You’re walking down the street, and you see a sign written above a bed of flowers that says, “Smell however the f*ck you want.”
Well, you’re definitely going to stop and smell those flowers. That’s the idea behind experiential marketing. It’s an invitation to take part in something, to become part of the experience. And if you happen to decide to buy the product based on that experience, that’s excellent — but if you just do something fun that you tell your friends about on social media, it’s still a win for the advertiser.
Experiential marketing has become a booming segment of outdoor advertising, and it’s only going to get bigger in the next few years. Our world has become increasingly interactive. From our phones to our cars to even our refrigerators, it seems everything these days is immersive — including advertising.
Experiential marketing gives the people your ad targets a chance to become the stars of the show. In this social media-driven age, that’s the best thing you could give them, and this type of advertising shows results.
What Is Experiential Marketing?
Experiential marketing refers to advertising where people experience something firsthand, functioning more as an experience than an advertisement. It engages people through the senses and draws them into participating directly in something linked to a brand.
Types of Experiential Marketing
As for what constitutes an experiential marketing campaign, it can be just about anything. It’s completely open-ended. Your imagination is the only limit. That makes it ripe for exciting ideas that might have been dismissed just a few years ago. A few include:
- Pop-up stores.
- Trucks handing out samples.
- Billboards made from something other than traditional materials.
- Augmented reality.
- Wall murals with interactive elements.
- Vending or catering trucks.
Why Does Experiential Marketing Work?
At a time when people are easily distracted by their phones, experiential marketing keeps them interested and in the moment. They’re more likely to remember something they experience firsthand. And as with anything cool and different, they post about it on social media, giving campaigns a second life.
4 Keys to a Successful Experiential Marketing Campaign
A good experiential campaign will:
- Make people curious.
- Center on an eye-catching visual.
- Invite people to interact.
- Be temporary to drive excitement and attendance.
Examples of Smart Experiential Marketing Campaigns
In just the past couple of years, DASH TWO has supported campaigns that earned tons of social buzz, drew droves of people and produced measurable results for the brand. Here are a few of our favorites.
Fenty Flower Wall
Promoting Fenty Eau de Parfum, this awesome billboard made of 80,000 flowers included plants representing all the scents in Rihanna’s popular unisex fragrance. The floral wall made appearances across the country, inviting people to “smell however the f*ck” they wanted and building buzz wherever it went.
Maroon 5 Vending Machine
We tend to associate vending machines with overpriced Snickers bars, but this particular vending machine, located next to a branded mural showing members of Maroon 5, sold limited-edition cassettes as well as 10 pairs of tickets for lucky fans who happened to pick the right vending slot.
K18 Billboard Truck Tour
Handing out freebies tied to a billboard campaign worked brilliantly for K18, a haircare brand that rolled out in 2021. The billboards shared snappy messages that connected with the brand’s young target audience, who then saw social media messages inviting them to a truck handing out samples (and popsicles).
Afterpay Experiential Truck
The clever slogan for Afterpay, which lets you pay for things over an extended period, is “like eating the whole carton and spreading the calories out over 6 weeks.” That “carton,” of course, refers to ice cream, so what better way to draw people in than to hand out delicious scoops of ice cream from a branded Afterpay truck next to an Afterpay mural?
Klarna Dog Toys Wall
It’s a (sort-of) scientific fact: Everyone loves dogs, and they’re especially popular with Millennials. To promote Klarna, a shopping app that targets Millennials, the brand wanted to appeal to dog owners. It did so by drawing in their pets with a mural sporting hundreds of dog toys near a dog park in Brooklyn. The dogs loved playing with the toys, while their owners learned about Klarna.
These examples are just the beginning. DASH TWO can support any of your wildest, most experimental experiential marketing efforts. From spreading the word about a pop-up store to Wild Posting® about a truck handing out freebies to securing the billboard advertising your event, we help you get the exposure you desire. Get in touch today to discuss the possibilities.
