When you plan to introduce a new product to the market, the first thing that comes to mind is organizing a special event for that particular product. And that special event acts as a key to attract new customers and bring them closer to your brand.
As long as you know how to build brand awareness using online and offline marketing strategies, you can leave your mark in the industry. However, your audience is becoming more sophisticated now. Using too obvious techniques can push your customers away instead of bringing them closer to your brand.
Here comes the role of brand activation marketing strategies. With its tactics, you can inspire your clients to be more interested and invested in your brand. Also, these methods will help you create a lasting brand engagement between your products and your customers, which creates a win-win situation for both the producers and the consumer.
The Definition of Activation Marketing
Activation marketing is also known as brand activation. It is anything that a company sponsors, such as an event that enhances attendees’ experience by helping them interact and develop a connection with your brand in an impactful manner.
A perfect example of this marketing strategy would be a music festival. Fans who go to a music festival are actively participating to experience the music (the product). The activation marketing strategies give your customers a better chance to get familiar with the product and services you are offering them.
In the next section, you’ll find some great ideas on how you can incorporate activation marketing strategies into your business model. Plus, how it can help you increase your customer base for years to come.
Let’s get you started…
1. Share Real Experiences with Your Customers
If you want your customers to create a personalized relationship with your brand, a recommendation from an influential customer or an expert can make a huge difference in adding more credibility.
According to a Synsethio study, more than 95 percent of online shoppers look for online reviews of a local business. And 85 percent of them decide to depend on the review they have read on the internet.
You can start by asking your audience what they expect from your brand and how you can improve it. You can do it via a sponsored event, or you can start a survey online and ask your customers to share their feedback. You can use their experience to tell a story to your customers to create more personalized events. Also, it can work perfectly with online brand activation, which is to ask your remote audience to participate in the process of strengthening your relationship with them.
2. Take People to Their Favorite Worlds
When you invite your customers to participate in an event, the one thing you should keep in mind is to give them a mini-escape from their everyday life. You can create a unique theme to encourage the attendees to be more creative and open-minded. As a result, they will listen to your ideas more attentively because they know that you have something new and fresh to share.
You don’t always have to organize a physical event to implement this strategy. An online affair can work just fine as well—for instance, a dinner event series on L. A Times’ joined the actors of Netflix’s show Salena. Consequently, the fans of both shows became one and made the event a huge success.
3. Steal the Show with Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is the new favorite of event sponsors. It’s because it lets the audience interact with the sponsors uniquely and entertainingly. With the help of this technology, your customers can delve into a whole new world at the expense of an inexpensive ticket.
Another great example would be McDonald’s use of VR tech at SXSW, which transported the audience inside a Happy Meal box. Once inside, the audience could use balloons, paintbrushes, and lasers to paint the walls. And when they are finished with pouring out their creativity, they could share their creation on social media – providing McDonald’s an opportunity to take the benefit of their networks.
Moreover, virtual reality works seamlessly with online events. So when you create a unique event with bleeding-edge technology like this, you have a long-lasting impression on your customers. It gives them more reasons to connect with your brand rather than with your competitors.
4. Give Customers a Soothing Experience
An online space with an emphasis on relaxation can help busy participants feel calmer and more focused. Even a little escape from day-to-day life can give attendees an everlasting impression. So when Blu Matter Project hosted an online event focused on meditation, it taught the participants the ways of future meditations with the assistance of well-known experts. This only tells us one thing: the ways to enhance customer experience are endless, especially when it comes to online activation.
5. Attractive Giveaways
Another exciting way to connect your brand with its customers is by giving them free samples of your products as giveaways. Attractive giveaways like a roundtrip to another country can win the hearts of your customers.
The same thing was done by Ten X, an online real estate marketplace whose Flyaway Contest included airfare of a roundtrip and hotel accommodations for winners.
However, a giveaway doesn’t always have to be extraordinary. A VIP ticket upgrade, food and drink vouchers, special discounts on your products do the job perfectly.
To Sum It All Up
With the right activation marketing strategies, you can give your brand the boost it needs. Keep one thing in mind: to successfully implement these strategies, you need to focus on your customers. To earn new customers, don’t forget about your customers that have relied on your brand from the beginning.
All the strategies mentioned above will help them feel special and connected to your brand. However, these are only a few ways from the list of endless possibilities of activation marketing. Make sure to use them to your advantage and seek assistance whenever you need to promote your brand.
