Experiential Marketing Builds Brand Connections

In 2019, Verve and Coyne Research collaborated on a unique report which took a deep dive into experiential marketing. This was the first extensive survey on experiential marketing undertaken in Ireland, with 1000 adults from various backgrounds interviewed about their interactions with brands in the real world.

This included info about free samples, brand experiences, pop-ups, brand events, influencers, TV ads, social media, coupons and just about any Below the Line channel you can think of.

One fascinating insight had to do with how people respond to interacting with a brand in the real world. A massive 82 percent of those who had been captured by an experiential marketing campaign in the previous twelve months had a positive response to the brand in the aftermath.

51 percent said that interacting with a brand directly led them to buy something form the brand on at least one occasion. This group also admitted that they wouldn’t previously have considered buying anything from the brand.

What’s more, a further 31 percent admitted that while they hadn’t yet bought something from the brand, the interaction they had at a live experience had made them more likely to consider a purchase in the future.

In this case, the results are clear – more than 80 percent had a significant and positive reaction to meeting the brand or product in their everyday life. As marketing evolves over time and online audiences in particular begin to grow wary of the most obvious advertising channels, a more authentic and grounded experience, a one to one interaction between a person and the product can be a profound way to break through the miasma of messaging they receive on a daily basis.

Here’s a look at some innovative brand experiences which led to tangible benefits for the brand.

To celebrate 50 years of the famous “Beanz Meanz Heinz” slogan, Verve worked with Heinz to design build and manage a bespoke pop up café where you could ‘Pay For Your Beanz With Social Meanz’ which was a huge success!

To celebrate its third year sponsoring the Wimbledon Championships, Stella Artois went beyond the tennis courts to create a disruptive, immersive event targeted at a millennial audience, transporting them to London in 1877, the year Wimbledon began.

Advertising agency Leo Burnett teamed up with the Art Institute of Chicago Airbnb to bring the art of Vincent Van Gogh to life. A room was created in the style of the great artist’s own room in Arles, France and people could actually stay in it for $10 a night!

LEGO launched new product Dots through a unique collaboration with British artist Camille Walala, creating a life-sized toy house inside a series of shipping containers.

You can find out more insights from this landmark research in our Trends with Benefits quarterly report here.

Create unique and effective experiential campaigns with Verve, the live agency, leaders in the field of live events for almost 30 years.