Ask any marketer what the principle purpose for any of their campaigns is, and the reply would be the identical. It’s to face out from the group and foster a significant reference to their viewers. Nonetheless, in a world the place thousands and thousands of manufacturers are competing with one another, that is proving to be simpler stated than accomplished.
Enter experiential advertising and marketing, a method that focuses on creating memorable and immersive experiences for patrons. This contemporary method has been confirmed to be efficient, significantly in stay occasions. However can this be built-in into e-mail campaigns as properly? The reply is a convincing sure.
On this article, we’ll take a deeper have 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 an enduring impression. Let’s get began!
What’s experiential advertising and marketing?
Experiential advertising and marketing revolves round creating an expertise for patrons. In contrast to conventional advertising and marketing, the place clients passively obtain a model’s message, experiential advertising and marketing encourages clients to actively have interaction and take part. This may be accomplished by hands-on experiences, bodily occasions, interactive video games, artistic shows, and different direct approaches.
The purpose 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 may result in elevated model loyalty and, finally, conversions.
Varieties of experiential advertising and marketing
Experiential advertising and marketing is available in totally different types. Some examples are:
1. Dwell occasions
Dwell occasions are probably the most widespread kinds of experiential advertising and marketing. This consists of commerce reveals, activations, product launches, pop-up retailers, or any sort 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 really interactive and immersive. This may be accomplished by product demos or samples the place clients 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 folks “hug” the merchandising machine, it is going to dispense a free Coke for them. This marketing campaign went viral as folks have 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 factor of shock and the sense of disruption in a public place. This tends to provide plenty of buzz, as folks 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 discipline of experiential advertising and marketing. Manufacturers can now harness the facility of expertise to offer their clients an immersive expertise by giving them artistic visible worlds, providing to just about attempt 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 folks can discover a world the place they will be taught in regards to the Chinese language Zodiac, attempt 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 usually related to bodily occasions, it doesn’t imply that it could’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 include parts, options, or eye-catching visuals that subscribers can have interaction in inside the inbox. This may be accomplished by video games, quizzes, stay 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 gentle and darkish mode appears to be like 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. Offers clients with a enjoyable and memorable expertise
Experiential advertising and marketing offers a extra participating and entertaining expertise versus conventional advertising and marketing. It additionally offers your clients 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 clients, fostering a deeper emotional bond.
2. Affords 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 day by day? Appears like loads? It’s. And inside these excessive numbers, simply what number of repeated ideas and concepts do you suppose you’ll see?
Experiential advertising and marketing gives much more to your clients who’re overexposed to adverts and bored of repeated concepts. It may be a singular expertise, a once-in-a-lifetime occasion, or only a enjoyable break from their day by day routine. Both method, 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 emblem design or a catchy tagline. It’s about making your clients 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 clients’ minds and make them wish to know extra about your model.
This will additionally assist in constructing a powerful model id. Who wouldn’t wish to be generally known as the model that does plenty of 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 inclined to take tons of images 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 folks sharing it with their household and associates.
What are some examples of experiential advertising and marketing in emails?
Now that you understand 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 inclined to generate greater engagement in comparison with static ones as they encourage folks to click on extra. They’re additionally helpful in cell, as they will present extra info 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 a sequence of images with a easy click on of a button.
B&Q has integrated 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 season suggestions, has garnered them an 18% enhance 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 is going to increase to indicate extra info. A enjoyable instance of that is an e-mail from BBC, the place clicking the “+” icon will increase to extra content material. However what makes this stand out is that the background picture adjustments relying on the enlargement you choose.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
One other instance is scratch-offs. This provides one other factor of interactiveness and shock to your subscribers, as they get to “scratch off” to see in the event that they bought a prize or low cost coupon.
(Supply: 3radical)
2. Rollover and hover results
One other instance of interactive photographs is those who include hover or rollover results. That is the impact when a picture adjustments to a unique 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 selected 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 “disguise” a promo code with out utilizing an excessive amount of house in an e-mail. You additionally get to have a full buying expertise, even within the consolation of your personal house.
(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 keen to wager that you simply did. It’s because quizzes, merely put, are enjoyable. Plus, they’re simple to do whereas supplying you with essential info (similar to discovering what sort of taco you might be 😉).
The identical thought could be utilized to your emails. Quizzes can be utilized to search out out your viewers’s ache factors and targets to advocate to them a tailor-made resolution.
Quizzes are additionally nice for these within the eCommerce business who need to upsell or cross-sell. Check out Harry’s, the place they match a selected bathe gel to you, relying in your solutions.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
In fact, you can even go for some enjoyable, random quizzes. Not the whole lot must be sales-y, and relying in your target market, they may recognize this method extra.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
4. Video games
It ought to in all probability be no shock at this level that folks love video games. Because of this e-mail gamification is so profitable. Pleasure, competitors, and a way of completion after a sport are nice driving forces for any individual. Add in a reward on the finish, and also you’re golden.
Check out this e-mail from EmailMonk, the place subscribers want to search out hidden objects to flee a haunted fortress.
(Supply: ReallyGoodEmails)
Or from our Valentine’s Day sport, the place subscribers can get a promo code to be taught which Cupid they’re in the event that they discover three phrases associated to Stripo.
In each examples, subscribers have been capable of rejoice an occasion (Halloween and Valentine’s Day, respectively) with out having to bodily exit for a stay occasion. Our Valentine’s Day marketing campaign additionally noticed a 25% enhance in open charges (from 30% to 37.5%) and a whopping 11% click-through charge.
5. Movies
Whereas movies won’t be essentially the most “interactive” instance on this record, it’s truly probably the most efficient parts 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 bear in mind — folks have a tendency to observe movies with the pontificate, so be sure that your video can nonetheless be understood even with out the sound. A method to do that is to supply captions. Additionally, the success of your video depends on the primary three seconds. You could seize your subscribers’ consideration in these treasured 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 simply click on on the map, it is going to present you a brief video that provides 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 properly.
The principle factor to bear in mind is to retain the essential parts 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 be capable to rework your boring emails right into a extra immersive expertise.
Create wonderful e-mail experiences to your subscribers with Stripo