So why experiential marketing at retail? Is traditional media not sufficient for sharing experiences with customers? As media fragmentation and consumer savvy continue to rise, one element in the advertising realm that has remained intact, yet is often overlooked in terms of its communication value, is the retail store itself. The key to creating brand experiences in today's marketplace is looking at the retail store as more than a sales venue. It is an actual medium and consumer touchpoint, and must become more than just a point of distribution.
This paradigm shift requires the industry to look more deeply at advertising than just exposure and reach and frequency. Marketing atretail is more than just in-store TV ads, digital signage, and POP displays. The retail venue can become the primary location for disseminating powerful branded messages. It has potential to become the brand experience venue.
The goal of branding is to generate an emotional moment between a consumer and a brand. Marketing atretail can become the premier advertising opportunity to cement experiences with brands and their consumers because it is the place that consumers continue to come to and interact with. Brand experiences atretail are created by taking the essence of a brand and extending it into three-dimensional space, utilizing form and function to support the story the brand is trying to tell. This creates a custom touchpoint for a consumer experience. It is essentially creating an ad of the brand essence in 3-D form-don't call it a store, call it an ad with walls.
There is one essential truth at play here: physical human beings enjoy tangible, tactile, and real experiences. Experiential marketing is about the "Sensory Experience"-communicating to the senses and allowing for the retail theater of the mind to close the deal. This closes the last loop in the brand communication chain and ensures investment in mass media is not lost at point of sale.Sponsored Link
Ultimately, creating custom, brand experiences for the customer at the last and most crucial touchpoint is the goal of branding and advertising. Basically it is to generate an emotional moment between a consumer and the brand. Experiential marketing turns every touchpoint in the messaging process into a brand touchpoint, leaving an indelible impression and experience on the consumer, creating affinity, and increased likelihood for sales and customer loyalty.
To get the biggest bang for out of the media budget this relationship with the customer must extended to every touchpoint. It must be planned and all Touchpoints like Mass Media, PR, marketing at-retail and even events must be integrated into the marketing mix.
