Ask any marketer what the principle objective for any of their campaigns is, and the reply would be the similar. It’s to face out from the gang and foster a significant reference to their viewers. Nevertheless, in a world the place tens of millions of manufacturers are competing with one another, that is proving to be simpler stated than performed.
Enter experiential advertising and marketing, a technique that focuses on creating memorable and immersive experiences for patrons. This contemporary method has been confirmed to be efficient, notably in stay occasions. However can this be built-in into e-mail campaigns as properly? The reply is a convincing sure.
On this article, we’ll take a deeper take a look at what experiential advertising and marketing is and the way it may be used to remodel your abnormal emails into immersive journeys that go away an enduring affect. Let’s get began!
What’s experiential advertising and marketing?
Experiential advertising and marketing revolves round creating an expertise for patrons. Not like conventional advertising and marketing, the place clients passively obtain a model’s message, experiential advertising and marketing encourages clients to actively have interaction and take part. This may be performed by way of hands-on experiences, bodily occasions, interactive video games, inventive shows, and different direct approaches.
The objective of experiential advertising and marketing is to offer a buyer with a enjoyable and immersive expertise that may assist type a deeper connection and funding within the model. This may result in elevated model loyalty and, in the end, conversions.
Sorts of experiential advertising and marketing
Experiential advertising and marketing is available in completely different varieties. Some examples are:
1. Stay occasions
Stay occasions are probably the most frequent sorts of experiential advertising and marketing. This consists of commerce reveals, activations, product launches, pop-up retailers, or any sort of occasion the place a buyer can instantly work together with the model.
2. Product demos and samples
Making a multi-sensory expertise is what makes experiential advertising and marketing really interactive and immersive. This may be performed by way of product demos or samples the place clients can see, hear, really feel, or style the product.
3. Guerilla advertising and marketing
Guerilla advertising and marketing focuses on utilizing unconventional strategies that encourage public interplay to advertise a services or products. One instance of that is Coca-Cola’s Hug Me Machine. When folks “hug” the merchandising machine, it should dispense a free Coke for them. This marketing campaign went viral as folks had been delighted with the expertise of hugging a machine in addition to getting a freebie out of it.
(Supply: Coca-Cola YouTube channel)
Guerilla advertising and marketing depends on the factor of shock and the sense of disruption in a public place. This tends to supply quite a lot of buzz, as folks get curious and have a tendency to discover their set-ups as a substitute of simply passing by.
4. Digital and augmented actuality
The rise of expertise has given rise to VR and AR within the area of experiential advertising and marketing. Manufacturers can now harness the ability of expertise to present their clients an immersive expertise by giving them inventive visible worlds, providing to just about strive on their merchandise, or transporting them to locations they in any other case should journey to.
Take, for instance, McDonald’s VR Zodiac Exhibition. They created a digital corridor the place folks can discover a world the place they will be taught in regards to the Chinese language Zodiac, strive on particular McDonald’s merchandise, and ship lanterns into the sky.
(Supply: McDonald’s Corridor of Zodiacs)
5. Electronic mail advertising and marketing
Whereas experiential advertising and marketing is usually related to bodily occasions, it doesn’t imply that it will probably’t be utilized to e-mail advertising and marketing.
Experiential advertising and marketing might be utilized to e-mail advertising and marketing by specializing in creating interactive emails. These are emails that include parts, options, or eye-catching visuals that subscribers can have interaction in inside the inbox. This may be performed by way of video games, quizzes, stay polls, or perhaps a 360° picture that subscribers can click on round to discover.
One instance of that is from Litmus, the place their subscribers can see how their mild and darkish mode seems with a fast click on of a button. This enables them to “expertise” the product inside their inbox.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
Advantages of experiential advertising and marketing
1. Offers clients with a enjoyable and memorable expertise
Experiential advertising and marketing gives a extra partaking and entertaining expertise versus conventional advertising and marketing. It additionally provides your clients an opportunity to see your product in motion and perceive the way it advantages them as a substitute of simply studying about it. Experiences additionally create a extra memorable reference to you and your clients, fostering a deeper emotional bond.
2. Presents a contemporary and distinctive tackle advertising and marketing
Do you know that a median American sees a complete of 4,000 to 10,000 adverts every day? Appears like rather a lot? It’s. And inside these excessive numbers, simply what number of repeated ideas and concepts do you suppose you’ll see?
Experiential advertising and marketing presents much more to your clients who’re overexposed to adverts and bored of repeated concepts. It may be a singular expertise, a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, or only a enjoyable break from their every day routine. Both approach, it’s positively extra impactful in comparison with one more web site banner advert.
3. Boosts model consciousness
Model consciousness goes past simply having a cool brand design or a catchy tagline. It’s about making your clients conscious that your model exists within the first place. And experiential advertising and marketing simply does that. A enjoyable and interactive expertise can positively make a mark on clients’ minds and make them need to know extra about your model.
This will additionally assist in constructing a robust model identification. Who wouldn’t need to be referred to as the model that does quite a lot of cool and distinctive advertising and marketing?
4. Promotes social sharing
Experiential advertising and marketing is a must have if you wish to drive buzz and free PR to your model. Individuals who attend a enjoyable occasion are inclined to take tons of images or movies about it and share it on social media. In the meantime, a enjoyable sport or quiz on an e-mail will result in folks sharing it with their household and pals.
What are some examples of experiential advertising and marketing in emails?
Now that what experiential advertising and marketing is and its advantages, let’s check out how one can incorporate it into your e-mail advertising and marketing campaigns. Some examples are:
1. Interactive photos (carousels, accordions, and scratch-offs)
Interactive photos are inclined to generate larger engagement in comparison with static ones as they encourage folks to click on extra. They’re additionally helpful in cell, as they will present extra data and content material even with the restricted house obtainable.
One instance of that is picture carousels. An picture carousel is an interactive e-mail the place subscribers can “flip” by way of a collection of images with a easy click on of a button.
B&Q has included carousels into their e-mail to nice success. This e-mail marketing campaign, the place their subscribers can faucet every field to see particular summer time suggestions, has garnered them an 18% improve in open charges and 42,000 click-throughs.
(Supply: Motion Rocket)
One other instance of an interactive picture is accordions. By clicking a component or merchandise, it should increase to indicate extra data. A enjoyable instance of that is an e-mail from BBC, the place clicking the “+” icon will increase to extra content material. However what makes this stand out is that the background picture modifications relying on the enlargement you choose.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
One other instance is scratch-offs. This provides one other factor of interactiveness and shock in your subscribers, as they get to “scratch off” to see in the event that they received a prize or low cost coupon.
(Supply: 3radical)
2. Rollover and hover results
One other instance of interactive photos is people who include hover or rollover results. That is the impact when a picture modifications to a unique one while you hover over them.
One instance is from UGG, the place you may view their sandals in numerous colours while you hover over a selected swatch.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
It is a favourite for eCommerce manufacturers, as they may give you extra particulars and details about a product and even “disguise” a promo code with out utilizing an excessive amount of house in an e-mail. You additionally get to have a full procuring expertise, even within the consolation of your personal residence.
(Supply: Stripo template)
3. Quizzes
Increase your hand in case you took any of these “Which X are you?” quizzes on Buzzfeed. We’re keen to wager that you simply did. It’s because quizzes, merely put, are enjoyable. Plus, they’re simple to do whereas providing you with essential data (akin to discovering what sort of taco you might be 😉).
The identical concept might be utilized to your emails. Quizzes can be utilized to seek out out your viewers’s ache factors and objectives to advocate to them a tailor-made answer.
Quizzes are additionally nice for these within the eCommerce trade who want to upsell or cross-sell. Check out Harry’s, the place they match a selected bathe gel to you, relying in your solutions.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
After all, you too can go for some enjoyable, random quizzes. Not all the things must be sales-y, and relying in your audience, they may respect this method extra.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
4. Video games
It ought to most likely be no shock at this level that folks love video games. For this reason e-mail gamification is so profitable. Pleasure, competitors, and a way of completion after a sport are nice driving forces for any particular person. Add in a reward on the finish, and also you’re golden.
Check out this e-mail from EmailMonk, the place subscribers want to seek out hidden objects to flee a haunted fort.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
Or from our Valentine’s Day sport, the place subscribers can get a promo code to be taught which Cupid they’re in the event that they discover three phrases associated to Stripo.
In each examples, subscribers had been in a position to have fun an occasion (Halloween and Valentine’s Day, respectively) with out having to bodily exit for a stay occasion. Our Valentine’s Day marketing campaign additionally noticed a 25% improve in open charges (from 30% to 37.5%) and a whopping 11% click-through charge.
5. Movies
Whereas movies won’t be essentially the most “interactive” instance on this record, it’s truly probably the most efficient parts in an e-mail marketing campaign.
The numbers don’t lie — 89% of individuals say watching a video has satisfied them to purchase a services or products. To not point out, 91% of individuals need to see extra video content material from manufacturers. If that doesn’t encourage you to embed a video in your subsequent e-mail blast, I don’t know what is going to.
There are some things to remember — folks have a tendency to observe movies with the hold forth, so ensure your video can nonetheless be understood even with out the sound. A method to do that is to offer captions. Additionally, the success of your video depends on the primary three seconds. You must seize your subscribers’ consideration in these treasured seconds. In any other case, they’ll simply scroll over.
You don’t want to simply be restricted to at least one video, both. Take, for instance, this e-mail from Royal Caribbean, which comprises an interactive map. Relying on the placement that you simply click on on the map, it should present you a brief video that provides extra details about every location.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
Wrapping up
Within the ever-changing world of promoting, staying forward of the curve is essential if you wish to seize your buyer’s consideration and construct significant relationships with them. One of many methods to do that is thru experiential advertising and marketing.
Whereas it’s historically related to bodily occasions, the development of expertise makes it attainable to present an immersive expertise to your e-mail subscribers as properly.
The principle factor to remember is to retain the essential parts of experiential advertising and marketing – that are interactiveness, leisure, and creativity – and incorporate them into your subsequent e-mail marketing campaign. Do that, and also you’ll have the ability to remodel your boring emails right into a extra immersive expertise.
Create wonderful e-mail experiences in your subscribers with Stripo
