Experiential marketing introduces experiences that go well beyond the conventional marketing strategies that have been used for years,writes, Monica K Dhawan

Traditional marketing is failing to reach vital Gen Z audiences. Top brands believe experiential marketing is the key to winning over younger audiences—especially after the last few years of pandemic disruption.

The core of experiential marketing is live events. Marketers can successfully establish a favourable relationship between their brand and their target audience's distinctive, entertaining, and memorable experiences. The biggest advantage of this strategy is that a live event doesn't have to adhere to the brand's core principles. It only needs to be done to create an experience that the target audience values and enjoys. As a result, a favourable relationship develops between this experience and the brand.

Brands are adopting the trend of experiential marketing for a number of reasons. Below are the key factors that are driving the explosion of experiential marketing in the coming years:

Experiences that are innovative 

Experiential marketing introduces experiences that go well beyond the conventional marketing strategies that have been used for years. More creative approaches to connecting with and interacting with customers have resulted from this strategy. To serve an increasingly tech-savvy and demanding customer base, brands are experimenting with a range of methodologies to enable effective experiential marketing strategies, including both virtual and hybrid experiences. In order to create more meaningful experiences, it is essential to integrate experiences with consumer device usage and tailor interaction to customer interests.

Enhanced consumer engagement and brand perception

According to a 2020 survey, 83% of consumers are more inclined to buy from a brand they feel emotionally connected to.

Customer engagement and brand perception are improved because experiential marketing eliminates the transactional barriers of conventional brand engagement and fosters a culture where customers feel recognised and valued for their contributions to the brand. Customers may provide feedback and suggestions immediately thanks to experiential marketing, which makes the engagement more genuine, inclusive, and engaging. This close connection between brand and customer can have a big impact on how people view the brand since marketers can use this to make customers feel special and set themselves apart from competitors who don't put as much effort into engaging with their customers.

Brand referrals

Audiences recall how businesses make them feel, so experiential marketing enables brand advocates to promote good word of mouth to friends and family so they may also partake in enjoyable shared experiences. This could improve organic reach and lead to free advertising for the brand, developing ties with a variety of people in the process.

Final Thoughts

There is a strong desire among customers to take part in social gatherings as we leave behind the extraordinary circumstances that formerly felt like an endless ordeal. Customers will undoubtedly still experience some residual hypersensitivity and apprehension that may prevent them from participating in some heavily populated activities, so it is crucial for brands to show that they have a strong sense of empathy for their core audience and that they are taking specific steps to eliminate the transactional nature of engagement and find innovative ways to highlight their brand personality.

This offers brands the ideal opportunity to collaborate together, re-engage with their core audience, and build personalized, unique experiences that uphold their brand values and identity. One such strategy is to plan exclusive events for select groups of devoted patrons, which can develop a sense of belonging as a member of an exclusive group that feels deeply valued.

Experiential marketing has gradually gained popularity over time as it evolved from a supplemental strategy to a more crucial component of any effective marketing effort. The ever-demanding, always-connected, and multichannel clients of today have raised the bar for the seamless delivery of services across a variety of touchpoints.

Monica K Dhawan is the Managing Director Fusion Corporate solutions, Former Independent Director Jammu & Kashmir Bank