5 Benefits of Experiential Events

Experiential events are being touted as the future of marketing, and there’s no shortage of data to back up this claim. According to surveys, more than 70% of marketing professionals both report that in-person events are their most effective marketing tool and list experiential marketing as one of their top event planning strategies. 

Experiential events aren’t just a favorite of event planners and marketing agencies — they’re also impactful for consumers. An estimated 98% of attendees at brand experiences create digital or social media content at the event that they then share online — and 74% are more motivated to buy brand products after attending these events. 

Evidently, experiential events can boost customer engagement in multiple ways — by encouraging them to interact with your brand across social media platforms and make purchases. 

At Cassis Productions, we’re professionals with decades of experience and a trusted list of vendor partners to take your vision and make it a reality. (Oh, and produce an event attendees will rave about for years to come.) 

Here, we explain how event branding strategy works — and why you should consider planning an experiential event for your brand. 

A Surefire Way to Break Through the Clutter

With the wealth of information available online, it’s more complicated than ever to connect with customers. In a sea of articles, videos and social media posts, it’s easy for your brand’s content to get lost in the crowd. The truth is your customers have information coming at them at all times from all different directions. 

Even if they come across your ads, there’s no guarantee they’ll stand out enough to make an impression. 

Experiential events provide a much-needed break from this information overload. They help promote connections between brands and customers in-person, a welcome change from sifting through all the clutter online. 

Hosting unique brand experiences gives guests an immersive, engaging taste of what your brand offers. As a result, they’re much more likely to make an impact.

Build Deeper Connections with Brand Fans and Potential Clients

Experiential events are more effective in building deeper connections with consumers than traditional marketing strategies — like giving attendees small free items at the end of an event. While this has been a go-to tactic for decades, how memorable are a pen and a brochure that will definitely end up in a junk drawer? 

Instead, invite them to be part of the company’s vision and process. For example, a winery could skip the branded materials and organize an experiential event where attendees go on a vineyard tour, get a sneak peek into the wine-making process and participate in a wine tasting. (Free wine is definitely better than a free pen, don’t you think?) 

Experiential events carry the power of experience. Attendees are directly part of an engaging brand experience rather than passing through the event as mere observers. Individuals already fans of a brand are much more likely to become superfans and eventually unofficial ambassadors for your brand if they participate in experiential events. 

They’ll then share with others how much they enjoy your products and brand values, spreading the word about your company and helping bring in more customers. 

Similarly, potential clients who have never heard of your brand or are only vaguely familiar with it are more likely to develop a vested interest in your products and company by participating in an interactive event rather than taking home a fridge magnet or mousepad with your logo on it. 

Capture Attention Better Than Social Media

Let’s face it — social media posts are a dime a dozen. On Facebook alone, 300 million pictures are posted each day, while more than 500,000 comments and 3 million likes are created every minute. 

Social media users could, and often do, spend hours scrolling through ad after ad, seeing each one for a few seconds or less. While they might comment or like a post, it’s unlikely to make a lasting impression on them and influence their buying patterns. 

Social media posts aren’t the best way to make a meaningful impact and connection with customers anymore. Fortunately, experiential events are here to take their place. These immersive experiences are far better at capturing the attention of your target demographic than fleeting Instagram ads or clips on TikTok. 

With experiential events, attendees will have a brand experience to remember for years to come. 

Collect First-Person Data

Collecting data from individuals interested in your brand is an important marketing tool. This data lends insight into what existing and potential customers care about and can inform future marketing campaigns and brand initiatives. With privacy concerns and questionable accuracy, cookies are on their way out and are no longer a reliable way to collect customer data. 

One of the benefits of using an event branding strategy like experiential events is you can collect first-person data from individuals you know care about your brand. Whether they sign up on a mailing list to get updates about the event or attend, these events provide an opportunity to get in touch with people who are clearly interested in learning more about your product or services. 

Often, in addition to gathering contact information, attendees are generally open to providing general demographic data, too—like where they live, their age, income, the gender they identify with and so on. This helps provide valuable insight for your company as you determine your target audience. 

Better ROI for Customers on the Fence

Experiential events aren’t just about engaging people already interested in your brand. It’s also about targeting those on the fence about interacting with your products or services. 

These can be some of the most challenging individuals to reach through traditional marketing techniques. A few social media posts or a direct mailer coupon probably won’t do the trick. However, an immersive and one-of-a-kind brand experience is more likely to have enough sway to get them to at least consider becoming a customer. 

Experiential Event Spotlight: Freeform’s Halloween House

Experiential events come in many forms, which is one of their most exciting features. An example of an experiential event that our marketing agency was involved in putting together was Freeform’s Halloween House. 

This multi-night event focused on bringing modern Halloween classics to life. Featured productions included The Nightmare Before Christmas and Hocus Pocus. Guests had the opportunity to experience Oogie Boogie’s lair, Dr. Finkelstein’s lab, and spin the Wheel of Misfortune for prizes. Guests stopped by Salem’s infamous graveyard (can you spot Billy Butcherson?) before heading up Spiral Hill to recreate the movie poster for The Nightmare Before Christmas. The final stop found guests interacting with the infamous black-flame candle, spell book and cauldron from Hocus Pocus.

Book a Discovery Call Today

Planning a great experiential event starts with finding a marketing agency that gets your brand’s vision and the desired goals for your event. Cassis Productions has years of experience working with brands to determine which marketing strategies will impact event attendees most and help them meet these goals.

Our team can help you plan and execute a successful experiential event from start to finish.

Book a discovery call today to get the planning process started.