity for your brand to build a relationship with consumers.

Would you like to learn more about how experiential marketing can help your brand? Fill out the form below or email us at [email protected] and we can talk more.

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