Experiential marketing is driving online consumer engagement

Similar to the explosion of reality TV in the 90's, we're currently living in the age of the every day social star, immortalised by brands on digital channels to keep consumers tuned in for longer.

Taking a step back, brand experience has existed for centuries. The age-old custom of 'try before you buy' ensured that producers in village market places could prove the worth of their produce while interacting directly with expectant neighbours.

The change in brands

Global brands didn't exist and direct consumer engagement was a stone's a throw away. As time went on though, the engagement gap between consumers and producers has widened while the channels have become increasingly cluttered.

With the explosion of social media in the mid 2000's, brands were faced with a few choices:

1. Continue relying on traditional channels only, choosing to ignore the 'digital delirium'
2. Tick the online boxes to appease to new-age marketing directors with a website, Twitter handle & Facebook page wishing consumers a 'happy Friday'
3. Lastly, the path of the maverick: develop bespoke, relevant and (most importantly) creative content, available for the first time ever with the advent of these new channels.

It's at point 3 where experiential marketing agencies' ears began to prick up. Up until now, agencies had been forced to justify 'cost per contact' while facing massive pressure to 'drive on site sales' and distribute mountains of complimentary (sounds better than free) product through 'mass sampling'.

Playing on emotions

Giving amazing brand experiences wasn't enough (despite the strength of the 'experience economy'). Digital mediums provided very powerful tools for agencies to amplify their client campaigns (beyond just the experience itself), while providing consumers with social currency.

The 'user generated experiences' play on various human dynamics including friendship, community spirit and the release need state of the modern millennial consumer.

The Adidas 'Ready To Run' campaign saw 18-25 year old Parisan consumers kidnapped in broad daylight and taken on a crazy city wide race. The campaign tapped into the exploding trend of urban running while providing unforgettable consumer content.

Carlsberg beer choose to explore what you might do for a friend. With a late night phone call, you were asked to leave the safe confines of your bedroom to bail your friend out of an illegal downtown poker game.

Lipton's Tea-mometer campaign, which saw South African consumers rewarded for how hot their body temperature was, has already hit over 15,000 views on Youtube with mass crowd participation from real life individuals.

These case studies form part of a growing trend of brands looking at the very small screen (PC's/tablets/smartphones) to make a very big impact among consumers. Brands that choose to re-release their TV ads on Youtube run the risk of wasting resource on re-releasing content that no one cared for in the first place while further alienating themselves from consumers.

Those that write the digital scripts for consumer-centric experiences are able to produce their own branded blockbusters, able to be executed on an indie film budget.