8 Times Experiential Marketing Really Nailed It

Did you know that by the time you put your phone down and turn off your bedside lamp tonight, you’ll have seen more than 5,000 ads today? It’s safe to say that we’re bombarded with so much messaging from brands that we barely even notice it anymore. In fact, we’re statistically 279 times more likely to climb Mt. Everest and reach the summit than we are to actually click a banner ad.1

But does that mean that all hope is lost in the world of advertising? Should brands simply pack up their bags, give up on ever being seen or heard, and hand over the keys to Amazon? Definitely not. But only if brands learn to shift their focus from forcibly being seen & heard (hello obnoxious banner ads), to instead being felt. Because there’s still a way to not only reach an audience, but to get them so darn engaged that they’ll willingly share your campaign with their friends, and they’ll definitely walk away feeling some kinda way.

I’m talking about experiential marketing. You may know it as event marketing, guerilla marketing, or brand activation, but the nuts and bolts are the same: It’s a way for a brand to immerse its customers and potential customers in its value proposition and messaging in a memorable way (read: unique & creative), and to generate earned media through shares and publicity (read: free advertising.) And typically, it happens IRL.

The results actually go way beyond the lure of free-ninety-nine. In fact, 85% of customers who attend an experiential marketing activation go on to become regular customers.2 So it’s clear that experiences do more than increase brand awareness – they’re a key part of any savvy marketer’s channel playbook.

Anyway, enough with the numbers. You’re here for a hot, steamy bowl of experiential marketing creative goodness, amiright?

Below you’ll find 8 of my favorite experiential marketing activations. And if you’re curious as to how an activation made the cut, here are the super-scientific criteria I used:

• The activation wasn’t just a random “cool idea,” and instead was based on a clear creative concept.
• The concept (see bullet above) felt on-brand, and communicated the brand’s unique value proposition.
• The activation was impactful in terms of engagement and earned media.

Let’s get to it then. In no particular order:

8 of the Coolest Experiential Marketing Campaigns, Ever

1. St. Regis Hotel’s bespoke fragrance - You may know that scent serves as our strongest connection to memory, so it makes sense (kudos to me for not using a pun there) that the hotel & travel industries are leaning more on fragrance experiences for their brands. And St. Regis did it well: They not only created a custom fragrance that they use within their portfolio of hotels, but a guest can buy their own version of the scent to take home – keeping the St. Regis brand memory lasting long after the guest has gone.

You can buy your own sniffs of St. Regis here, or learn the story behind the fragrance’s name, “Caroline’s Four Hundred,” below:

2.?Adidas “Jump Store” - Adidas partnered with Derrick Rose, NBA player, on a line of signature shoes. As a way to get the less-engaged UK audience interested, they created a pop-up shop where the folks could try their chances at snagging their own pair of sneaks, for free. You might be thinking that a pop-up store is kind of been there/done that, but this one was special because of the innovative design, the minimalist branding, and the concept. It definitely wouldn’t have had the same impact (or made my list) if the sneakers were just on normal, shoppable shelves in the space.

Plus, it made for a rad digital video:

3. Sprite “Showers at the Beach” - This one’s an oldie but a goodie, and I included it because it definitely hits all of the criteria I mentioned above. And it’s super simple: Sprite built huge “soda” (water) dispensers on the beach in Brazil, and sandy beach-goers could step inside to get a quick refreshing rinse.

4. Harrah’s “Funner, California” - Okay sure, I have a soft spot for hotels. But this one is seriously cool. Harrah’s hired Southern California agency i.d.e.a. (shout out to Ryan Berman) to reinvent the resort in their guests’ minds, and the agency did just that: From literally renaming the territory Harrah’s sits on to “Funner,” to hiring the Hoff to be its mayor, to empowering the resort’s staff to surprise & delight guests as they saw fit, this was a campaign that truly embodies the word “experience” in every way.

5. Weight Watchers “Healthy Drive Through” - Last year, Weight Watchers was debuting their new “Flex Program” in the UK, which allowed members more leniency when it came to what they could/could not eat and still be within their recommended dietary models. In short, the brand wanted to communicate that you didn’t need to restrict yourself to be a Weight Watcher. So they built a drive-through that served healthy versions of what you could typically get at any other fast food joint. I do have some questions around how they were able to pull this one off in terms of health safety compliance and all of the other red tape around food… but hey, they did it!

6. A&E “Bates Motel” - In 2015, the broadcast network A&E created a replica of the motel from the wildly popular show “Bates Motel” at SXSW in Austin. With the intention of simply rewarding & delighting fans ahead of the season 3 premiere, the space featured props and decor from the show, a Bates-themed photo booth, fan art in the guest book, and was also a functioning motel in that the rooms could be rented out.

7. Saks Fifth Avenue “It List Townhouse” - In partnership with American Express and Harper’s Bazaar, Saks brought 2018 fashion trends to life in the form of over-the-top interior design inside a posh townhouse in New York City. The super-Instagrammable spaces, each one modeled after a particular fashion trend that Saks included in its written “It List,” was not only shoppable, but spoke directly to the hearts of its intended fashionista audience.

8. Airbnb “Van Gogh’s Bedroom” - When the Art Institute of Chicago learned that Van Gogh’s series of paintings of a particular bedroom he lived in were coming their way, they commissioned for a replica of that bedroom to be created in their space as part of the exhibit. And not only that, but they also recreated the same space in an apartment in a nearby Chicago neighborhood, which interested folks could rent for the reasonable rate of $10/night.

Well, that’s it, friends! Eight of my favorite experiential campaigns ever. (Did I miss any of your favs? Let me know in the comments.)

And if you happen to be looking to do your own experiential brand activation, I personally think there are still major opportunities to do so in and around these kinds of spaces & places:

• Car washes
• Airbnbs
• Hotel rooms & lobbies
• Corporate office building lobbies & break rooms
• Public parks and squares
• Alleys between commercial buildings
• Libraries
• Local coffee shops
• Shipping crates in parking lots

As always, thanks for reading. And feel free to hit me up if you wanna talk more about experiential marketing, hospitality and branding, startups, Game of Thrones, dogs...

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