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 the Gingerbread House Turned to the Future

Taste of Home is well-known for its presentation of lifelike displays. In the past two years, it’s delivered one-of-a-kind, life-size gingerbread houses. Every holiday, its annual display is paired with a nearby tree lighting ceremony—redefining holiday cheer with wholesome experiences.

Sharing an Iconic Brand

Both Taste of Home and Folgers are iconic brands—each with equally iconic histories. Responsible for bringing families together, displaying wholesome experiences and interacting with consumers, Taste of Home is returning with its fan-favorite Gingerbread Boulevard.

Gingerbread Boulevard brings a fully interactive hotspot to brand-lovers. The brands welcomes park visitors via its Visual Shazam facial recognition technology. As event-goers travel, they experience a 360-degree view of each gingerbread home. Each interior is interactive, letting visitors click around hotspots and take selfie photographs. Taste of home packs a wealth of holiday traditions into a single hotspot, so no stone is left unturned.

The Future of Holiday Experiential Marketing

Every Gingerbread Boulevard home celebrates the many cultures Taste of Home reaches. Last year, displays included Ski Chalet, Surf Shack, Houseboat and Farmstead. Every display additionally features life-size candy decorations, giving event-goers something physical to touch alongside the event’s augmented hotspots.

While Folgers and Taste of Home products are consumed year-round, the holiday season is an excellent time for cross-brand features. Twix, Snickers, M&Ms and Dove, too, are present, and each can be added to family favorite recipes available throughout the experience.

Taste of Home, today, is a leading producer of cooking, food and entertainment information. It’s responsible for helping home cooks engage media, enjoy comfort and meet with other enthusiasts within the digital community. For this reason, its experiential marketing event is highly unique.

The Media Crossover

Gingerbread Boulevard makes an impressive impact in the Taste of Home magazine, too. Paired with the taste of Home Cooking School, many of the brand’s displays comprehensively support cooking enthusiasts every year.

By blending expertise and energy, Taste of Home’s 24 million fans assist the brand directly. Inspiration is always preserved, and Gingerbread Boulevard, every year, succeeds in presenting the Folgers way.

Four Ways the Smartwatch Will Impact your Next Event

As the technology industry continues to evolve, the events industry must continue to keep up with the demand as well.  One of the products to hit the market, and become popular, in the past few years is the smartwatch. Since Apple,Inc., released its version, the popularity of this connected wearable technology has continued to grow more popular every year.  With so many spectacular events occurring on a daily basis,  each event experience must be better than the last.  It's a given that organizers know these little gadgets will be at their next event.  But what type of effect will they have?  Here are a four ways that the smartwatch can and will affect your next event.   Sharing In An Instant

One of the best parts of the smartwatch movement is how connected everyone is to social media. Not only do they log on constantly to check updates on various events and “likes”, but people are more willing to share what they are up to in an instant. This ability to tell the world exactly what are you doing at all times is even easier with a smartwatch on your wrist. Attendees can update their Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts in real time.  They can also send photos and stream live on apps like Periscope.  This can help create a buzz about your event and generate a greater interest in the company.

Scheduling Made Easier

With all the apps geared towards scheduling, an event marketer is able to get their entire team on board quicker to make their event run smoother. If things need to be changed, all your attendees can be notified as quickly as possible with the connect-ability of the smartwatch. It’s much better than trying to run around and track everyone down when you can just send out a group message to get all your people on the same page.  

An Integrative System

Not only does the smartwatch work well on its own, but the variety of integrated systems you can connect with at events and trade shows are amazing. Think about scanning codes with the flick of your wrist, and being able to check-in an attendee in less than 5 seconds, thus cutting down lines and wait times.  Need to make an important announcement?  Attendees can get up-to-the- minute information sent to their wrists while you are attending the event.

The Ease of Video Marketing

It’s a snap now for event planners to incorporate videos into their events and presentations. If everyone has a smartwatch or even a smartphone to access these video presentations, it allows more information to be shared through all the attendees with ease.  Sell more sponsor ads and get your attendees involved.  If something is missed at the event, you can easily look it up on your integrated smartwatch later on.

These are only four ways that smartwatches will make an impact.  With technology and innovation changing everyday, there are plenty more reasons to come.  What are some of the ways you think it will make an impact next?

TigerDirect’s Tech Bash in Miami

TigerDirect’s fourth annual Tech Bash will be astounding. Stationed in the Miami Marlins Park, TigerDirects event marketing schedule reveals its latest, greatest technology. Tech enthusiasts, industry professionals and consumers are welcome—generating the brand’s public enrichment and outreach program.

Innovative Millennial Access

TigerDirect’s Tech Bash will take place on November 6 this year, and its holiday season outreach directly targets Millennials. Of course, IT experts, families and business executives are welcome, though Tech Bash has, in recent years, notoriously attracted Millennial guests with modern consumer technology passions.

Tech Bash offers gaming, live music, fun-filled events and widespread entertainment. While its primary focus is on consumer technology, activities are forefront inclusions. Over 120 big-name tech names will be present—generating a charged atmosphere promoting the world’s latest, greatest technology. Guests are welcome to experience innovative solutions from Google, witness Intel’s latest designs and browse other industry elites—like Samsung, LG, Lenovo and HP. TigerDirect’s famous approach to a “one roof covers all” marketing strategy continues to please—generating new opportunities for younger generations.

Live Entertainment—Live Marketing

TigerDirect’s dedication to widespread technology access is its primary resource. The brand’s innovative marketing approach increases its industry insight, empowers brand newcomers and gauges the modern consumer’s market evolution.

Highly creative, Tech Bash has never failed to be a big hit on a basic platform. Build-a-PC races, big-name artists, food trucks, digital caricatures, drones and the industry’s newest VR Tech have appeared in the past, and consumer visitors are always prompted to consider technology’s future.

End-users, of course, are TigerDirect’s star audience segment. Pre-holiday showcases define its marketing effort end-game, and top premier brands only accelerate TigerDirect’s consumer outreach. Live marketing is very viable for such a notable brand.

Local tech Start-Ups and Industry Newcomers

TigerDirect’s industry positioning grants it exceptional power through newcomers. Because of this, their tech start-up company support is a notable marketing effort. Local tech startup representatives are highly regarded at Tech Bash, and TigerDirect is very nurturing of such entities. Entrants must be over age 13—and for good reason: Marketing efforts prevail when marketing segments are pinpointed and accessed.

Tech Bash is about TigerDirect’s consumers and soon-to-be tech supporters. It’s about the electronics enabling future sustainability, scale and growth.

The Connected Home and Memorable Evenings

TigerDirect understands modern electronics. It understands a high focus on connectivity and accessibility. Its 2015 event won’t only focus on emerging technology. It’ll focus on time-tested-and-true industry cornerstones. Interactive entertainment, gaming rigs and home theater networking are all TigerDirect powerhouse avenues—and Tech Bash will promote each.

Tech Bash provides the perfect opportunity for connectivity-based product marketing. It’s an event, and it’s contingent upon consumer visitation. The climate is perfect for promoting intuitive home systems, and its marketing boon rests within the platform’s social capabilities. In essence, TigerDirect’s Tech Bash reflects the industry’s highest potential in an accessible atmosphere.

Technology’s future should be relatable, flexible and fast-paced. TigerDirect spares nothing when multiple supporting brands are featured, and it gains everything when consumers, future creators and well-known suppliers are empowered together.

BBC's Augmented Reality and Polar Bears--Experiential Marketing in Action

Few companies or organizations have leveraged augmented reality events as effectively as the BBC did during the promotion of its Frozen Planet Blu-ray/DVD release. Working together with Appshaker, the BBC created a virtual experience which allowed those at the event to stand amongst player bears, dolphins, polar bears, seals, and other wildlife. The event demonstrated a highly impressive application of experiential marketing, one of the most valuable and underused tactics in the marketing game.

Watch Video - BBC'S Frozen Planet

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, that's alright; it's really quite simple. Experiential marketing engages consumers in as many ways as possible: intellectually, physically, and emotionally. If you're familiar with advanced teaching and memorization methods such as full-brain learning, active learning, or the method of loci, you might see the benefits. In essence, experiential marketing associates a product or brand with as many forms of memory as possible; by engaging with gestures, emotions, and logical thoughts an event, website, or advertisement can generate a much stronger impression.

The BBC pulled this off perfectly. The highly-realistic, interactive environment generated by the Appshaker team grabbed visitors and didn't let them go. They also took advantage of onlookers at the event and abroad, engaging their imaginations and giving them something interesting to talk about; polar bears may be a bit interesting, but polar bears and augmented reality will catch anyone's attention.

Of course, not every company has access to the kind of resources the BBC does, but the basics of experiential marketing work in many different contexts. On the simplest level, any method of mentally or physically engaging the consumer works. A print ad using vivid colors and imagery and implementing textures, smells, or puzzles can make an impact. A website with a high-tech interface, a banner ad with a built-in game, the possibilities are endless. A physical event will always trump the others, though, thanks to the strength of physical memory.

If you're planning any experiential events in Miami, you need an excellent location if you want your visitors wowed. Based in the Wynwood District, Soho Studios' 65,000 square foot event space and convention center is one of the best venues in Miami—ideal for any company or organization looking for a new way to market.

The Feel-O-Meter from Kraft

At Lindau Island in Germany passersby get a bird's eye view of the emotions of the city. A massive mood indicating face called Smiley is perched in all of its neon light glory on top of Lindau-Island’s lighthouse. A bright glow of white light makes one of three facial expressions—a smile, frown and indifferent face—with the use of digitized technology and experiential marketing.

Located at the base of Smiley, also known as the Fühlometer aka Feel-O-Meter, is a digital camera station. Pedestrians strolling by the lighthouse can have their image taken. Their images are analyzed using state of the art face recognition software in order to determine the moods. This data is reflected in the imagery of Smiley, which is constantly changing its expression. Considered the mood indicator of the city, this interactive art display was created by Benjamin Maus, Julius Von Bismarck and Richard Wilhelmer. It was installed in 2010 as noted by io9.

Watch Video - Kraft Feel-O-Meter

The Feel-O-Meter is similar in application to the Kraft Smiling Tag app, which combines Facebook with smile tagging and a bookmarking. Featuring the signature noodle grin, the gigantic glowing smiley face brings quite the attention to this Germanic isle. However, the installation could very well be held in the States, such as the most desirable of venues in Miami at Soho Studios.

Of the events held in Florida, Soho Studios offers substantial space that can be used for experiential marketing. Whether you are interested in setting up shop for the background of your next art installation for Art Basel Miami Beach, or you want to create an interactive exhibit to promote your cause, for venues in Miami or events in Florida, look no further.

As the premiere venue location for the Art Basel Miami Beach, Winter Music Conference and Miami Fashion Week, Soho Studios offers extensive opportunity to connect with a globalized audience. Thanks to the 65,000 sq. ft. area equipped with the latest technology, you can recreate the Feel-O-Meter on your own terms. Position your display alongside other leaders in the marketplace, such as Telemundo, Absolut, American Apparel and Puma all of whom frequently use the state of the art space of Soho Studios.

Dewars Hub at TED

For those not familiar, TED is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of ideas worth spreading. The Dewars Hub at TED combined the experience of the real world with those being presented at the TED conference. The Dewars Hub was created by interactive directors Hellicar & Lewis, with help from Nexus Interactive Arts. You can see a short video of the results of the collaboration. The Dewars Hub is an excellent example of the use of experiential marketing.

The Power of Experiential Marketing

Experiential marketing draws consumer and product closer together through some sort of experience. In the case of the Dewars Hub, The Dewars brand benefits in its association with this smart, thought provoking display. These are the type of associations marketers are seeking to better brand products in the minds of consumers. The Dewars Hub also is a good example of how experiential marketing can work in a like-minded arena such as at a conference, convention, or meeting.

Events in Miami

Event season in Miami is November through March each year. This is when the city is transformed by a variety of events and festivals like Art Basel Wynwood. It is also the season of meetings and conventions. If you would like to take advantage of the experiential marketing opportunities that venues in Miami can present, you should consider Soho Studios. Soho is over 65,000 square feet of versatile event space Miami counts on for a variety of activities. It is premier space in the trendy Wynwood district, not far from Miami’s world famous South Beach. It can be the perfect space for your experiential marketing project.

Contact us as Soho Studios. We can offer assistance with your project or event or can simply lease you space. Our creative, professional team has worked with brands like Evian, Ford, Absolut, Puma and more. We recognize the importance of confidentiality and privacy. Let’s discuss what we can do for you.

Hyundai's video game in Times Square

Hyundai created a unique experience for visitor's to New York City's Times Square: a racing game played on one of the Square's enormous billboard monitors. Using iPhones for controls, the event created an experience the participants wouldn't forget. The interactive, tactile, exciting nature of such an event is a textbook example of a highly effective marketing approach: Experiential marketing.

In essence, experiential marketing seeks to pull consumers in with an interactive experience which helps integrate emotional and logical thought and leave a firm impression in a short period of time. It's no coincidence that many advanced teaching methods implement physically and mentally engaging activities of the same sort; we remember what we do with our bodies much easier, which in turn helps us remember what we were thinking about at the time. Hyundai's example presents a brilliant use of this; now, those players have an association between Hyundai and actually driving, not as an abstract concept but as a physical memory.

Hyundai's game stands at the far end of experiential marketing possibilities; obviously, not every company possesses the resources to develop a high end game and put it in Times Square, but there are many less excessive ways to implement experiential marketing into a campaign strategy. At the lowest end, print-based ads can seek to pull consumers in with puzzles and vivid imagery. Web ads and websites provide a simple way to create an interactive experience too, in the form of simple games, interactive tours, or even just unique and dynamic interfaces.

Check out the video here - Hyundai Race in Times Square

That said, nothing will stick with a consumer more than a physical event. Event marketing has long been a standby of savvy businesses, but too many plan mundane, passive events instead of interactive experiences to excite and involve visitors on a visceral level. The base for an experiential marketing even can be anything—music events, trade shows, film production, fashion shows—so long as an effort is made to interface with consumers and spark their imaginations.

Planning events in Miami? Soho Studios offers one of the best venues in Miami; a 65,000 square foot multi-purpose event space and convention center in the Wynwood District.

Film Studio in Miami for Augmented Reality

Augmented reality may sound like something out of a movie or psychedelic drug experience. However, in reality, it's a type of experiential marketing that takes a viewer's imagination and brings out the possibilities of "what if" in a factual, realistic way, it becomes believable.

The beauty of augmented reality marketing is that it partially involves the truth. So the consumer already wants to believe part of it or accepts part of the presentation as the truth. The most common version takes a real photograph or video and adds an element of made-up material to it. Sometimes, in crude versions, the addition is fairly obvious, almost comical. However, in professional versions, the augmented reality factor is so realistic; it's almost believable as the real thing.

This new type of marketing, augmented reality, takes advantage of digital tools, video, and the most modern computers to bring imagination to life. And Soho Studios is the service to work with to make it happen. Among the various venues in Miami, Soho provides the best facilities in which to work with when planning an event incorporating advanced marketing tools.

With 65,000 square feet of space Soho Studios clearly stands among one of the bigger party venues Miami and event space Miami locations. Further, its multiple spaces allow the location to work as much as a film studio as a convention center. So a client can create some of the biggest augmented reality marketing programs or commercials in the venue, and then it can be switched out quickly to photograph and art display event or a fashion show event. This is no shortage of possibilities that can occur working with Soho Studios for film, photography, celebrations, meetings, design and fabrication and more. The only limitations for customers are the physical walls of the facility and their imaginations.

Facebook Checkin - A buzz worthy boost for venues in Miami

With over 1.1 billion active users, representing an increase in excess of 23 percent in the last year alone, and over 150 billion (yes, you read that right) friend connections, Facebook is THE social network. What do these numbers say, aside from suggesting how great it would have been for your bank account had you personally invented the social networking giant? In short, these staggering statistics suggest that if we're not harnessing the massive power of Facebook to increase attendance at our events, we are missing a major opportunity to promote and grow our businesses and brands.

Savvy event marketers consistently use Facebook to generate event awareness, drive registration and increase ticket sales through the creation of well-marketed Events pages. However, recent changes to Facebook now allow attendees to "Check In" live to events in Florida and all over the world, in the same way that they would to a physical place or venue on other social networking platforms. The result is exponential visibility: not only does an attendee's entire social network see the initial RSVP, but they also are reminded through the real-time check in that key events are happening right now at venues in Miami, and there's still time for them to get in on the action.

By encouraging your attendees to check in on Facebook during the registration process, you maximize the visibility of event spaces in Miami with minimal input and expense at your end. Users can also check in to the event location through Facebook's "Places" feature, which throws some high-profile attention in the direction of the venue hosting your event, as well.

If you're not using Facebook to promote your event--both through event RSVPs and check ins--you're missing out a major source of buzz. And as we all know in the world of event planning and venues, without buzz, you're bunk.