The Added Value of Experiential Marketing

· Blog

In an increasingly competitive and global environment, the survival of a business and its brand depends on its adaptability and ability to renew itself, but it is especially based on its capacity to differentiate itself from competitors.

Companies have been geared towards the functional aspect of products and an excessively rational and analytic type of marketing for a while now, so they tend to integrate a multi-sensory and emotional dimension to their communications.

Selling differently… Simple concept, big results

In this approach, experiential marketing takes on its full meaning. This forward-thinking type of marketing leaves an impression by offering a unique theatrical sensory experience that takes place in an environment conducive to the act of buying. It represents the new art of selling and buying that corresponds to our society’s lifestyle and aspirations.

In other words, experiential marketing allows businesses and brands to stand out from their competitors in a positive way, by pushing the boundaries of creativity all while emphasizing the experiences of individuals.

In fact, 70 percent of consumers say that their emotions account for 50 percent of each purchasing decision.

Beyond a purely commercial approach, this innovative form of marketing calls on our basic needs and subtly infiltrates our subconscious. The key words are suggesting, challenging, inspiring and generating curiosity. It stimulates our senses, our emotions and our imagination all while encouraging interactions between the consumer, the product and/or its environment.

Originality as a driving force

Numerous brands took the plunge and now offer very unique concepts.  

Some choose to integrate experiential marketing to their environment, especially if it is in a public place. For example, Adidas used a huge shoe box as an outdoor store, and Lipton iced tea transformed a big can into a soft drink vending machine.

Some brands even change the product’s intended use in a suggestive way, like Sprite did when they installed showers in the shape of vending machines on the beach, or like Coca-Cola when they gave the public access to a mechanical bull in the shape of a can.

Lastly, some choose to merge environment and product in a way that the product blends into its surroundings, like when Kit-Kat made a bench look like a chocolate bar, or when Caribou Coffee transformed a bus stop into a giant oven.

As you can imagine, the ideas are endless and the opportunities for interactions are infinite!

Senses serving the user experience

Experiential marketing is largely based on sensorial marketing, which calls on the five human senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.

Rockefeller University revealed the importance of the five human senses in the buying process through a very interesting study. By testing our memory and our assimilative capacity, this study showed that humans remember 5 percent of what they see, 2 percent of what they hear, 1 percent of what they touch and 35 percent of what they smell.

In addition, according to a Léger Marketing survey, nearly 60 percent can associate smells and music to specific products or stores. Results also showed that businesses that adopted some aspects of sensorial marketing increased their sales by 30-40 percent.

In both short and long term, experiential marketing allows businesses to: 

  • Facilitate purchases
  • Reinforce their attractiveness
  • Provide added value compared to traditional e-commerce
  • Become better known

In the long term, this can help them acquire a global identity, a loyal clientele and a renewed brand image.

Did this give you a few ideas? Capital-Image is here to give you advice and to help you revitalize your brand. Don’t hesitate to contact our team!