09/12/2022
Experiential Marketing Trends for 2023
Brands are like people. They have stories, histories, “personalities,” and (customer) relationships. These relationships are based on experiences that a consumer has with a brand. Thus, experts emphasize that companies should make all touchpoints conducive to building a profitable relationship with their target audience. One way to do this is by organizing events.
Thanks to digital technology, the experiential marketing future is looking bright. However, experiential marketing is not just all bells and whistles. At its very heart, it attempts to endear a brand to its customers, to sear a positive experience into their psyche (including emotions), and to develop a lasting, profitable relationship.
It is through live in-person events that people get to understand products and offerings better. However, with the coronavirus still spreading globally, organizers are forced to tap into their digital arsenal to continue to draw customers and secure returns. As such, immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI) figure heavily in today’s experiential marketing landscape and will further shape new trends in the succeeding years.
Interestingly, despite the global pandemic, 31% of Americans still managed to attend product demos, 20% visited pop-up shops, and 17% dropped by brand installations (YouGov, 2020). There is definitely ample real estate for growth in this industry barring today’s challenges.
All things told, experiential marketing is focused on providing sensory, emotional, cognitive, and rational values to consumers. It creates synergies that improve loyalty (Forbes, 2018). Additionally, it generates audience participation in both offline, online, and mixed settings.