More experiences. Less stuff. That pretty much sums up the millennial mindset. Today, more young adults are choosing experiences over possessions…like travel over a new car. Or concert tickets instead of designer shoes.
Experiences matter—not only in everyday life, but also in marketing.
The rise of experiential marketing gives today’s mobile-driven consumers what they want: A firsthand, engaging and tangible connection with your brand. Creating these brand experiences is smart business. According to data from the Event Marketing Institute, 72% of consumers say they view brands that provide quality experiences more positively; and 98% of users feel more inclined to purchase after attending a brand experience/activation. (Medium)
When you consider that 49% of people create mobile video at branded events — 39% of which is shared on Twitter — it makes sense to incorporate subtle branding in a way that can be shared socially to drive recognition beyond the event or experience.
- 92% of users watching video on mobile will share it with others. (Wordstream)
- Social video gets shared 12x more than text and images combined. (Wordstream)
A great example of experiential marketing done right is Google’s Mini Donut Shop experience.
To promote the new Google Home Mini automated assistant—which happens to be the size of a donut—Google opened pop-up doughnut stores in strategic cities. They welcomed visitors inside where they were met by conveyor belts moving donuts and Google Minis throughout the space. When the customer asked the Mini a question, a donut box slid down the conveyor and onto the counter—some boxes contained donuts, and others, the new Google Home Mini. Watch the video:
The campaign was a success because it was engaging, unexpected and multi-sensory—there was a “sprinkle” booth that showered customers with confetti. Combining Google and irresistible donuts was a genius idea that created a viral celebration surrounding the brand.
If you can’t go as big as Google with a pop-up store experience, consider borrowing a few of the essential elements from the campaign: Create a non-venue venue (in a park, a neighborhood, a lobby, etc.); create/encourage interaction with your product—one that prompts your audience to capture video; provide a giveaway; and create a hashtag to drive social media sharing.
Can you think of an experiential marketing campaign that caught your attention? Join the conversation on Facebook.
