With each new year, we get a chance to reset. Consumers set new year’s resolutions, while businesses and brands make adjustments to their goals and step into a new world of endless potential. That “world” refers to what the events industry calls “brand activation.” Brand activation is a campaign, event, or interaction through which a brand generates awareness and builds strong connections with their target audience.

What will brand activation look like in 2022? Read on to see the many forms it can take and how a high-quality production company, like Wizard Studios, can create a world of difference in the process.

• Hybrid Events

You may have seen this one coming, but you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel: brand activation through a traditional in-person event is a great way to bring positive attention to your brand. But in 2022, we know the ways of hosting events are more expansive and successful when done in a hybrid format.  

Event production companies have become experts in live-streaming services, virtual events, and digital meeting platforms of all kinds. Similarly, event professionals have found new ways to perfect hybrid events, or gatherings that are partially in-person but contain digital elements for attendees at home. The brand activation possibilities with hybrid events are truly endless!

• Publicity Stunts

Publicity stunts, or PR stunts are planned events designed to attract the public’s attention to a business or brand to increase exposure. If executed efficiently, the audience will do the heavy lifting for you! They'll spark immediate interest in the public, and your business will be effectively advertised for you by word of mouth or press conference. A successful PR stunt continues to get shared and talked about, while consumers grow hungry to learn more.  

No successful PR stunt was based on luck; they require meticulous planning by event professionals. If you are planning a PR stunt, here are some questions to ask yourselves: “How do we want people to see and understand this brand?” “How do we want consumers to engage with the physical space around them?” “How can we create a space that is inviting to explore physically, but also enticing to see on social media?” With all these questions and more to keep in mind, we suggest bringing in event professionals to ensure the highest quality of success.  

• Pop-Up Shops

Pop-up shops are becoming increasingly more popular these days. They are temporary retail spaces that can be used to promote and sell products of all types, ranging from food and drinks to clothing, gifts or other merchandise. Because they are so temporary, consumers are drawn in. They want to experience the magic before it flies away. This makes them ideal for promoting a new product or brand, and raising awareness in a anon-tradition setting. 

Take your pop-up shop on wheels with a Mobile Pop-up! Just like branded vehicles, mobile pop-ups are amazing tools to utilize in an array of contexts, including everything from festivals and venues to parking lots and cities. The trick to mobile pop-ups and branded vehicles is that they need to spark interest from the moment they’re seen. Event professionals have an eye for creative, custom fabrications and design, and they can ensure the short-term activation of your mobile pop-up is a smart and savvy investment that gets people talking about your brand. 

• Custom Fabrications

Speaking of creative and custom fabrications, event producers have years of collective experience navigating venues of all shapes and sizes to up an event’s engagement. Utilizing their team of fabrication experts, event production companies can design and create a whole custom experiential environment within any retail space to enhance both the features and benefits of a product or brand. Brand activations should be sensitive to consumers’ safety and their individual needs, and a custom fabrication could be an easy solution with some major takeaways for success! 

You can see how brand activation can take many forms, but with each of them, the team at Wizard Studios is prepared and ready to create something special and extraordinary for you! Are you ready to make 2022 the year that your business reaches new heights? Contact our experts today and let’s get started on the brand activation of a lifetime!