How Experiential Marketing Amplifies Brand Connection

Forward-thinking brands are shifting perspective and budgets to optimize experiential marketing — connecting technology and nontraditional physical spaces to create emotional, frictionless connections.

The bazaar, the souk, the forum — wherever it emerges and whatever it’s called, the market has long served as the center of society. When the invention of agriculture brought the need for trade, towns grew around central gathering places where people could exchange not only goods and services, but also ideas and inspiration.

Along the way, the market became the mall, the mall became a Costco, and the Costco became Amazon.com. As commerce increasingly became a commodity, the social functions of the authentic, community-making aspects of the market largely retreated behind shelves promising unlimited choice and convenience.

As a result, a new paradigm has emerged, one where community building and shareable, physical experiences serve as the foundation of commerce. The convenience and selection of e-commerce don’t connect communities, nor do they meet the standards of today’s experience-seeking, socially conscious shoppers: A whopping 78 % of millennials say they prefer buying experiences over things.

So why are traditional retailers still shilling more commodities than connection?

It’s time for the market 2.0. Cost, convenience and choice still matter but only as spokes in an experiential flywheel primed to generate authentic brand love.

Digital-native retailers have to come to the party, too
Outdoor Voices wouldn’t exist as we know it outside of this brave new world. Launched online and grown through social media, the athleticwear brand targets active consumers who don’t necessarily consider themselves to be athletes. This digital native knew what big brands are realizing: Anything that’s not a commodity should be marketed experientially.

Outdoor Voices showed up at traditional and nontraditional retail with exclusive spaces and events designed to create community. OVs’ retail locations served as hubs where community members can meet up for dog walks, running clubs, surfing lessons and more.

At SXSW 2018, the company debuted its augmented reality app, which enables people to the closest OV Trail Shop spot—one of 50 running trails where people can shop via augmented reality. Its #DoingThings social media campaign aligned with its focus on getting people outside and fueling a wider conversation.

Technology is a great enabler of connection for Outdoor Voices, not the platform for it, and it’s strategically applied to feed and amplify a physical experience. Could Outdoor Voices survive without any physical brand expression? Perhaps, but the company has realized that physical experiences are key to amplifying its growth. Experiences that connect communities and power a brand with purpose will increasingly become the differentiators that transcend digital offerings.

Traditional retailers must challenge the standard metrics of success
Retailers looking at cost-per-square-foot against revenue generated aren’t measuring what matters. Over indexing to get as much as possible into a space generates just one thing: a degradation of experience.

Why not transform the sales floor into a community-gathering place?

Many Lululemon locations host free yoga classes in their stores weekly. Why not selectively curate products and put your service on display? Nordstrom opened a store with a footprint a quarter of its usual size that carries almost no inventory. Instead, the store features personal stylists, tailoring services and manicure appointments.

The shifting of success metrics isn’t squeaky-clean yet. Experiential marketing doesn’t fit neatly within the confines of traditional product marketing and spend-per-customer isn’t always as easily calculated. Yet consumers say events and experiences are more effective than retail stores and online advertising in helping them get to know a product, according to Event Marketing Institute’s (EMI) 2018 EventTrack Report. 98% of consumers say they’re more likely to purchase a product after experiencing it at a live event, EMI found. It’s time for retailers to stop chasing costs-per-square-foot and start setting sights on experiences that amplify user-generated stats and shares.

Community is the currency
Historically, community and commerce have gone hand in hand. Yet over the past generation, they’ve been overtaken by fast, cheap and easy. But the human instinct to gather and share information and experience never went away, and that creates an opportunity for community and commerce to reunite in a new age of consumerism, one that amplifies experiences and is markedly conscious, smart and shared.  

The millennial generation is the first to have been flooded by digital, online and mobile marketing and advertising since day one. They’re savvy, skeptical and uncompelled by traditional advertising strategies. And they’re in charge of when, how and where they want to interact with brands.  

The dynamic has flipped for all of us, and the push of traditional marketing and advertising strategies threaten to alienate instead of endear. Brands that win in this new dynamic are becoming more intimate and transparent, finding ways to invite consumers to participate in organic ways that amplify emotional connections, cultivate community and, ultimately, win loyalty.

About Alexis Vera
Alexis Vera is a leading voice in retail and experience design, with a career spanning several world class, retail-centric design firms and executing projects for globally recognized brands like Nordstrom, Coca-Cola, Nike, and Samsung. In 2015, Alex was named to Design:Retail’s inaugural 40 under 40, recognizing his achievements throughout his 20 years in the industry.
 
Alexis has led the creative process to support some of the largest and most respected consumer electronics, footwear, apparel, and beverage brands in the world, helping to shape strategic growth with an approach to the market that focuses on more effectively connecting brands to their consumers in a rapidly evolving landscape.