activations - what are they? and why they need to be a part of your strategy
At the outset of any campaign we do a strategy session with our clients to agree our goals, and work out how we are going to achieve those. When we get to the part about ‘activations’ people often wonder why building relationships with a community is such a big focus and why we spend so much time thinking about how we are going to meaningfully engage an audience both onscreen and offline.
And basically the reason is this: our goal is more than just selling product. Our goal is to foster trust and loyalty between your brand and your customers. Strong relationships lead to repeat business, positive word-of-mouth recommendations, and a more engaged customer base. By building relationships, your business can better understand their customers' needs and tailor your marketing efforts accordingly, leading to more effective marketing.
So let’s talk about marketing activations in a little more detail, starting with what they are and why they are important.
WHAT ARE MARKETING ACTIVATIONS?
Marketing activations refer to promotional events, experiences, or campaigns that are designed to connect people with brands in meaningful ways. They provide an opportunity for brands to interact with their audience in a unique and memorable way.
WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?
In building a community, marketing activations play a crucial role by creating a shared experience for individuals who are interested in or passionate about a particular brand, product or service. This can help to foster a sense of belonging, foster brand loyalty, and increase brand engagement.
HOW DO THEY BENEFIT YOUR BRAND:
Here are some of the ways in which marketing activations can benefit building a community:
Increased brand awareness: By creating an impactful and memorable experience, marketing activations can help to increase brand awareness and reach a wider audience. This can help to attract new customers, retain existing ones, and build brand recognition.
Customer engagement: Marketing activations provide a platform for brands to directly interact with their customers, listen to their feedback, and create a sense of community through shared experiences. This can help to increase customer engagement and loyalty to the brand.
Social media buzz: Marketing activations that are well executed and generate positive experiences often result in customers sharing their experiences on social media. This can help to spread the word about the brand, increase brand visibility, and drive more traffic to the brand’s website or social media channels.
Customer data collection: Marketing activations often involve the collection of customer data such as email addresses, names, and other demographic information. This data can be used to target and personalize future marketing campaigns, thereby increasing the effectiveness of marketing efforts.
Generate user-generated content: A growing community can help businesses to generate user-generated content, such as reviews, recommendations, and referrals, which can be leveraged for marketing purposes.
WHAT DOES AN ACTIVATION LOOK LIKE?
Here are some examples of marketing activations:
Product launches
Trade shows
Competitions
Webinars
Masterclasses
Information nights
Pop up collaborations.
And the list goes on! When it comes to activations, the sky (and your budget) really is the limit. We have worked on hundreds of activations ranging from large scale events through to smaller pop-up style collaborations, and we have seen the positive impact on results in all areas: building and strengthening social following, as well as sales. Some examples of this include:
Haven Newstead - Food Legends Day (collaboration with Miele)
Etch Artisan - Etch Academy free webinar
In summary, marketing activations are awesomely powerful and our personal view is they should be considered in any social media strategy. When done well, marketing activations can have a significant impact on a brand’s success.