Ask any marketer what the primary objective for any of their campaigns is, and the reply would be the similar. It’s to face out from the gang and foster a significant reference to their viewers. Nonetheless, in a world the place tens of millions of manufacturers are competing with one another, that is proving to be simpler stated than performed.
Enter experiential advertising and marketing, a method that focuses on creating memorable and immersive experiences for patrons. This contemporary strategy has been confirmed to be efficient, significantly in reside occasions. However can this be built-in into e-mail campaigns as effectively? The reply is a powerful sure.
On this article, we’ll take a deeper take a look at what experiential advertising and marketing is and the way it may be used to rework your extraordinary emails into immersive journeys that go away a long-lasting affect. Let’s get began!
What’s experiential advertising and marketing?
Experiential advertising and marketing revolves round creating an expertise for patrons. Not like conventional advertising and marketing, the place prospects passively obtain a model’s message, experiential advertising and marketing encourages prospects to actively have interaction and take part. This may be performed by means of hands-on experiences, bodily occasions, interactive video games, inventive shows, and different direct approaches.
The objective of experiential advertising and marketing is to supply a buyer with a enjoyable and immersive expertise that may assist type a deeper connection and funding within the model. This can result in elevated model loyalty and, in the end, conversions.
Kinds of experiential advertising and marketing
Experiential advertising and marketing is available in completely different varieties. Some examples are:
1. Reside occasions
Reside occasions are probably the most widespread varieties of experiential advertising and marketing. This contains commerce reveals, activations, product launches, pop-up outlets, or any kind of occasion the place a buyer can immediately work together with the model.
2. Product demos and samples
Making a multi-sensory expertise is what makes experiential advertising and marketing actually interactive and immersive. This may be performed by means of product demos or samples the place prospects can see, hear, really feel, or style the product.
3. Guerilla advertising and marketing
Guerilla advertising and marketing focuses on utilizing unconventional strategies that encourage public interplay to advertise a services or products. One instance of that is Coca-Cola’s Hug Me Machine. When individuals “hug” the merchandising machine, it’s going to dispense a free Coke for them. This marketing campaign went viral as individuals had been delighted with the expertise of hugging a machine in addition to getting a freebie out of it.
(Supply: Coca-Cola YouTube channel)
Guerilla advertising and marketing depends on the component of shock and the sense of disruption in a public place. This tends to supply numerous buzz, as individuals get curious and have a tendency to discover their set-ups as a substitute of simply passing by.
4. Digital and augmented actuality
The rise of expertise has given rise to VR and AR within the area of experiential advertising and marketing. Manufacturers can now harness the facility of expertise to offer their prospects an immersive expertise by giving them inventive visible worlds, providing to just about strive on their merchandise, or transporting them to locations they in any other case must journey to.
Take, for instance, McDonald’s VR Zodiac Exhibition. They created a digital corridor the place individuals can discover a world the place they’ll study concerning the Chinese language Zodiac, strive on particular McDonald’s merchandise, and ship lanterns into the sky.
(Supply: McDonald’s Corridor of Zodiacs)
5. E-mail advertising and marketing
Whereas experiential advertising and marketing is often related to bodily occasions, it doesn’t imply that it could actually’t be utilized to e-mail advertising and marketing.
Experiential advertising and marketing could be utilized to e-mail advertising and marketing by specializing in creating interactive emails. These are emails that comprise components, options, or eye-catching visuals that subscribers can have interaction in throughout the inbox. This may be performed by means of video games, quizzes, reside polls, or perhaps a 360° picture that subscribers can click on round to discover.
One instance of that is from Litmus, the place their subscribers can see how their mild and darkish mode seems with a fast click on of a button. This permits them to “expertise” the product inside their inbox.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
Advantages of experiential advertising and marketing
1. Gives prospects with a enjoyable and memorable expertise
Experiential advertising and marketing gives a extra participating and entertaining expertise versus conventional advertising and marketing. It additionally provides your prospects an opportunity to see your product in motion and perceive the way it advantages them as a substitute of simply studying about it. Experiences additionally create a extra memorable reference to you and your prospects, fostering a deeper emotional bond.
2. Gives a contemporary and distinctive tackle advertising and marketing
Do you know that a median American sees a complete of 4,000 to 10,000 adverts every day? Feels like so much? It’s. And inside these excessive numbers, simply what number of repeated ideas and concepts do you assume you’ll see?
Experiential advertising and marketing provides much more to your prospects who’re overexposed to adverts and bored of repeated concepts. It may be a novel expertise, a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, or only a enjoyable break from their every day routine. Both approach, it’s positively extra impactful in comparison with yet one more web site banner advert.
3. Boosts model consciousness
Model consciousness goes past simply having a cool brand design or a catchy tagline. It’s about making your prospects conscious that your model exists within the first place. And experiential advertising and marketing simply does that. A enjoyable and interactive expertise can positively make a mark on prospects’ minds and cause them to wish to know extra about your model.
This could additionally assist in constructing a robust model identification. Who wouldn’t wish to be referred to as the model that does numerous cool and distinctive advertising and marketing?
4. Promotes social sharing
Experiential advertising and marketing is a must have if you wish to drive buzz and free PR to your model. Individuals who attend a enjoyable occasion are likely to take tons of photographs or movies about it and share it on social media. In the meantime, a enjoyable sport or quiz on an e-mail will result in individuals sharing it with their household and associates.
What are some examples of experiential advertising and marketing in emails?
Now that you recognize what experiential advertising and marketing is and its advantages, let’s check out how one can incorporate it into your e-mail advertising and marketing campaigns. Some examples are:
1. Interactive photographs (carousels, accordions, and scratch-offs)
Interactive photographs are likely to generate larger engagement in comparison with static ones as they encourage individuals to click on extra. They’re additionally helpful in cell, as they’ll present extra data and content material even with the restricted house out there.
One instance of that is picture carousels. An picture carousel is an interactive e-mail the place subscribers can “flip” by means of a sequence of photographs with a easy click on of a button.
B&Q has included carousels into their e-mail to nice success. This e-mail marketing campaign, the place their subscribers can faucet every field to see particular summer time suggestions, has garnered them an 18% improve in open charges and 42,000 click-throughs.
(Supply: Motion Rocket)
One other instance of an interactive picture is accordions. By clicking a component or merchandise, it’s going to broaden to indicate extra data. A enjoyable instance of that is an e-mail from BBC, the place clicking the “+” icon will broaden to extra content material. However what makes this stand out is that the background picture modifications relying on the enlargement you choose.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
One other instance is scratch-offs. This provides one other component of interactiveness and shock to your subscribers, as they get to “scratch off” to see in the event that they acquired a prize or low cost coupon.
(Supply: 3radical)
2. Rollover and hover results
One other instance of interactive photographs is people who comprise hover or rollover results. That is the impact when a picture modifications to a special one whenever you hover over them.
One instance is from UGG, the place you’ll be able to view their sandals in several colours whenever you hover over a particular swatch.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
This can be a favourite for eCommerce manufacturers, as they may give you extra particulars and details about a product and even “cover” a promo code with out utilizing an excessive amount of house in an e-mail. You additionally get to have a full procuring expertise, even within the consolation of your personal residence.
(Supply: Stripo template)
3. Quizzes
Elevate your hand in the event you took any of these “Which X are you?” quizzes on Buzzfeed. We’re prepared to wager that you just did. It is because quizzes, merely put, are enjoyable. Plus, they’re straightforward to do whereas supplying you with necessary data (similar to discovering what sort of taco you’re 😉).
The identical concept could be utilized to your emails. Quizzes can be utilized to seek out out your viewers’s ache factors and objectives to suggest to them a tailor-made resolution.
Quizzes are additionally nice for these within the eCommerce business who wish to upsell or cross-sell. Check out Harry’s, the place they match a particular bathe gel to you, relying in your solutions.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
After all, you can too go for some enjoyable, random quizzes. Not the whole lot must be sales-y, and relying in your target market, they may recognize this strategy extra.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
4. Video games
It ought to in all probability be no shock at this level that individuals love video games. That is why e-mail gamification is so profitable. Pleasure, competitors, and a way of completion after a sport are nice driving forces for any particular person. Add in a reward on the finish, and also you’re golden.
Check out this e-mail from EmailMonk, the place subscribers want to seek out hidden objects to flee a haunted citadel.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
Or from our Valentine’s Day sport, the place subscribers can get a promo code to study which Cupid they’re in the event that they discover three phrases associated to Stripo.
In each examples, subscribers had been capable of have fun an occasion (Halloween and Valentine’s Day, respectively) with out having to bodily exit for a reside occasion. Our Valentine’s Day marketing campaign additionally noticed a 25% improve in open charges (from 30% to 37.5%) and a whopping 11% click-through fee.
5. Movies
Whereas movies may not be probably the most “interactive” instance on this listing, it’s really probably the most efficient components in an e-mail marketing campaign.
The numbers don’t lie — 89% of individuals say watching a video has satisfied them to purchase a services or products. To not point out, 91% of individuals wish to see extra video content material from manufacturers. If that doesn’t encourage you to embed a video in your subsequent e-mail blast, I don’t know what’s going to.
There are some things to remember — individuals have a tendency to look at movies with the pontificate, so make certain your video can nonetheless be understood even with out the sound. A technique to do that is to supply captions. Additionally, the success of your video depends on the primary three seconds. It’s worthwhile to seize your subscribers’ consideration in these valuable seconds. In any other case, they’ll simply scroll over.
You don’t want to only be restricted to 1 video, both. Take, for instance, this e-mail from Royal Caribbean, which accommodates an interactive map. Relying on the placement that you just click on on the map, it’s going to present you a brief video that offers extra details about every location.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
Wrapping up
Within the ever-changing world of promoting, staying forward of the curve is essential if you wish to seize your buyer’s consideration and construct significant relationships with them. One of many methods to do that is thru experiential advertising and marketing.
Whereas it’s historically related to bodily occasions, the development of expertise makes it attainable to offer an immersive expertise to your e-mail subscribers as effectively.
The principle factor to remember is to retain the essential components of experiential advertising and marketing – that are interactiveness, leisure, and creativity – and incorporate them into your subsequent e-mail marketing campaign. Do that, and also you’ll have the ability to remodel your boring emails right into a extra immersive expertise.
Create wonderful e-mail experiences to your subscribers with Stripo
