How to Create Brand Activations That Instantly Connect You With Your Customers

By Joseph Hedges

If you don’t have a brand, you don’t have an identity. It’s as simple as that. Consumers get to know you through the personality of your products. If your company seems lackluster and disengaged, then you can only expect the same level of interest in return.

A brand needs to be delivered to its audience. According to an EventTrack survey, an incredible 98 percent of people agreed that a product presented through an experiential marketing campaign would make them more likely to purchase it. These figures prove that brand activations can make a significant difference to your branding strategy.

But how can you ensure your campaign gets you noticed?

Learn by Big Brand Example

You can’t promote a brand if you don’t know which part of it resonates the most with your audience. For market leaders such as Apple, the mission has always been clear. When Steve Jobs started his company back in the 1980s, he wanted to create a brand that would be consistently at the forefront of technological advancement. Every ad campaign and marketing event was designed to reflect this ambition. Apple’s pioneering Super Bowl commercial, ‘1984,’ epitomised this perfectly. Jobs knew that the tech market needed a new leader, and he wanted the consumer to know that Apple was the brand to fill that role.

But, of course, even Apple wasn’t an overnight success. A lot of hard work went into bringing its product to the consumer, and much of Apple’s marketing campaign was formed around active demonstrations. Following Apple’s example can help you develop your own brand activation. Jobs’ passion shines through in Apple’s experiential marketing campaigns and gives them an instantly recognisable flavour. It’s authentic, innovative and relatable—all the qualities that consumers look for.

However, simply stating these points isn’t enough. They need to be a core part of your brand’s identity. Apple proves its credibility with every product demonstration. You can achieve the same results by offering the consumer a taste of your company’s creativity and vision.

Make Your Product the Center of Attention

So what is it that makes your brand tick? Before you begin planning your next brand activation, you need to know exactly what you want to say to your audience. Creating a memorable moment is important, but it needs to spark useful consumer engagement, too.

The focus should always be on quality over quantity. Splashing out on a grand, visual event is only practical if you earn back your money through increased traffic and sales conversions. Throughout the conception process, you need to keep your brand message at the forefront of your project.

Any branding company worth its salt will tell you that your brand activation needs to be both interactive and memorable—but to instantly engage your consumer, it also has to be paradigm shifting. You want them to forget about your competitors and commit wholeheartedly to your brand.

How do you do this? You put your product at the very heart of your event. Forget about acrobats and green screen performances; if your product isn’t in the hands of each and every person there, then they won’t associate it with the memory you’ve created. Make your brand the centrepiece of the experience and build the rest of the event around it.

If you’re struggling for ideas, then check out some past brand activation examples. Big name brands have been pulling these stunts for years, often with spectacular results. Carlsberg, for example, is hailed for its experiential marketing prowess. In the past, they company has gone to great lengths to establish its brand, even hiring out cinemas and designing beer-dispensing billboards. While it may have more financial backing than your small business, the core concept remains the same: the product must steal the show.

At each of Carlsberg’s events, the consumer ends up with a sample of the company’s latest product. If you’re looking to establish a connection, then you can’t ask for anything more visceral. The campaign reaches its climax with a sip of beer that will forever be linked to that momentous occasion. It’s this golden moment that you need to replicate yourself. As long as your product matches the high standards your brand activation sets, you will have your audience firmly on the hook.

Inspire Consumers to Act and React

As we’ve already discussed, a self-indulgent showcase of your brand won’t incite real engagement. Your campaign needs an actionable element that enables the consumer to test and commit to your brand. The best brand activations are multilayered, taking place across a number of different platforms (digital, experiential, social). The more opportunities your audience has to share and promote your brand, the more coverage your company will receive. No matter how large you go with your brand activation, always keep these five steps in mind:

Articulate your goals—What do you want to achieve from this event? Awareness, promotion, or active brand advocation?

Don’t plan to show off—What is your audience actually gaining from this event? If you don’t prove that you have their best interests at heart, they won’t flock to repay the favour.

Build around your brand attributes—Consumers want to know that their loyalty to your brand will be rewarded. No matter how far you push the boundaries in your experiential marketing event, you need to ensure its message remains authentic.

Promote across every available platform—If you’ve got access to social media (who doesn’t nowadays?), use it. Not only will this increase the level of promotion your brand receives, it will also give your audience another platform to share and discuss your product. Remember to choose your platforms accordingly. For example, if you’re pushing highly visual content, then opt for Pinterest or Instagram.

Sustain consumer interest—A strong marketing campaign should never fizzle out. Give the consumer a reason to continue talking about your brand. Creating additional customer touch-points throughout the year will keep your campaign fresh. Content marketing can be a great way to share your brand activation across the online community.

Whether your brand is a complete unknown or on the verge of greatness, consumer engagement should always be a priority. Quality brand activations can give your company the definitive edge in a market as fickle as it is diverse.