Jenny McAuley, innovation manager, Flux LDN, part of Engage Works
Brands are integrating technology in order to create interactive and innovative experiences that increase and reinforce customer loyalty.
Within the retail arena, companies such as Ikea are leading the way in creating experiences that engage customers, implementing a mixture of interactive technologies and immersive content.
Technology can evoke a mass personalised experience. One such experience, which was implemented by Engage LDN, is the immersion room created for the . It gives children visiting the site a flavour of what Sky does, replicating its live news studios in London.
These highly innovative solutions are central to creating memorable experiences within experiential environments. Flux LDN explores and curates cutting-edge technologies to create immersive, interactive solutions.
Mike Etherington, UK and Ireland marketing director, EMEA digital marketing director, Lenovo
This year we aim to expand on our work with consumer, influencer and fan engagement, which we hope will include experiential activations. Our audience is receptive to collaborating with us to create great experiences, so we want to produce truly exciting and disruptive ideas this year.
The key challenge is keeping pace with your audience. The world, and the tech sector in particular, moves very fast and the way people interact with brands is ever-changing.
Brands needs to be agile and brave, providing their audience with what they want - young people crave original, engaging, authentic and immersive experiences.
Experiential is no longer about a standalone stunt event that spreads via word of mouth. To have maximum impact, an idea needs to be strong enough to integrate across all marketing channels, tell a compelling story and provide an authentic experience.
John Swatton, marketing manager, Asus
Our primary use of experiential is to increase brand awareness. As we don't sell direct, we do not measure ROI simply against sell-out data or market share, and offering incentives for consumers to purchase is difficult for us to implement. Instead we focus on total audience reach and quality of engagement.
We also ensure that experiential is part of a fully integrated marketing strategy. We're excited to be sponsoring the Eden Sessions in Cornwall again in 2015, and are undertaking activity to promote our association. This includes social media, PR, digital marketing, radio and some third-party activities.
A big challenge is identifying projects that align with our values, enabling us to communicate our product strengths. Too many agencies think branding via experiential (or event sponsorship) is simply a logo on a backdrop next to an event, and offer very little to further audience engagement.
Comment below to let us know what you think.
For more in-depth and print-only features, showcases and interviews with world-leading brands, don't miss the next issue of Event magazine by .