Experiential campaigns
HeyHuman in action
needs to happen in an organic way – brands shouldn’t force social sharing down consumers’ throats. People need to want to share the content, and this means creating a memorable experience that is highly relevant and puts our enjoyment front and centre.”
“By allowing people to interact in a way that is totally unusual when you leave the office, this grabbed the attention of the city. Allowing people that bit of time with nature and then a delicious lunch was enough to keep people on social media for the duration of the pop up,” Wyatt added.
Back to basics
Secret to success
Teddy Watt, CEO of Marble LDN, the events agency, adopted a similar approach when producing an activation for Mae Deli, the brainchild of Deliciously Ella. The interactive activation took place on the green outside Liverpool Street Station and was a British market garden and dining area with pick-your-own seasonal produce including fresh herbs, edible flowers and vegetables. Going back to basics with nature was a theme running throughout the experience, as Wyatt explained: “We wanted to bring the deli to life and to a much broader clientele. That meant portraying the brand, the concept and styling of the Deliciously Ella brand, in an original way to involve and interact with customers. “One of the main considerations was that we were true to the brand and that we were truly able to keep to the mantra of honest, simple and natural. This was a great point guide to keep referring to and the garden was entirely key to this.
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For brands looking to create experiential activity that will create lasting memories, the do’s and don’ts can be a minefield. Paul Stanway, creative director of XYZ, believes that the first thing brands need to do is make sure they are being true to themselves. He said: “The best advice I could offer to brands looking to create standout experiences is to do something that’s true to your brand and what you stand for – it should be something that only your brand could do. “Don’t rush into the solution. Take the time to constructively challenge the brief, really understand what the business challenge behind it is, and make sure you’re answering that. Finally, design with the end in mind – what does this activity need to achieve? How will that be measured? How do we go about creating the circumstances where that will happen?” For Sarah Hazlehurst, managing partner and head of new business at
MKTG, clearly defined KPIs are imperative for a successful experiential campaign. She said: “Start with asking what you hope the experiential to achieve. For example, do you have a product that is hard to communicate its value and features where a demo/trial could really help drive purchase? “Is it more about raising awareness with the target audience, which will shape the campaign location, section and duration? Having clearly defined key performance indicators will help to inform the concept and consumer journey for the event. Know how you will measure success and what good looks like.” Sian Baker, managing director of The Producers, the experiential and events agency, argues that the secret to creating a great experiential campaign isn’t really a secret at all. She said: “The secret that is not really a secret is to start with the audience, get to know them and understand how they behave. “Once you know that you can map your objectives and from them, get to a key insight or idea that will drive the creative development and ultimately what you end up creating in the world of experiential,” Baker concluded. “Without the right planning and insight, you are really just crossing your fingers and hoping consumers like your campaign.”