Common misconceptions and criticism of experiential marketing include that it is extravagant, unproductive, and not tangible. However, experiential marketing is an effective way to connect with customers and drive sales. It can be used in a variety of industries, from retail to tourism.
Some examples of experiential marketing campaigns include product demonstrations, installations, or customer service interactions. Experiential marketing can help businesses build trust and loyalty with their customers by providing them with valuable experiences that they can’t get anywhere else. Today 75% of B2C marketers say that in-person events are crucial for their brand’s success, as per Agency AE.
However, some people believe that experiential marketing only works with high-end brands. In reality, it can be used by any business, and it is not always expensive. Some other myths about experiential marketing are that
It is costly
An obvious criticism of experiential marketing is that it is expensive. However, when you consider the cost of goods and labor, this can be easily disproven. It’s a simple matter of looking at what you’re spending on your marketing campaign in general: if you’re investing in television ads, for example, then why not make sure your time and money aren’t being wasted? The same goes for any other medium or outlet. Experiential marketing will help ensure that you are getting the most bang for your buck as far as ROI goes—and it’s certainly much more fun than just putting an ad on television!
One way to keep costs down when implementing experiential marketing is by partnering with brands or businesses that share similar interests with yours. For example, if you own a chain of breakfast cafes located near colleges across Singapore, partnering with local breweries may be the perfect solution to reach college students who enjoy crafting a beer while they eat their morning sandwiches.
Experiential marketing is difficult to scale
A common misconception about experiential marketing is that it is difficult to scale; however, this is not true. There are some things you need to keep in mind when planning your experiential campaigns. The first thing you should realize is that it’s impossible to take an experience and put it in a brochure or other piece of content because it doesn’t work like that. You can’t take an experience like going on a safari or climbing a mountain and tell people how great it was and why they should do it too—it just doesn’t work like that! Experiences require interaction between two parties: the brand and the consumer. This means that you need to be very creative when trying to make your experiences scalable (i.e., able to reach more people).
Experiential Marketing is a gimmick and not productive
A common misconception about experiential marketing is that it’s a gimmick, although this is certainly not the case - it can produce great results, but only if the strategy and execution are done well. Like any other form of communication, experiential marketing needs to be engaging and memorable enough to create a positive experience for your clients or customers.
The experience needs to be engaging enough for attendees to not only remember what happened but also want more from those brands who participated (and hopefully purchase from them). If all attendees think back about their time together as “well...that was pretty awesome,” then they’re likely going to remember everything they experienced during that time, which means new customers for your business.
The outcome of experiential marketing is not worth the effort
Experiential marketing has been criticized for being more expensive and time-consuming than other forms of marketing. It’s true that it takes time, but how much it costs will depend on the specific project. To be honest, many brands don’t always get back what they pay for when it comes to ROI because there isn’t a direct correlation between cost and sales.
Instead, experiential campaigns are often used as part of an overall brand strategy or as a way to break through an advertising clutter without directly asking consumers to buy something right away (like traditional ads do). For this reason, experiential campaigns may not generate immediate sales results; however, they can still be worth the effort if they lead potential customers down a path towards purchasing your product or service later on down the line.
Conclusion
It is evident that experiential marketing is a powerful tool that should not be underestimated. While it does have its share of criticisms, these are mostly based on misconceptions about the strategy. When executed correctly, experiential marketing can be an extremely effective way to reach and engage customers.