06.12.23
By Lisa Major
Street team marketing is a highly effective guerrilla marketing tactic that targets consumers where they work, live, and play. The strategy involves canvassing high-foot-traffic areas to get products directly in front of consumers, make real-life connections, create brand awareness, and generate buzz.
The sky’s the limit regarding what type of interactive experience your team will create on the ground. When planning your street team marketing event, you’ll need to consider branding, staffing, messaging, locations, and permits (unless you like living on the edge). Although a street team activation is relatively simple to execute, there are a few dos and don’ts to consider.
Research your target audience to find out their likes, dislikes, and interests, as well as where you may find them (where they work, live, and hang out).
You’ll also need to research what permits you may need, how many samples your campaign will require, the types of branding materials, basic logistics, how many street team brand ambassadors you’ll need, and so on.
Be innovative and creative. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but you can get ideas from past street team activations and then work to create something new and unique. If this is your first street team rodeo, consult with an event staffing company or experiential marketing agency for tips and advice on how to best execute your ideas.
Take your time when making decisions, such as finding the right brand ambassadors for your street team, where and when to reach your audience best, and the logistics of your activation. Allowing yourself to think through decisions will help to set your activation up for success.
Street team marketing is measurable, and you should set goals for your event. These goals should be based on what you expect from the activation – is the number of impressions made or the number of samples your brand ambassadors distributed? By setting KPIs, you can evaluate your program to see what worked and what didn’t and how you can improve in the future. But it doesn’t end there. It is best to communicate your goals to your brand ambassadors so they understand your expectations and how they can help you achieve success.
Tip: Give your brand ambassadors an extra push by offering a monetary bonus or gift card if they reach the goals you have outlined for them.
Freebies and incentives go hand and hand with street team marketing, and giveaways often lead to future sales. In fact, according to this article, “73% of consumers said they were likely to buy a product after trying it (only 25% said the same thing about seeing a television commercial).” Consumers love free stuff, whether it’s a sample of your product, branded premium items, a digital giveaway, or a discount offer.
You should always have at least one backup plan in the event of inclement weather, being asked to leave a location, or other things that pop up that are beyond your control.
They can make your event successful, or they can cause it to fail. You’ll want to have a team of passionate, charismatic, and well-spoken brand ambassadors to represent your brand in the best light.
For example, don’t ship all of your materials to one event manager. What if they have car trouble and can’t make it? A better solution is to send materials to a storage facility so that if there is a last-minute change, someone else can easily step in and pick up the materials. Diversify on all fronts.
Adaptability and flexibility are an absolute must for street team marketing. Things happen, and you have to roll with the punches.
Just because you think a location you’ve selected for your routing schedule you’ve included on your routing schedule is perfect and will have on the day of your activation. Give your street team the flexibility to move around and adjust to maximize your efforts.
Street team marketing involves getting boots on the ground, generating buzz, and engaging with consumers. Creating a successful street team marketing event doesn’t take much effort, but it does take research, creativity, and dedication to pull off these one-of-a-kind events. By following the street team marketing do’s and don’ts listed above, you’ll be well on your way to a successful event!
When it comes to staffing your street team marketing campaign, you’ll need an event staffing agency that you can count on. With so many staffing agencies to choose from, you’ll need to research which one can meet your needs. Thoroughly vetting your vendors is one of the best investments you can make when planning a live marketing campaign.
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