10.26.18
By Lisa Major
Incorporating a strong social media strategy into experiential marketing campaigns allows marketers to generate buzz and increase engagement by reaching an audience beyond the physical space of the brand activation. Social media also allows for continued attendee engagement, user-generated content, and increased brand awareness. In last week’s edition of Happy Hour, we talked about the value of live streaming in events on social platforms. This week we’ll take a deeper look at how social media can give brand activations a boost, making the two a perfect combo. We also look at experiential marketing examples that will inspire you, trade show trend predictions, and ways to make your holiday experiential marketing campaigns unforgettable. We close with some awesomely hilarious office pranks for you to pull on your co-workers.
“Only a handful of brands are truly employing social platforms to their fullest capacity when promoting, hosting, and sharing live events.” ~Pulse Advertising
Most brand activations utilize social media in some shape or form, but as this article points out, only a few brands are using social to the fullest extent. With experiential marketing on the rise, marketers have to stay competitive to get the most out of their brand activations. Social media can amplify an event, generate buzz, increase brand awareness, and so much more. With that said, brands should be taking advantage of all that social media has to offer. By combining social media strategies with brand activations, marketers can rise above the rest. Here, Pulse Advertising shares four ways that social media can elevate brand activations and take them to the next level.
“It’s all about the experience these days: attendee experience, speaker experience, user experience, and especially experiential marketing. Experiences create connections and connections bring people back, making your event super successful.” ~Event MB
In October of last year, Adweek’s article “Agencies Everywhere See Experiential Marketing as the Next Big Thing, and Brands Want In” may have been the most shared article about experiential marketing of all time. Fast forward one year and experiential is king. Experiential continues to grow by leaps and bounds and is found in every industry from retail to agriculture to tourism. Exceptional experiential campaigns are inspiring, and not just for attendees, but for brands and agencies, too. Whether that inspiration comes from jaw-dropping designs or from campaigns that have off-the-chart results, it’s those buzz-worthy campaigns that make marketers stop and take note. Here, Event MB brings us 100 of the most exciting experiential marketing campaigns of all time, as well as strategies, trends, and best practices for 2019.
“The great thing about the holidays is that you can activate from November through early January, or you can pick specific moments within that holiday window to activate.” ~Josh Kell, cited by Shane Schick
Halloween is next week, and you know what’s next…the holiday season. With people out and about shopping, eating, attending holiday activities, and so on, the holidays give brands an enormous opportunity to connect with consumers with experiential marketing strategies. But, brands should plan their holiday experiential campaigns carefully and strategically. In order to capture the attention of consumers authentically in an already hectic space, marketers must find ways to connect with consumers in a memorable way, not to mention in a way that also aligns with the holiday season in general. The best way that this can be achieved is by offering something of value, whether that is something that is entertaining or something that makes the consumer’s life easier or more enjoyable. Here, Marketing Dive gives some valuable advice on how brands can create memorable experiential campaigns this holiday season.
“While it’s true that anyone can make a prediction, but making the right prediction is where things get a little tricky.” ~Exhibit Concepts
Each year, professionals in just about every industry seek out the hottest trends, tips, and predictions to guide them through the year. Back in February, Exhibit Concepts published their predictions on what they thought would be the hottest trade show trends of 2018. Here, they revisit those predictions to see which ones they got right and which ones they missed the mark on. For the most part, they fared pretty well. Check it out and see if you agree or disagree.
“When Halloween is around the corner, these caramel onions are no match for other tricks (or treats).” ~Lindsay Kolowich
Experiential marketers and event profs, you need to take a little break from your daily grind and check out these awesome office-prank ideas. With Halloween coming up, we thought this would be fitting to share in this week’s Happy Hour. Some are really bad, some are pretty funny, and number 19 is so not cool. Enjoy!
Thanks for gathering for this week’s Happy Hour! Each week, ATN brings you the latest tips, trends, and news in experiential and event marketing. Join us again next week! Cheers!
ATN has provided event staffing services for all types of brand activations, experiential events, trade shows, and more for over 16 years. Any city, any time, we’ve got you covered.
