Six Things Your Experiential Marketing Event Must Have

---

Six Things Your Experiential Marketing Event Must Have

Business events can be hit-or-miss deals, but a good experiential event can influence consumers on a massive scale. In 2017, marketers have a lot of tools to work with. From VR to trending prop logo designs, the list is virtually limitless. We won’t say the “tiny house” fad isn’t a solid resource to look at, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction. Below, we’re covering four great resources your experiential event should use. You might not be able to mash them all together, but you should at least use one.

One: The Tiny House

Tiny houses are huge right now. They’re appearing on lifestyle websites, TV shows and magazine photo spreads. Ranging from 100- to 500-square-feet, tiny houses have reached baby boomer and millennial markets alike with their compact, endearing nature.

They’re easy to build, move and remove, too. Check out the SPAM Tiny House Sizzle Tour, if you’re looking for good ideas.

Two: Virtual Reality

The Oculus Rift and HTC Vive have made virtual reality a modern event cornerstone. If experiential marketing wasn’t fun before, it certainly is. Virtual Reality might still be in the Wild West, in terms of development, but it’s become something most small brands can afford to use. VR is still stepping up, but even its early-stage models can provide immersive experiences in small event spaces. If you want to upgrade, implement 360-degree video and augmented reality.

Three: Special Prop Logos

This year, we’ve seen a slew of unique prop logos pop up. Between separate area signs, neon signs and rustic signs, the glitz and glam never ends. You can make unique signs with graffiti or UV-resistant polycarbonate materials, too, if you’re looking for a classic, minimalistic design.

Four: Biometrics

Biometrics might seem futuristic, but it’s impacting today’s marketing world. Biometrics is the in-depth measurement, and analysis, of an individual’s behavioral and physical characteristics. Giving today’s event marketers an opening to measure target audience feelings, biometric devices are immediate response devices capable of measuring consumer preferences, event effectiveness and product incentives. Plug in the results later, strategize your product line and use both science and statistics to gauge consumer responses.

Five: Mobile Data Collection

Sticking with the “data is everything” theme, we believe data collection is incredibly important. In the recent past, businesses used experiential marketing events to boost brand engagement. Now, they can use them to collect data via feedback, smartphone engagement and event activations. Use mobile activations to see which consumers are attending, and gauge different responses based upon click-based behavior.

Six: Community Voting

Because most event-goers are strapped with iPhones and Androids, community voting has experienced a resurgence. Create branded hashtags, get event-goers involved with social media and use SMS to create text-based polls. Or, use an integrated online element to give consumers a chance to participate from home.

In any event, you should find out where your audience is already hanging out. This can be a physical place within the event. It can also be on the Internet. If you can find out where your event-goers go, you can strategize entire campaigns for post-event effectiveness. Mix and mash up your event tools, but make sure one thing is prioritized: Your consumer’s time.

SXSW 2017: Experiential Marketing of the Future

If there’s any marketing extravaganza industry leaders get hyped for, it’s South by Southwest. This year, SXSW rolled out a slew of hot experiential trends. The world’s leading conference in high-tech business, digital innovation and—of course—business promotion is back. Now, we’re here to bring you the highlights.

Neuroscience in Marketing

Yeah, it sounds ambitious. It’s surprisingly capable, however, and it was showcased as a live marketing art display. The brain-friendly experiential displays highlighted SXSW’s collection of high-tech displays, showcasing AI-powered neuroscience bots. Dubbed ‘pre-suasion,’ the event mashed up digital complexity and the average consumer’s daily wants and needs.

Sony’s Wow Factory

Above all brands, Sony’s tech display probably won. Its knock-out collection of ‘techsperiments’ revealed its global Wow brand campaign. Packed with sonic motion music entertainment, projection-mapped VR experiences and an encompassing ‘Wow Factory,’ Sony thrived in SXSW.

Amazon’s Delivery Drones

While Amazon’s high-tech delivery drone program might be old news, its live demos have been heavily anticipated. SXSW became Amazon’s platform for presentation, proving the delivery program’s existence. Until now, many have rightfully scoffed at the feasibility of such a program. Tested across the UK and Germany, Amazon’s drone fleet hasn’t seen many audiences—until now.

Xperia Touch

Consumers are knowledgeable about touchscreens, but Sony—again—surpassed all expectations. It presented the Android projector, the Xperia Touch, and let visitors test out its flat-surface projections. Useable on the wall, the floor or even on a table, the Xperia Touch promises to be one of today’s leading augmented display technologies.

Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket

The clothing brand, Levi’s, got its presentation as well. The brand has partnered with Google to make ‘smart clothes’ capable of integrating SMS, Google maps and more. Levi’s presented a live tech demo, letting users try out its Commuter Trucker Jacket. Capable of reading swipes, taps and a slew of other inputs, the Trucker Jacket was one of SXSW’s most hands-on displays.

The Fortis Exoskeleton

It’s about to get weird. While the rest of SXSW went crazy over self-driving cars, projectors and jackets, Lockheed Martin presented its Fortis exoskeleton. Strapped to the body, the exoskeleton adds skeletal support. It helps the frail walk, helps construction workers lift heavy objects and—well—exists as one of the event’s coolest pieces of technology.

How To Go From Messy to Clever with Six Great Event Food Creations

Messy foods are for outback grill events, booze cruises and music festivals, right? Wrong. Event guests appreciate easy-to-eat options, and catering groups are repurposing age-old recipes to make event options more appetizing.

Crowd-favorite foods aren’t necessarily the cleanest, but they can certainly be cleaned up to make the eater’s life easier. While some guests love their hearty, sweet and classic foods, they needn’t be restricted to “finger-licking good” winds, sandwiches and BBQ options. The following event providers have remixed typical event food ideas. Check them out:

Preston Bailey Supplies Tiramisu Grab-and-Go Offers

Preston Bailey turned an entire Four Seasons New York Downtown into a catering establishment, supplying tiramisu as a grab-and-go options. Striking out the eating difficulty, it successfully celebrated its partnership with Four Seasons, all while keeping event-goers happy.

S'mores Gets Portable with Lollipops

Yes, it’s possible to eat a S’mores product without the mess. In fact, S’mores created campfire lollipops to familiarize their guests with handheld fun at the Engage!14 Wedding Summit. By reinventing an age-old theme in a new way, S’mores effectively redesigned the way guests look at desert.

Great Performances Dishes Out Fried Chicken Cones

By dishing out fried chicken stored in waffle cones, Great Performances allowed its guests to roam about the premises with self-serve options designed to circumnavigate the need for plates. Fried chicken might not be the hardest-to-handle food item, but it’s certainly deserving of a little ease-of-eating. The cones were offered at the Watermill Center in 2015, redefining the way chicken, itself, is dished out to hungry patrons.

Elegant Affairs Creates Portable Spaghetti and Meatballs

By compacting spaghetti and placing singular meatballs on top, New York’s Elegant Affairs created a clean, to-the-point version of traditional spaghetti dinners. The mess-free food item gave patrons a micro approach to an age-old macro problem associated with messy spaghetti event dinners.

Occasions Caterers Make Salad Bites

That’s right: salad bites. Alongside spaghetti, salad is a notoriously difficult event dish to serve cleanly. By creating salad bites hors d’oeuvre, Occasions Caterers gave patrons fork-served eating options capable of tidying up the dish’s regular problems.

The Washington Human Society Offers Portable Hummus and Pita

Hummus is messy. Really messy. The Washington Humane society, however, offered a selection of hors d’oeuvres hummus and pita bites, celebrating their 2014 Fashion for Paws runway event.

Sometimes, alternative food options work well. They certainly revamp many age-old ideologies surrounding proper event food options. Check out more annual food options, and stay sharp with this year’s best event creations.

Event Trends: The 90s Make a Comeback

Marketers know that one of the easiest ways to catch people's attention and produce good feelings is to go for nostalgia. Because of this, it's a certainty that every generation will be treated to a round of advertising and marketing meant to call up feelings of the good old days. This is why we've all been seeing a resurgence of 90s-themed products and events. Millennials, companies hope, are already looking at this time period with the airbrushed memories of those wishing for simpler and happier times. These 90s-based marketing efforts have taken several forms. Here are some examples you can use for inspiration for your own company's nostalgia marketing:

Nickelodeon's 90sFest

Nickelodeon didn't just put on a few marathons of 90s shows for its celebration of the Millennials' decade. Instead, it hosted several retro music festivals, complete with 90s acts like Sister Hazel and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Attendees dressed up in 90s clothing or as Nickelodeon characters from that period in order to fully immerse themselves in the experience.

The company got down to business with its obstacle course, which was present at each event. This course was set up to promote The Splat – the network's block of 90s game show and cartoon reruns. Other Nickelodeon offerings were also promoted in fun and immersive ways.

Crystal Pepsi Summer of '92

PepsiCo was another company that made great use of old music, this time to re-introduce Crystal Pepsi to the market. Salt-N-Pepa, En Vogue, and others started off the entertainment at concerts that featured 90s sets along with the music. A retro mall was also set up, and patrons could get 90s hairstyles, play in an arcade featuring the games of the decade, and buy assorted swag just like they did as teens.

TRL

MTV revamped its old Total Request Live, or TRL, studio into Total Registration Live to promote National Voter Registration Day. Along with being able to register to vote, attendees were also able to check out various celebrities, who spoke about the election issues they were passionate about. Celebs who came included Joss Whedon and Ty Dolla $ign. Of course, the musical artists also performed to ensure that people would stay interested.

These are just some of the events that took place during the last year to target Millennials with nostalgia marketing. Such marketing isn't limited to this age group, though. You can easily use it to reach any demographic that isn't still young.

If you're looking for a venue for your next immersive marketing event, look no further than Soho Studios in Miami. Our event space can be adapted for any size function, with up to 70,000 feet available. We can also set up custom features to make sure your event is an unforgettable hit.

Event Marketing Trends: What to Watch for in 2017

Event marketing has come a long way. In 2016, marketers innovate constantly to offer unique, engaging displays. In recent years, a few trends have risen to the top—and decision makers are utilizing the world’s newest technology to create unprecedented initiatives. Check out these winning event marketing trends guaranteed to make a splash in 2017, and set your sights on creativity.

One: Event Sponsorship

In the past, event hosts and sponsors united with logos, branding partnerships and insight seminars. Now, intensive sponsorship opportunities highlight the relationship. Today’s experiential marketing platforms are expanding to event marketing initiatives, and both brands and hosts are joining hands to elevate sponsors. They’re boosting ROI while furthering symbolic partnerships. Unlike the symbolic partnerships of the past, however, these partnerships are highlighted, grown and promoted via intensive funding campaigns.

Two: Event Streaming

Live events are here, and they’re only getting better. Already, platforms like Facebook Live, Periscope and Meerkat are emerging to create next-level events. Hosting quality content at break-neck speeds, these platforms are advancing the world of seamless event presentations.

While live steaming is still being improved upon, it shows a lot of promise. Initiatives like Thursday Night Football, created by Twitter, reached 243,000 streamers. Audiences are being primed for real-time event broadcasts, and event marketing is next in line for the batter’s box.

Three: Augmented Reality Mobile Apps

You’ve probably heard about the much-touted augmented reality initiatives. AR, too, is still being worked on—but it’s gained a lot of ground in recent years. Brands are expected to experiment with augmented reality quite a bit in 2017, utilizing mobile platforms as jumping off points. If Pokémon Go is any evidence of AR’s capabilities, event marketers had better hustle to catch up. Already, brands are utilizing the iPhone’s visual overlay services to create scavenger hunts, product promotions and in-store sales events.

Four: Data Analytics

Big data is already a major marketing tool. In 2017, experts believe it’ll emerge in the event marketing world. Mobile event apps aren’t new, but in-event data gathering is still fresh. With mobile beacon technology, mobile polling, real-time surveys and social media mobile analysis available, decision makers have incredible resource power. State-of-the-art cloud computing services, too, are making headway in the event marketing world, giving event marketers total reign over gathered data to further entire marketing campaigns.

Advanced marketing automation is likely to boost many of 2017’s event marketing initiatives. Technology is growing at a rapid pace, and it’ll expand upon business opportunities as the Internet of Things grows. Big data, of course, is a leading factor. In any event, real-time services will probably frame leading event marketing initiatives. After all, who doesn’t like seamlessness?