What is brand activation? In today's world of digital-first, ongoing marketing strategies, brand activation is a fun, visceral way for consumers to connect with a brand.
Brand activation events are usually one-off occurrences that are intended to emotionally connect brands with their audience. For instance, consider pop singers as a 'brand'.
While pop singers are complex human beings, their public persona often serves as a 'brand'. This brand is being sold each time they step onto a talk show, put out an album, or receive an award.
Consider a concert as a brand activation event. For many, attending a famous pop star's concert is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. This in-person event doubles as both an experience and an 'interaction' with the brand, particularly if they get a shoutout from the audience, take photos, or get to go backstage.
These powerful experiences cement permanent brand loyalty, make people more likely to purchase or try to attend these events again. That's the power of brand activation.
We've created a guide for brand activation ideas and examples to help you define your brand and make deep emotional connections with your audience. Let's get started!
Engagement Marketing
There's no denying the power of marketing activation. As our concept of marketing evolves to match the breakneck pace of the Internet, people want to have deep, visceral connections with the brands they support.
Buyers, particularly demographics like Gen Z that are recently cominginto their buying power, want to know what their dollars are supporting. What issue is a brand solving, and are they helping repair the world while they do it?
People want to be sure that a brand's workers aren't being exploited, that a company's products aren't harming the environment. In other words, people want to know if it's safe and productive to form an emotional connection with a brand.
One way to showcase your values to the world is through engagement marketing. Also referred to as experiential marketing, this is the art of creating real-world experiences to facilitate audience engagement.
For this type of marketing, the sales pitch doesn't have to be too heavy-handed. In fact, engagement marketing isn't really where people start buying things.
Take this example, for instance. Maybe you offer photography, videography, and editing services for weddings. However, since the wedding industry is flooded with all sorts of options, you have a hard time standing out.
What about a pop-up photo booth? With all sorts of fun backdrop options, you can revive some old-time nostalgia by incorporating a pop-up photo booth into a wedding.
The bride and groom can take all the shots they want to, of course. But it's also a fun opportunity for guests to showcase their experience, share it on social media, and get some fun pictures they wouldn't have had otherwise.
With cool backdrops, great lighting, and fun props, these booths are always a wild hit at any type of event. During a wedding, guests are especially looking to make memories of their special days. Sometimes, a cell phone camera just doesn't cut it!
What Does It Do For Your Brand?
What does this actually do for your brand? Well, if you're the one hosting the pop-up photo booth at this fictional wedding, then the possibilities are endless.
You can have your brand's name or social media handle worked into the backdrop somewhere. Or, you can make it even more powerful by editing the photos that people take home.
With great edits, cool filters, or gifs/video clips, you make your brand stand out in people's minds. To them, you're more than just a photography/videography service. Instead, you curate memories and help make their day special.
People won't remember the ad you post on Facebook for long. But they'll remember goofing around with their friends in a photo booth at a loved one's wedding. And when they get those physical prints, they'll have a tangible connection to your brand for as long as they keep the pictures.
When it comes to successful engagement marketing, a good brand activation strategy requires in-person experiences. While there's a little room to bend the rules with the advent of augmented reality, in-person experiences are usually best for these purposes.
People Love Free Stuff
Your brand activation strategy presentation doesn't need to be complicated. It doesn't have to be a string of marketing studies and Google searches, spending time poring over 'what are brand activation ideas' and 'define brand activation.'
Sometimes, it's best to go back to simple, common-sense marketing strategies. People love free stuff!
Giving people something they can use on a daily basis is important. That way, they'll think of your brand every time they use your items. It's free advertising, especially if someone takes it out in public. Something like a drawstring backpack is a great idea for someone to tote supplies to work or school!
Considering quality is also important when handing out free stuff. People judge your for-sale items by the quality of your free ones. Whether you're handing out a backpack tote or a pencil case, make sure it's a good representative of what you have to offer.
Of course, you may need all the free advertising you can get. If that's the case, your free items should be public-facing. After all, someone wearing a printed lanyard for identification gets more face-time than a backpack tote that may sit in someone's closet till their next big trip. If you're not sure whether an item would be 'too cheesy', consider your favorite swag items that you've received over the years. With any likelihood, you probably have a few promotional t-shirts that you wear and love. You can't go wrong with printed apparel!
If you want to advertise to two people at the same time, go for custom stationery. This is especially popular around the holidays and can help you establish your brand.
Whether you're giving away backpacks, lanyards, or stationery, remember what you're doing—selling your brand.
Host Events
In many cases, getting people to actually come to your location is half the battle. Once they're through the doors, they're bound to purchase something. But how do you actually get them through the doors?
Think about how businesses usually approach their launch. They'll advertise it, to be sure. But they'll often hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a party, or a celebratory luncheon.
The goal is to get people through the doors by promising them swag, free food, entertainment, or something else that motivates them to make the trip to a store they don't know and may not care about.
This is especially lucrative for brick-and-mortar stores with a fun atmosphere and strong product offerings. Getting a tour of a marketing agency—seeing empty cubicles and laptops, for instance—doesn't really offer the same thrill.
However, you don't need a new opening or a ribbon-cutting ceremony to lure people in. Take advantage of an upcoming business anniversary, or frame it as a customer appreciation event.
Event activation definition doesn't have to be hard. Just think about what your customers want, what would lure them to your store, and what you can offer them once they actually get there.
Make an Appearance
Brand activation may be a relatively new term. But the truth is, companies have been undertaking brand activation for a long time. Often, it was under a different name.
Sometimes, it was without the explicit goal of forming an emotional bond with customers. However, some old-school methods of brand activation are still worthwhile.
Have you considered activities like trade shows, industry events, and career fairs? These events are a little different because they target people who are already interested in your industry or general product offerings.
This makes them a niche space, but they are still a productive one. There are lots of options available here, too.
You may benefit from having a booth on the trade show floor. This will give you ample face time with your audience, and give you a chance to pitch your products over and over. This is also a great opportunity to offer cool swag, like branded bags, water bottles, mousepads, and so forth.
Depending on the type of trade show or industry event, you may be able to speak to your audience Having a live talk is a great way to educate, inform, and entertain your audience at a conference.
Trade shows and similar events also give you an opportunity to combine some of the other tips that we shared. A trade show floor is a great chance for sample giveaways, engagement marketing, and so forth.
The Art of Brand Activation
Like any other form of marketing, brand activation takes a little bit of time to perfect. Once you've learned how to build rapport and connection with your audience, though, it will feel like second nature. Whether you do it yourself or gain tips from a brand activation agency, you'll continue to learn and grow.
If you're looking for high-quality swag to boost your brand activation activities, Bagmasters can help! Check us out today.
