Social media marketing is still very useful and successful. Though, there are a couple of worrisome trends. Engagement levels seem to be falling and progress is slowing down.
What does this mean for brands and marketers?
Content and social media marketing are still important, but experiential marketing could be something worth exploring too. In a nutshell, it’s all about giving people amazing experiences that’ll totally absorb them and evoke a strong emotional response.
If you’re looking for ways to really make an impression, there are a bunch of options available – from product demos to events. Of course, to make your event successful, you need a team of experts.
Choosing the Best Experiential Marketing Company
Experiential marketing firms can help you create effective activations that reach your target audience. Some specialize in particular activities, like event planning and retail activation, while others provide a wide variety of services.
Here are tips on how to choose the best experiential marketing company:
Work With a Company With Years of Experiential Track Record
Have a good grip on the agency and their past works. Who have they done experiential marketing campaigns for? Is there any potential conflict of interest? Why do you want to work with this agency in particular? What kind of clients have they been working with recently? Are the relationships still strong?
Answering these questions can help you determine if this experiential marketing company is the one for your needs.
After scouting around for a few experiential marketing agencies, it’s important to do your research about the company further. You should conduct a background check before reaching out.
Speak to your co-workers and any customers of the agency, do some research offline/online, then meet up. You should also check how long this agency has been in business.
Get the intel on how they do things and take a look at their past and present projects. Check out their portfolio and ask for samples of the experiential marketing campaigns they’ve done to see if it’d help you raise your brand’s profile.
Be Sure it’s a Good Fit with Your Company’s Culture
Make sure your organization vibes with the agency you’re going to hire. They’ll need access to lots of different areas of your company, so ensure that everyone’s on the same page!
When collaborating with another company, you want to make sure that the cultures line up. If they don’t, it could lead to problems and disagreements. Pick a partner that’s perfect for your brand.
Choose One With Experience in Industries Similar to Yours
If you’re looking to hire an experiential agency, it’s best to make sure they have some experience in your industry or one with similar targets. That way, you don’t have to spend time teaching them the basics of your environment, regulations and so on.
Investing a lot of money and time with no guarantee of success can be really risky when it comes to using outside agencies for project completion. Therefore, benchmarking the best practices from other industries can be very beneficial.
It’s probably a good idea to research agencies that have done something similar in the past so you can benefit from their experiences and avoid making the same mistakes. It makes total sense to borrow ideas from successful businesses in other industries. Look for an experienced agency that has already gone through similar projects and can use their knowledge, successes and mistakes to help you out.
If they don’t have any experience building a digital marketing plan that achieves goals like yours, they might not be as invested or knowledgeable in experiential marketing. See what they specialize in before hiring them – if they mostly do big concerts and festivals, or just digital projects, you should probably look elsewhere.
If you’re looking for something like a pop-up activation or a mobile tour, their work portfolio should fit your needs!
Hire a Company that Understands Your Brand & Your Business’ Needs
Good experiential marketing firms can be incredibly convincing. Their staff might come up with exciting and out of the box concepts that sound amazing. Don’t get too pumped up yet – a revolutionary marketing idea is only worth anything if it works.
It’s also important for an agency to know who you are, your values, how to connect with your audience, and what result you’re aiming for. It’s not enough for an experience agency to put on a show if they don’t ask the right questions.
Help them get a comprehensive understanding of your brand’s authenticity by giving them insights into the customer experiences at every single touchpoint.
Know About the Team
It’s frustrating when things don’t end up the way you expected after a potential client ‘pitches’ to you. To prevent this kind of misunderstanding, meet with the agency team before signing any contracts and check if you all are on the same page.
Before committing to a long-term relationship, make sure you like the way they work. How creative do you think they are? Do they get back to you quickly? Also, be sure to meet the team in person.
Give Time for Discussing Their Strategy
Every marketing firm or event coordinator has their own methods when it comes to designing experiential campaigns. When evaluating a potential partner, make sure to ask about their market research techniques, event production and planning processes, and how they use consumer data to create engaging experiences.
It’s important to get an idea of how they go about creating marketing campaigns. Many advertising/marketing companies have turnkey services that could help you out, but they won’t be able to spot any potential flaws in the system or figure out how to measure results. If they don’t, you might be stuck with random and hard-to-calculate outcomes.
Do they take a tailored approach? Will they keep in mind your targets and issues? How do they plan on grabbing, organizing and boosting customer stories? When it comes to putting together the perfect branding experience, a marketing strategy is key.
It’s vital to check out how the experiential agency you’re working with goes about their projects – have a look at what processes they use and make sure it lines up with your own ideas.
When selecting an experience agency for your business, it’s important to do your research and make an informed decision. But, don’t forget to go with your intuition too. It’s also important that you feel like there is a trust-based relationship between you and the agency.
Looking for Experts in Experiential Marketing? We’re the Best People for the Job!
Breakthrough Productions is an all-in-one Experiential Production Agency specializing in organizing amazing experiences for a variety of clients and businesses across different industries. We have earned over 16 years of experience in experiential marketing and other related areas.
Get in touch with us so we can coordinate to create a first-class experience for you!