We hear about it often and it is certainly a popular area of marketing, especially before the pandemic when there were no restrictions and social distancing. But what exactly is experiential marketing and what specifically do so-called experiential marketing agencies deal with?

Experiential marketing is a marketing strategy that aims to directly, actively and creatively engage the consumer, with the goal of creating a special and unique experience that will be remembered over time. Often this type of strategy is also referred to as “live marketing experience” or “event marketing experience” or “field marketing experience.”

Why do companies resort to this strategy?

Companies have as many ways and as many tools to communicate with their customers and consumers; these depend on the strategy of the company or brand, the target audience they are addressing, the budget they have available, the territories, and so on. From classic advertising-that is, all the messages disseminated through major media such as TV, print, radio, billboards, the Internet, social media-to all those activities that are part of BTL – below the line marketing – such as events, sponsorships, licensing programs, special collaborations, promotions, e-mail marketing, etc., the company has a wide range of ways and means to communicate with its customers and consumers.

Consumers, every day, receive an enormous amount of messages that are communicated through various mediums. If you think for a moment about your daily life, from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep, you are certainly aware that you are receiving constant and constant solicitations from companies that want to communicate something to you: from the various social media messages you check first thing in the morning, to the advertisements on TV when you watch the news, to the box of cereal you read while you are still a little asleep at breakfast, to the commercials on the radio while you are driving, to the billboards or videos you encounter on the street when you are walking to the advertisements while you are playing games on your tablet. One could go on with a really long list.

Indeed, there are thousands of messages that bombard us every day, and out of all of them, which ones do you remember?

Effectively engaging the consumer is increasingly critical

In the myriad of daily messages, being remembered is a truly difficult, I would say titanic, feat.

In general, we remember something either because we have a need for it at a specific time or because it moved us and thus left us with a particularly strong memory.

I’ll give you two examples: I would like to buy an air-frier, so I go and look up all the info about that specific item. I go to Google, then I start comparing different brands, I look for prices, I read reviews… In the meantime, if I come across an advertisement for an air-frier, I will certainly pay attention to it and look at it with attention and interest; at that specific moment I am sensitive to a series of messages because I have a specific need. When that need ends, so does my interest in that topic.

Or: I am invited to an aperitif organized by an air-frier brand, where a chef prepares delicious canapés using the latest model just launched on the market, and in the same evening there is as a guest a famous sportsman, or a famous nutritionist who talks about the benefits of a balanced diet and how to prepare healthy food even with that kind of kitchen accessory. The evening is fun and enjoyable, the topic and whoever presents it engages me, I get a chance to taste some good products that maybe I can make again at the first dinner with friends. Certainly, that evening will stimulate my desire to buy that product right away or I will remember it when the opportunity arises to want to buy it.

This is then why experiential marketing companies come into play: their purpose is to try to get the consumer/customer to connect as directly as possible with the brand through the creation of live, different, unique experiences. These experiences cause a deep emotional bond to be created between brand and consumer, which involves emotions and cognitive abilities-that is, all the processes of feeling, retaining, experiencing, and using information.

This connection will cause the customer/consumer to remember the brand in a positive way, for example, at the time of purchase and prefer it to another product that is identical, but with which they have no particular connection.

Experiential marketing serves as a way for a brand to be recognized amidst the ocean of everyone else’s messages.

So whatexperiential marketing services can agencies offer companies?

The world of experiential marketing agencies is vast. There are many different services offered and they span various sectors. Broadly speaking, we can say that there is no set format that agencies offer clients; they are tailor-made projects built ad-hoc for each individual client.

Indeed, there are many different types of experiences that can positively and directly engage the target audience and depend on the target audience’s passions. The agency will then propose various options to the company based on the objectives, target audience and budget.

You will often have come across promotional booths (either in transit and meeting places such as squares, streets, stations or inside shopping malls or malls, if not in the stores themselves) where you can directly try out products or participate in fun and playful engagement activities with prizes or gadgets as gifts.

Coca Cola, Red Bull, Heineken, Nike and Adidas are just some of the brands that are super active in engagement activities, both real and virtual. From direct product testing, such as shoes for running or playing soccer, to game simulators, to real live fitness activities, to DJ sets with music and entertainment. Cosmetics brands often offer make-up sessions with celebrity make-up artists to showcase new collections; at the end of the session, you are sure to be enticed to buy the products that were used to make you beautiful.

The agency, whether a top experiential marketing agency or not, is spoiled for choice in creating ad-hoc activities for brands.

What about sports, how do they position themselves in this area? Do sports marketing agencies also offer experiential marketing services?

Sports is a great pool from which to draw to organize many different experiential marketing activities. Why?

First, because sport is passion. It interests and engages billions of people around the world. Therefore, any sports-related experience always generates great appeal and manages to deeply engage the customer/consumer.

Think, for example, that the 2018 World Cup was watched by 3.572 billion people; the France-Croatia final alone by 1.12 billion people*.

If we turn to Formula 1, the cumulative TV audience for the 2021 season was 1.55 billion, with 445 million unique viewers. The season finale in Abu Dhabi was the most watched race of the season, with over 107.8 million viewers**.

It is clear, therefore, that any experiential activity involving these or other popular sports will generate great interest from the public.

A sports marketing agency can also be anexperiential events agency

One example? Hospitalities during major sporting events.

Companies can take advantage of sporting events as prizes for competitions or incentive activities. The opportunity to attend a major sporting event is certainly a memorable experience that leaves a lasting impression.

Different levels of experience can be chosen based on the companies’ budget availability and target audience.

There are, for example, hospitality areas in Formula 1 or MotoGP, where guests can be hosted and entertained in an exclusive setting, with a privileged view of the start of races and a series of “live experiences” dedicated exclusively to guests.

The same is true for corporate hospitality in soccer or tennis: reserved areas with top-notch amenities where guests can enjoy the sport they love live and have a unique experience.

Let’s not mention the possibility, in some cases, of being able to meet your sports idol for an autograph or photo: the company that gives you this experience will have a unique and special memory in the fan’s heart forever.

We happened, for example, to organize special weekends for clients of a company who are strongly into skiing and tennis: in the first case, we organized a weekend in the snow with a famous ski champion who spent the days on the slopes skiing with the guests. In the second case, real tennis clinics with a famous tennis player. In both cases, the participants had a special and unique experience that they will remember forever.

The bond formed with their host brand could not be deeper.

But also think about all the activities that are organized for the public at sporting events. Event sponsors are present with promotional areas where all kinds of activities take place involving fans. If you went to the ATP Finals in Turin, there was a real village where fans and non-fans could get in touch with brands and the world of tennis; games, promotions, photos with some tennis players, product testing.

On the occasion of the Wimbledon tournament, some sponsors such as Pimm’s and Lacoste organized customized viewing areas set up with screens, seating, and entertainment at various locations in London for those who felt like watching the tournament matches socially and live.

If you are a business or brand and want to engage your target audience in an active and deeper way, then engage an agency to support you, possibly by finding the agency that best suits your needs, which does not have to be the best experiential marketing agency.

If sports is an area of interest to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

*Publicis Media Sport & Entertainment (PMSE) from the official television auditing agencies in markets, via the FIFA Media Rights Licensees (MRLs).

https://www.fifa.com/tournaments/mens/worldcup/2018russia/media-releases/more-than-half-the-world-watched-record-breaking-2018-world-cup

** Formula 1 and Motorsport.com

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-reports-rise-tv-audience-as-108m-watch-abu-dhabi-finale/8250354/#:~:text=The%20cumulative%20TV%20audience%20of,drawing%20in%20107.8m%20viewers