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Know what every brand in the world does or wants to do? Advertise. The whole goal is getting people to notice your brand. Sure, it can deliver returns. But ask yourself if you’d want your customers to notice you or pay attention to you.

Because they see a lot of advertisements every single day, it’s safe to assume that consumers have hit a saturation point. They most likely can guess what a brand is going to say in their advertisements.

“Special Sale”, “Big Discounts”, “Up To XX% OFF”, “The Best in The World”…

…in the form of banner ads, social media promotions, and even email newsletters.

Been there, and seen that right?

So have your customers. Those ads are all forgettable.

Considering the technological advancements and dynamic consumer preferences of the modern day, advertisements don’t hit the target like they used to. Today, people are more into unique and engaging experiences.

And that right there is the keyword. Engagement.

So how do you cut through the noise and engage your customers? In a lot of ways, actually. And this article explores some of the experiential marketing tactics that deliver solid engagement.

Experiential Marketing

It’s about to be the holy grail of brand marketing, folks. Experiential marketing is all about creating immersive brand experiences for customers on an “emotional level” to create a memory of the brand. 

This “emotional impact” goes beyond simple promotions of a product or service, as it can also build a connection with your target audience. That means the interaction with your brand will be memorable.

So how do you go about this, you ask?

It’s up to you. But fret not. Some tactics are explained below.

The Coolest Tactics You Can Employ Easily

Immersive Pop-Up Shops

Pop-up shops used to be a novelty back in the day. In 2024, we’re seeing brands take pop-up experiences to the next level. For example, a pop-up shop involved a collection of interactive art carefully crafted by a business to narrate its story and showcase its values.

But you might be more familiar with pop-up concerts featuring local artists that your neighborhood just adores. Who would have thought pop-ups could do this much?

With pop-ups, you are supposed to create an experience they’d never expect. Augmented reality pop-ups might work.

Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality

Speak of augmented reality (AR), did you know that many retail brands have started exploring how they can integrate AR into the sales funnel? It’s true. Virtual reality (VR) is a different story though.

Brands are using AR and VR to create immersive experiences that allow customers to interact with products virtually. There are apps now that let you try on clothes virtually. Some brands offer a VR experience to interact with a product, taking product launches to a whole other dimension. These are all happening, folks.

These technologies can not only engage customers but also educate them on your brand’s products or services.

Social Media Campaigns

You might be wondering how social media campaigns got into this list of experiential brand marketing tactics. We’re not talking about run-of-the-mill campaigns here but immersive, interactive social media campaigns.

Polls, quizzes, and contests in social media campaigns can be considered experiential simply because they engage the audience, keep their attention, and generate considerable buzz. Incentivize them to level up their loyalty while you’re at it.

Gamification

Speaking of incentivizing customers, gamification is something familiar. It’s been around for a while and it doesn’t seem to work for everyone. But that’s because it isn’t done right.

People, regardless of age and gender, love games. They love the feeling of earning something, opening mystery gift boxes, and doing fun stuff to get reasonably cool rewards. There are retail businesses in the U.S. that organize scavenger hunts with big prizes for the winners.

The idea is to implement a program that’s fun and engaging to your customers, incentivizing them at the end for their effort. And the incentive shouldn’t be anything silly. That’s one big reason why it doesn’t work for some companies. They make customers put considerable effort into something and get a trivial reward in return. Who would want to do a photoshoot with a product, post it on social media, tag the brand that sold it, and then get a lollipop in return?

Time-Lapse Brand Stories

Who says brand experiences have to be fleeting? Time-lapse brand stories are captivating audiences over weeks or even months.

For this tactic, brands set up large-scale installations that change gradually over time. This could be anything from a slowly blooming garden representing a company’s growth to an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine that takes a while to complete its run to a grand climax.

It’s cool enough to encourage repeat visits to your store, keeping your brand top-of-mind for extended periods.

The Takeaway for SMBs

Experiential marketing is often thought of as a tactic reserved for big brands with big budgets. But that’s your inner voice pulling you down. Even small businesses can get creative with these tactics. Here are a few tips:

• Partner with local businesses that feel the same way as you do about this tactic. A co-branded event can work wonders.
• Grab free or low-cost tools like social media and online collaboration platforms to tailor the experience of customers.
• Work on fun games and immersive feedback programs to boost loyalty and engagement.

Experiential marketing doesn’t have to be a one-time event. But before you start kicking it up a notch with your experiential marketing tactic, make sure you do the groundwork. Especially Rule 101; understanding your audience and their interests. Once all of that’s taken care of, the next step is to showcase a cohesive brand image before you start working on the engagement.

For starters, grab a few cool-looking polo shirts wholesale, customize them with your brand logo, and have your employees wear them. Then make sure your store reflects the whole theme of what you have in mind like perfect product placements, stuff that makes navigating the store easy, creative billboards, appropriate decors, maybe a brand mascot, signs that get walkers curious enough to drop in, and a whole lot of other stuff you can think of.

But you don’t want it to be cluttered though. All of this impacts the overall experience of prospective and existing customers. You can even bring in some promotional apparel to give away, just to spice things up a bit.

That’s it. Time to ditch the traditional advertising route and start thinking about how you can create an unforgettable brand experience for your audience.