Retailtainment and Experiential Marketing is the promotion of a product, service, or brand that is presented to consumers by creating an inspirational, fun, and engaging experience.
Adopted by many brands and retailers, retailtainment is hugely successful in not only raising awareness of new products or services but also driving engagement and purchases.
In this article, we explore Retailtainment and Experiential Marketing campaigns for retail, and highlight 10 Reasons why your brand should be using them…
1 – Shoppers are craving a physical retail experience
For physical retail the pressure is on. With more people opting to shop online, the rise of digital means that the retail experience has to offer something more than just a place to buy a product. Retailtainment and Experiential marketing does exactly that.
Shoppers want brands and retailers deliver more, in order to entice them from parting from their hard-earned cash. Research shows that 73% of shoppers will spend more time and money in stores offering a good experience, so if you want customers to spend spend spend, give them the experience they crave!
2 – It’s a great way to disrupt shopper journey
Retailtainment doesn’t have to be in-store, in fact it can happen absolutely anywhere.
Think about when you’re walking through a shopping mall or busy high-street, and there are experiential marketing campaigns by brands that have popped up in the middle of the concourse. That’s experiential marketing ready to disrupt your journey.
Experiential campaigns enable brands to take an experience anywhere, disrupting the shopper journey when they least expect it.
3 – It will increase brand awareness
This one follows on from point no. 2. By disrupting the shopper journey, you are exposing your brand, products and services to a much wider audience and engaging with completely new, prospective customers.
Putting your brand in the path of shoppers and creating a unique consumer experience in this way will entice people to see what it’s all about, making them come over and engage. People are inquisitive, and retailtainment and experiential marketing campaigns give them something to be entertained by and raising awareness of your brand.
4 – Give your brand a personality that customers can engage with
Every brand has a personality, for some it’s one of the biggest reasons that their brands are so successful.
Experiential marketing campaigns enable you to put your brand’s personality in front of your customers and giving it a set of human characteristics that consumers can relate to.
5 – The chance to offer a fun customer experience
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to more and more consumers shopping online, a trend which we have all very much become accustomed to. But what does that mean for the physical retail experience? Well, it simply means that shoppers need a reason to visit a physical store.
Physical retail needs to offer something that online cannot, such as the chance to test a product, try on a new outfit or sample a new perfume.
The value of the experience itself and how it makes shoppers feel will drive emotive connections with your brand and prompt buying decisions.
6 – Introduce new customers to your brand and products
There’s no doubt that a successful experiential marketing campaign draws attention and creates shopper intrigue. Disrupting the shopper journey in this way creates exposure for your brand, your products and services to a completely new audience.
First impressions count, and 63% of shoppers agree they want the places they shop to be inspiring. So, if you are looking at drawing new customers the experiential and retailtainment campaigns could be the perfect fit for you.
7 – Allow customers to try before they buy
Whether you are adding a new flavour of crisps to your range, or launching a completely brand-new product, experiential campaigns provide the perfect platform for customers to try before they buy.
This works typically very well for sweet treats, confectionery and alcohol and soft drinks, but could also be adapted for other products too. Maybe a new video game where shoppers can play against each other or on-site fragrance diffusers to showcase new scents.
8 – It’s an opportunity to be remembered
This one is simple, provide an experience that people are going remember. It could be something that made people smile, laugh or enabling them to try something that they haven’t ever done before.
Your experience could become a memory, so make it memorable. That way they won’t just remember their experience, but they will also remember the brand who gave it to them too and build an overall positive brand perception.
9 – Drive traffic online or to make an action
Experiential marketing can be a great way to get customers to perform a desired action, such as like a Facebook page, complete an online competition form, or share a snap on their personal social media.
85% of consumers are likely to purchase after participating in events and experiences, so an experiential marketing campaign can be a great way to drive additional revenue. For example, a QR code could be used to guide shoppers to a special offer on the new favour of crisps they’ve just tried and want to download a discount coupon before paying at the checkout.
The modern world has made online accessible and incorporating this into your experiential or retailtainment campaign can draw a bigger audience than just those who visit you physically.
10 – A great way to drive engagement – both in person and online
Finally, there is no doubt about it, retailtainment and experiential marketing campaigns drive engagement.
Experiential campaigns enable brands to be face-to-face with their customers and understand who they are, what they like, what they don’t like and most importantly what they think of you. This form engagement allows brands to talk directly to customers and build the relationship. This is also great for on the ground research and will provide invaluable data that your entire marketing team will thank you for.
In the online world, people like to share with others what experiences they’ve had and what they’ve been up to. So, you can bet your bottom dollar, if you’re offering an experience worth remembering they’ll be taking selfies, snapchatting, tweeting and sharing to their stories. This is not only great engagement for you brand, but also a great way to raise awareness too. Plus, the exposure might tempt others into paying you a visit too!
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