We live in an environment where brands rack their brains to make an impact on their real or potential customers in a striking, memorable, and, above all, profitable way. That’s why today I want to talk about and analyze a strategy that has become fashionable in a highly competitive sector like beverages, whether they are low-alcohol or refreshing. Brands have discovered that one of the highest quality impacts they can achieve is through experiential marketing, in other words, reaching consumers with their brand through experiences.
It doesn’t matter whether your end consumer is a Millennial or Generation Z, whatever it is, they are eager for experiences, not gifts or objects as traditional promotional mechanics used to offer. They no longer want to buy a car and a beachfront house; they want to celebrate their birthday by renting a convertible and a mansion with a pool and barbecue for all their friends – and, by the way, share a thousand photos of the event with their contacts. Moreover, it’s not just about impacting them with the brand; it’s about creating a sense of belonging, creating a brand identity, giving meaning to that logo.
On paper, it seems easy, but successfully implementing it is not simple. This beverage sector concentrates a significant portion of its sales in the summer months, so let’s do something about that. What do our consumers like and find attractive in an urban environment? The first step is to get to know our consumer.
Once we know this… why don’t we give them what they’re attracted to in an environment with our brand, where they can enjoy the things they like the most, such as live music, gourmet food, street art, all in an ambiance imbued with the brand and the group’s products? Right, let’s organize a music / street art / gastronomy festival that allows consumers to have a memorable experience with their friends, constantly interacting with the brand in a natural way. Let’s even set up a photo booth for them to take the most extravagant photos and share them on their social networks with the festival’s hashtag. Moreover, let’s print out the photos on the spot, with a decorative frame from the festival, so that when they go to the fridge to grab something to drink, they remember how much fun they had with their friends and our brand. Can there be a better impact?
This is the case of the MUFF (Mahou Urban Food Festival), which, using gastronomy as an excuse and street art, organizes a festival with live music, where you can try impressive gastronomic creations while listening to the latest in the music scene and quench your thirst with any of the group’s products. Furthermore, by recycling the containers you use, you earn credits for food and drinks. A real deployment of consumer knowledge.
It’s also the case with the Coca-Cola Music Experience, a massive music festival where we impact our customers when they are having the best time: listening to top-level artists. Estrella de Galicia, Estrella Levante, and other brands in the sector have organized similar events, going from having major brands sponsor concerts, festivals, and even important nightclubs, to creating major events from the heart of a brand.
These are just some examples, but these events and experiences are not exclusive to beverage brands; they can be applied to other sectors as well. In a super competitive market like this, innovation is the key to growth. Why can’t a private insurance company organize a sports festival with outdoor activities to promote a healthy lifestyle? Why can’t a chain of bookstores organize a literary festival where young readers and creators can interact and read their creations or listen to their favorite or emerging authors? Why can’t an automotive group that sells family cars organize a children’s festival to promote games that help the development of young children alongside their parents?
Why can’t a brand of large motorcycles, famous for their comfort, safety, and reliability, organize a great trip for their customers, and even customers from other brands, where they can enjoy getting to know the peninsula on their motorcycle? Let them take pride in the brand they ride, let them feel like they belong to a group they can be proud of… Well, BMW is already doing this with PuntApunta, bringing together 800 motorcycles and 900 people each year. Their competitors have followed suit by organizing similar events.
The opportunity is there; you just have to know which key to press. To do this, you must get to know your customers, understand their desires, concerns, what kinds of activities occupy their leisure time, or what they would like to occupy their free time with.
To reach the heart of an action that impacts your consumer directly and memorably, you must know what they think and understand them. For this, tools like online surveys or insights communities, where you can carry out Co-creation, Design Thinking, discuss innovation topics, detect trends, or evaluate new proposals for the market – or their leisure time – can facilitate the creation of actions that not only have a powerful impact on your consumer but also set trends in your industry. However, for this to happen, you must be willing to innovate, take risks, make bets, and improve. At We are testers, we never stop doing this; will you join us?
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://www.wearetesters.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/dario.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Darío López is Key Account Manager at We are testers.</author_info] [/author]
Update date 22 December, 2023
