Seven Ways to look at Immersive Marketing

1.????INTRODUCTION

Immersive marketing essentially aims to etch an experience, usually a positive one, in the minds of customers. In a fast-paced and highly competitive business environment, brands go above and beyond to provide their customers with experiential and exponential vibes, generating organic referrals and brand affinity. Today, immersive marketing has become the order of the day, as some of these experiences easily make their way to hitting viral mode on social media. To generate talkability and visibility, brands are leveraging this form of marketing to give their customers more than what they bargained for. This strategy combines both rational and emotional customer experiences and appeals to attract and retain customers, most of whom have become demanding, curious, and adventurous in the ways they want to interface with brands.

2.????Immersive Marketing Provides Escape:

Immersive Marketing takes one out of the reality of life. In fact, people enjoy the trance and experiences of tapping out of life’s stress-laden realities. People who are looking for a thrill or a deviation from their usual way of life may find immersive marketing adventurous. Sometimes, this can come in the form of walking into your restaurant and seeing your name and picture boldly displayed on the screens, or better still, having a dining experience with a celebrity crush. The beauty of stepping outside one’s comfort zone to enjoy the thrill of a new experience is what makes immersive marketing such an incredible marketing strategy.

3.????Immersive Involves Active Customer Participants:

Immersive Marketing is successful with the active participation of the customer. Usually, it is planned around events and activations that reflect the worldview, realities, and adventures a client craves for. Without a deeper understanding of the customer, it will be difficult for any immersive marketing to achieve its goals. Activations that are usual and predictable can hardly tap into this form of marketing. To engineer a customer’s active participation, businesses must understand the different unique ways customers want to interface with their products or services.

4.????Immersive Marketing Exceeds Customer’s Expectations:

When a customer enters a barbershop, the most reasonable expectation is that they will have their hair trimmed, nothing more, nothing less. Ever wondered what more a customer entering a restaurant will look out for? Maybe the customer may be expecting more. Usually, brands market around the functional value of the product and services, thinking that these are enough for customers. In immersive marketing, the real deal is to go beyond meeting a customer’s reasonable functional expectations to providing a deeper exponential thrill. In Ghana, for example, Menscook is fast becoming the household name for outdoor and event catering. Their unique dancing skills, outstanding food packaging, and incredible photographic as well as videography experiences cap an incredible array of the food they serve. Customers who have any ambition of providing some added exponential thrill and value to their patrons or guests will usually book this fast-rising brand. I will not be surprised if they become the most booked in the whole of Africa.

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5.????IMMERSIVE MARKETING PROVIDES THE BEST COMPENSATION:

Immersive Marketing provides better compensation for time, efforts, and money. In a highly competitive business climate where service quality is hardly differentiable, the best way to thank a patronizing client is to provide added convenience and financial value beyond what they should ordinarily expect. In Ghana, some banks, including Zenith, UBA, and Fidelity, have free wifi zones where waiting clients can have access to free internet. Cashback policies of some Insurance companies, including Starlife insurance, can equally be considered immersive. In the era of Ai and machine learning, some companies are strongly leveraging these tools to provide an immersive experience and value. I am particularly thrilled by ABSA’s chatbot, which can furnish a client with their information with the speed of light.

6.????RISK WITH IMMERSIVE MARKETING:

As with most adventurous activities, immersive marketing comes with some risk. Sometimes, the activation could be too wild, opening brands up to some legal and moral ramifications. I have watched a video of a barbershop where all male attendants enjoy some massage session with some voluptuous looking lady. If this happens in real life, I am sure that the business can face serious moral issues. Sometimes, immersive marketing can either be too expensive or complex to understand. In some instances, it may be challenging the worldview of clients, especially if the business serves clients with different geographical, demographic, income, racial, and religious persuasions.

7.????Conclusion/Recommendations

No matter what domain of strategy a brand uses, the most important principle is a deeper understanding of the client or customer. Brands that go into immersive marketing for the beauty or sake of it, without recourse to the customer’s worldview or expectations, may court serious damage to their brand. Sometimes, all the client needs is just peace of mind to escape from life and its complexities, but how will organizations know unless they invest in understanding their customers, even on a personal level?

To be effective, immersive marketing:

·??????Should not have a one-fit-all approach, as the nuances are usually lost in the process.

·??????Should be sensitive to the cultural, legal, moral, political, and social sensitivities of the clients.

·??????Should be Purposeful and not just creative.

·??????Should be Proactive.

·??????Should have a risk mitigation plan.

Writer/Researcher /Digital / Content Marketer and Lead Consultant, Skoba Public Relations.

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