THE LIMITLESS FORMS BRAND ACTIVATIONS CAN TAKE IN 2021
A new year comes with a sense of resetting and renewal. Consumers have the opportunity to attach themselves to aspiring goals and resolutions, and businesses and brands have the opportunity to make tweaks to their future goals and step into a new world of potential. That world is what the events industry calls “brand activation.”
But what exactly is brand activation in 2021, and what forms can a brand activation take? It’s a marvelous question to explore, and one that Wizard Studios is happy to offer some insight on. Read on to see just how many forms it can take - and how a high-quality production company can create a world of difference in the process.
PR Stunts
PR stunts are exactly what they sound like: a planned event that offers your brand some exciting publicity. If executed efficiently, they can spark immediate interest in the public, meaningful mentions in the press, and keep people talking and sharing information about all the most flattering aspects of your brand. A successful PR stunt continues to get shared, continues to get talked about, and consumers stay hungry to learn more. Win-win times 100.
But no successful PR stunt was based on luck; they were meticulously planned by event professionals that asked themselves, “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?” And so much more. These are just some of the reasons that an event professioal’s expertise can go a long way.
Mobile Pop-ups and Branded Vehicles
Think of mobile pop-ups as a walk-in, experiential showroom - that moves! Mobile pop-ups are ideal to promote a brand and raise awareness in a non-traditional setting for a short period of time, and just as the name suggests, they “pop-up” and then they’re gone. 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 activate a brand and spark interest from the moment it’s seen - and from a good distance. If consumers cannot immediately see, be intrigued by, and want to engage with your vehicle from at least a city block away, then your brand activation may turn out to be a bust. 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 online and in-person about your brand.
Retail Fabrication
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 pros, event production companies can design and create a custom experiential environment within 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’ safety and individual needs, and a retail fabrication could be an easy solution with some major takeaways for success!
Virtual and Hybrid Events
You may have seen this one coming, but you don’t always have to reinvent the wheel: brand activation through a traditional event is a stellar way to bring positive attention to your brand. But in 2021, what do events even look like? We’re so glad you asked, because this is where event professionals really shine.
Pivoting quickly in 2020, event professionals continued to keep their pulse on updated risk management and mitigation strategies, exciting digital trends, and all the newest technology. This has made event production companies experts on live-streaming services, virtual events, and digital meeting platforms of all kinds. Similarly, event professionals have found new ways to create hybrid events, or events that are partially in-person but contain a digital element for attendees to attend from the comfort of their homes. With an events production company behind you, any brand activation is possible!
Brand activation takes many forms, but with each of them, the team at Wizard Studios is equipped and ready to create something extraordinary for you. Are you ready to make 2021 the year that your brand awareness reaches a new level? If so, contact us today and let’s get started on the brand activation of a lifetime!