Experiential Trends in 2020
Experiential, despite its clunky name and being a pain in the ass to type, continues to surge in the marketing world. The magical year of 2020 will bring some new experiential marketing trends. Here are my 10 experiential predictions for this year.
Brands Crank Up Proprietary Experiences- Watch for more brands to stage their own events. I don’t mean some pop-up or sponsorship. I mean, a legit event where fans of the brand go crazy for the experience. Think Taco Bell's Hotel, the Adult Swim Festival, Land Rover's 4xFAR, and BravoCon. These brands are realizing all of their effort over the years has resulted in creating genuine consumer love and fandom. Why more brands aren’t tapping into their popularity shows they are being too conservative. Oreo, Weber, Arby’s, Keurig, DeWalt, Twizzler, Pantene, Nantucket Nectars, J. Crew, Zillow, Mike & Ike, Bacardi … the list goes on and on … all of them could stage an event made by and for themselves that consumers would flock to (if done right, of course).
Business Meetings & Fests Overlap- CES might be the ultimate example of the crossroads of marketing meetings and festival. What marketing and media agency isn’t conducting tours on the CES floor and sessions in hotel suites to engage their clients? SXSW comes to mind, too, of course. Yet those are glorified business conferences. 2020 will see the extension of this trend into consumer-facing events. Think Coachella, Lollapalooza and ComplexCon. Smart agencies and venturous marketers will get down to business at settings that are more mass consumer-friendly. Why not a session on Q4 marketing plans before the big act hits the stage?
Influencers Get Amplified- For years I thought “influencer marketing” was fluffy bullshit. I was wrong in three major ways: 1) I underestimated the public’s love affair with all things celebrity; 2) I stupidly thought marketers wouldn't tolerate follower fraud and fake impressions; and 3) I incorrectly assumed marketers wouldn’t be in so much for attention and social impressions. So in 2020 I am putting a major bet on influencer marketing but with a twist. I predict marketers will continue to invest massively not just to pay influencers (everyone already knows that), but will amplify influencer messages with serious marketing dollars. Marketers won’t rely upon the influencers themselves to get the word out—brands will boost the initial investment big-time to support this form of content generation. Digital media must be salivating at the cash headed their way but experiential will reap the benefits, too, as influencers will be deployed to drive interest in experiential activations.
Experiential Fights For Content Creation- “Content is king” is an old and true statement. Why the heck experiential has allowed the digital world to grab content for their own is less a decision than it was just the order created in the landscape of vendor-agency-client. Well this new year will show that large experiential players are fighting to claim some of the content territory. Experiential creates genuine consumer experiences—it is ideal for brand content. Experiential teams are already on-site, engaging crowds, with resources and venues all set. So why not throw in a video crew to capture that moment then own that content to package back to the client? There is a fight brewing here, people, and clients really don’t care who gives them content so long as it’s made for them. The door is wide open!
New Tech Wows ‘Em- Part of the magic of experiential productions is creating the “wow” factor for visitors. As technology moves at a wicked speed, this means consumers will be exposed to new high-tech platforms at a blistering pace. 2020 should bring innovative tech to the masses in ways that will blow minds. Cool new tech is not cheap but it is more affordable than you might suspect. New apps tied to personal photos and videos, hard tech using platforms like lasers, immersive experiences with new gen holograms are just some of the technologies that folks will encounter at fests, shows and conferences. Smart marketers adopt tech and integrate it into their activations. I’m psyched to see some cool and mind-blowing stuff out there that is far beyond test mode!
Commercial Art & Installations- Street art has awoken citizens of cities and tons of all sizes to the reality that art doesn’t need be restricted to the confines of museum walls. The explosion of mural art to turn ugly old walls into dynamic works of art has spanned from Tucson to Birmingham. I foresee companies getting involved to not just push their own brand but to help towns celebrate their local cultures. Imagine Fearless Girl in unexpected places. Municipal codes are finally getting a refresher as public art and installations are wanted. Graffiti mural OOH companies started this trend 20 years ago, but now it goes next level as companies enrich people’s lives with bolder creations.
Health & Wellness Activations Boom- Consumers care about their mental and physical health on levels never seen before. We care about our state of being and of those around us. Live experiential programs will incorporate health & wellness activities to tap into this cultural trend. So look for things like group yoga, tech wearables strapped on crowd members, and relaxation pods at brand spaces at festivals in 2020. Consumers will engage these activations with an open mind and genuine interest as it’s no longer some new age hype. Wanderlust has proven heath & wellness stand-alone events can work.
Marketers Stop Tolerating Guerrilla Media Posing as Experiential- For too long, there has been reluctant acceptance by brands and their agencies of wannabe experiential players who really are just guerrilla media vendors. They slap brand logos on pizza boxes, street signs, pedicabs, and nail files. That is not a consumer experience. That is just a random media impression. Marketers have tolerated these players pretending to be "experiential" just because it's a buzzword. But the truth is, agencies themselves hate this crap; it’s a pain in the ass, low money, and filled with drama. As their clients accept that true experiential isn’t guerrilla media, agencies convince clients move away from relying on such small ball tactics and turn to more dynamic experiential solutions.
VIP Experiences Have No Limits- Events of all sizes and cutting across all sorts of cultural lines (music fests, sporting events, flower shows, fan festivals, etc.) have learned they can offer up high-end VIP experiences for good cash. In 2020, this trend will continue to spike but with premium prices because rich people want the amazing story no matter what. Stand on the field during the Super Bowl, watch the U2 sound check, get a private cooking lesson with a Top Chef. Events are really just scratching the surface of what they can sell. Anything can be packaged and bought in 2020 by event owners. The cravings for elite experiences are growing.
Live Consumer Video Sharing- Fast: consumers make more brand content for companies than the companies do themselves. Which is nuts when you see corporate marketing budgets. And they do it for free! The #1 format of content is video. So if you’re a sponsor at some big event with thousands of attendees, you should be aiming to enable the crowd to shoot and showcase their video. Look for smart experiential activations to somehow use tech to amplify consumer videos live on-site at events. Giving fans a cool and worthy stage to play their branded content for others is going to happen in 2020.