Ways Marketers Can Gather Valuable Insights with Experiential Marketing.
- (4-minute read)
- Article summary: Brands have much to gain by using digital activations at experiential marketing activations. This article explores the bevy of qualitative and quantitative data that can be collected at XM activations regardless of size.
- Experiential marketing offers unique opportunities for marketers to breath life into a brand as well as gather valuable information from consumers in creative and engaging ways.
- While the creative offered below is half-baked at best, the digital concepts are solid and it should give you an idea of the power of digital play in the experiential space.
- Here are some innovative general approaches, creative thought starters, and some of the data points that may be collected:
- 1. Interactive Experiences: Embed short, interactive prompts into the beginning of the experience. For example, use touchscreens, QR codes, or augmented reality interfaces that encourage participants to provide feedback or answer questions related to their brand/product preferences.
- Imagine a pop-up art installation where attendees can paint graffiti or simply paint on a digital canvas using touch-sensitive screens. Between each session, a quick prompt appears on the canvas, asking about color preferences based on a determined palette and emotional responses to the art. Provide a mechanism to share their work of art back to them (SMS, email). Each stroke contributes to the collaborative masterpiece while collecting valuable data.
- Data Collected: Color preferences, emotional responses to art, preferred art styles, interaction times, survey responses.
- 2. Gamification: Create games or challenges within the experiential space that require participants to share information as part of their engagement. This could include trivia games, scavenger hunts, or interactive puzzles that subtly collect data as users participate.
- Create an immersive escape room experience where participants solve puzzles related to the brand. Each successful puzzle completion unlocks a piece of a code that, when submitted, enters them into a draw. The code is personalized, gathering data on which puzzles were most challenging and engaging for each participant.
- Data Collected: user knowledge on brand/product based on questions/puzzles, puzzle-solving times, preferences for specific puzzles, reasons for participation, demographic information entered for the draw.
- 3. RFID/NFC Technology: Use RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) or NFC (Near Field Communication) technology in event badges or interactive elements. This allows attendees to tap or interact with various stations, collecting data on their preferences and interactions throughout the event.
- Design an event with RFID-enabled wristbands. As attendees move through different zones, the wristband collects data on their interactions. For example, tapping the wristband at a product demo station could provide insights into the most popular products or features. Active RFID scanners can determine dwell times associated with (physical demos or content areas)
- Data Collected: Attendee movement patterns, dwell times at different zones, popular product interactions, overall event engagement.
- 4. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) Experiences:
- Develop VR or AR experiences that not only entertain but also gather information. For example, design virtual environments where users make choices, and their decisions provide insights into their preferences or opinions.
- Develop an AR/MR app that overlays additional information about products when users scan them with their smartphones. As users explore the products in-store, the app collects data on the products they are most interested in and the specific features they explore.
- Data Collected: Products scanned, features explored, duration of interactions, specific interests within the augmented content.
- 5. Live Social Media Integration: Encourage participants to share their experiences on social media platforms using event-specific hashtags. Aggregate and analyze this user-generated content to gain insights into real-time reactions, sentiments, and preferences.
- Create a live Snapchat wall. Consumers can participate in polls, prompts, and local hashtags of their opinions on different aspects of the event. Marketers can then analyze the live feed for trends and sentiments.
- Data Collected: User-generated content, opinions on event elements, trends in live polling responses, sentiment analysis.
- 6. Interactive Product Demonstrations: Set up interactive product demonstrations where attendees can physically engage with products. Capture data on the features they explore, the time spent interacting, and any preferences expressed during the experience.
- There are many examples of how this can play out. If you have a big product (*like a car) and you want to pull it apart to show some features under the hood (ex. EVs with engines in each rim for example). A QR code can bring up a web AR that allows a consumer to pull those features apart and dig around in the interactive.
- Data Collected: Features viewed, click points, content accessed, time spent at the demonstration booth.
- 7. Data-Driven Contests and Challenges: Create contests or challenges that require participants to submit information or engage with the brand in creative ways. For instance, a photo contest where users share pictures related to the brand with accompanying captions or stories.
- Launch a contest where participants submit short videos showcasing how they use the brand's products in creative ways. The contest platform collects not only the videos but also additional data on usage patterns and product combinations.
- Data Collected: User-generated videos, creative product uses, demographic information from contest entries.
- 8. Biometric Feedback and Wearable Tech: Integrate biometric sensors or wearable tech into the experiential marketing setup to gather real-time physiological responses. This data can provide insights into emotional reactions, engagement levels, and preferences.
- Introduce a VR experience that adapts based on users' biometric responses (heart rate, facial expressions). The experience might change in intensity or content to match users' comfort levels, providing insights into the emotional impact of the brand's messaging.
- Data Collected: Real-time biometric responses (heart rate, facial expressions), or heatmaps based on eye focus areas, emotional reactions to specific stimuli. Aggregate/general metrics can be used to gauge the consumers’ ‘taste for adventure’ as it applies activation, brand, and messaging.
- 9. Storytelling Space:
- Design dedicated spaces for participants to share their personal stories related to the brand. Use audio or video recordings to capture testimonials and insights, allowing marketers to understand the emotional connection between consumers and the brand.
- Create a cozy booth with recording equipment where attendees can share personal stories about their experiences with the brand. The recorded stories can be used in marketing campaigns, and the data collected helps identify common themes and sentiments.
- Data Collected: User generated content (UGC) with opt-in, sentiments expressed (*generalized qualitative data), common themes in experiences with the brand.
- 10. Collaborative Co-creation Spaces: Set up interactive stations where participants can co-create content, designs, or ideas. This collaborative process not only engages consumers but also provides valuable information about their preferences, tastes, and creative inputs.
- Create a crafty Maker’s booth to allow consumers to customize your product, snap a photo and share (*locally or online) for a chance to win something.
- Data Collected: Lots of qualitative data based on entries, and shareable UGC.
- These concepts aim to be prompts or springboards for creative ways of turning data collection into a seamless part of the immersive experience while ensuring participants are actively engaged and entertained.
- Remember, transparency and the option for participants to opt-in for data collection are crucial aspects of any data-gathering strategy to ensure ethical and legal compliance. These data points provide valuable insights into consumer preferences, behaviors, and emotional responses. It's important for marketers to analyze and interpret this data ethically, respecting privacy and obtaining explicit consent for any personally identifiable information collected.
- And remember trained brand and activation ambassadors are key to pulling consumers in and helping them engage!
About the Author
David is a U.S.-based creative marketing executive that defines and delivers DM & XM experiences that capture the moment, breathes life into the brand, connects people, and bridges technology, data, and behavioral economics to go well beyond "If you build it, they will come." He has created live brand experiences for Microsoft, Cisco, T-Mobile, Whirlpool, and the NHL.