THE FUTURE OF EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING AND BRAND ACTIVATIONS
Did you know that almost 70% of people turn into repeat customers after attending an experiential marketing event? And if that wasn’t enough, did you know that up to 85% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy after participating in a brand activation or experience?
Yes, you read that: the future of experiential marketing events and brand activations are ripe for a 2021 renewal. A strong sense of normalcy has returned to our world, and people are ready to engage with people, places, and things with gusto! So, what does the future of these two big ideas look like? The pros at Wizard Studios have been around long enough to understand trends when we see them, and we’re happy to share them with you! Here’s our take on the future of these important event types!
The Continuation of Outdoor PR Stunts
Large-scale gatherings are returning quickly, but it’s still safer to produce outdoor events than indoor events. Luckily, we have data on our side in this regard: according to a new poll by YouGov, 44% of attendants agree that outdoor events are the most appealing and engaging to them, which makes the perfect place for a high-quality PR stunt!
PR stunts are activations that offer your brand exciting publicity in an exciting or engaging way and have a social media “shareability” about them. When executed well, they spark interest in the public eye, are mentioned in the press, and keep people sharing that information on social media channels.
PR stunts, like so many brand activations, are made with “design thinking” in mind, or by putting yourself in the attendees’ shoes. They require empathy and are driven through emotions. At Wizard Studios, we’re often asking ourselves , “What will a participant see when they first step into the event? Where will they think to go next? How can we streamline these processes?” and so much more. This way, when you’re creating your PR stunt, you can think, “How can I best blow my audience away and leave people talking about my brand for weeks and months to come?” A win for 2021 and beyond!
2. Custom Fabrications: A Solution for Any Context
Retail and custom fabrications have been a God-sent over the past year, helping brands, organizations, and businesses navigate socially-distant spaces, outdoor festivals, micro-experiences, and everything in-between. Because of the customizable nature, there is no limit to the options that an experiential event or brand activation could utilize these for.
Wizard Studios in particular has years of experience navigating venues of all shapes and sizes to up an event’s engagement and ensure all participants feel safe at all times. Utilizing our team of fabrication experts, we’ve worked with event production companies to redesign and reinvent any retail space to enhance both the features and benefits of a product. Especially in a socially distant world, brand activations need to be sensitive to consumers’ individual needs, and a retail fabrication will be a solution for 2021 that is not going away anytime soon!
3. A Continued Digital Component
Event producers pivoted quickly into the digital world in 2020, and we’re only continuing to see the great benefits of such a move. It’s easy to go green, you can expand your reach to a global level, you and your attendees can save money on travel accommodations, and the data available is jaw-droppingly accurate. But on top of all of this, 2021 will only continue to capitalize on amazing event technology and increase engagement in the digital world.
Engagement has always been on the minds of event producers, but in a post-COVID world, event producers, live streaming services, and virtual event hosts have been thinking about this question day and night, and hybrid events will continue to be the future of what we do.
Engagement in this realm includes gamification with live Q&As, personalized happy hours with breakout rooms that connect them to an event’s speakers or presenters, bridges to social media channels, specific hashtags, and online contests - and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The list of engagement options grows each and every day, and depending on how you’d like to engage your audience, there’s truly nothing you can't do!
Experiential marketing events and brand activation can take countless forms, but with the right team behind you, you don’t need to worry about a thing! Let the team at Wizard Studios create something extraordinary for you, leveraging all the experience we have creating events of all kinds. If you’re ready to make 2021 the year that your brand awareness reaches a new level, contact Wizard Studios today!