Digital and Experiential Marketing – A Loving Marriage!

71Digital. Everybody’s doing it; B2B and to Consumers.  Do you know how hard your digital campaign is working for your brand?  Are you looking for that extra ‘oomph’ to cut through the clutter and create tribal leaders – you know, the loyalists who take your message and influence their friends, families and co-workers to join?

Experiential Marketing holds the key to doing just that – hyper-targeting the influencers and creating loyalty through face-to-face, hands-on trial.  The beauty of it is that it works for both consumers and customers, and with products or services.  Then, your digital and social media campaigns provide the tools to share the experience and continue the conversation.

As we all learned by virtue of hindsight, Video did NOT kill the Radio Star. In fact, the two found amazing harmony and synergy together, and they became an unstoppable pair. Likewise, a few years ago Digital Marketing and Experiential Marketing was an initially combative couple, now newlyweds who are destined for great things together.

Before the courtship, though, industry studies time and time again showed Experiential Marketing leading the way in establishing strong consumer connections and garnering “heart share”:

  • 80% of consumers/customers share their [face-to-face] experiences with friends or family members*
  • Consumers’ top 2 purchase influencers are personal experience with a product and recommendations from friends and family*
  • For the past 5 years, marketers have ranked Experiential Marketing as the discipline that provides the greatest ROI**

This data is still relevant, and with it brands are now seeing a much more compelling story unfold: Experiential Marketing is increasing the effectiveness of Digital Marketing, and vice versa. Experiential Marketing is being used to initiate or strengthen relationships between brands and consumers, and Digital Marketing is being used to extend these relationships beyond the point of face-to-face interaction. In short, the two are working to create stronger relationships that last longer.  It’s interesting that the B to B’ers figured this out before the consumer marketers.

It’s hard to deny the value of integrating Digital and Experiential Marketing – they are such a powerful couple. If you have a product or service that looks and feels good in person, you can increase your tribe by finding the influencers and building a powerful, relevant brand experience that they can share with their followers. You can debate all you want about who is whose “better half”, but be rest assured that Digital and Experiential Marketing are both better together.

*Event Marketing Institute survey, 2007
**EventView survey, 2009