How to Create Brand Activations That Instantly Connect You With Your Customers

By Joseph Hedges

If you don't have a brand, you don't have an identity. It's as simple as that. Consumers get to know you through the personality of your products. If your company seems lackluster and disengaged, then you can only expect the same level of interest in return.

A brand needs to be delivered to its audience. According to an EventTrack survey, an incredible 98 percent of people agreed that a product presented through an experiential marketing campaign would make them more likely to purchase it. These figures prove that brand activations can make a significant difference to your branding strategy.

But how can you ensure your campaign gets you noticed?

Learn by Big Brand Example

You can't promote a brand if you don't know which part of it resonates the most with your audience. For market leaders such as Apple, the mission has always been clear. When Steve Jobs started his company back in the 1980s, he wanted to create a brand that would be consistently at the forefront of technological advancement. Every ad campaign and marketing event was designed to reflect this ambition. Apple's pioneering Super Bowl commercial, '1984,' epitomised this perfectly. Jobs knew that the tech market needed a new leader, and he wanted the consumer to know that Apple was the brand to fill that role.

But, of course, even Apple wasn't an overnight success. A lot of hard work went into bringing its product to the consumer, and much of Apple's marketing campaign was formed around active demonstrations. Following Apple's example can help you develop your own brand activation. Jobs' passion shines through in Apple's experiential marketing campaigns and gives them an instantly recognisable flavour. It's authentic, innovative and relatable-all the qualities that consumers look for.

However, simply stating these points isn't enough. They need to be a core part of your brand's identity. Apple proves its credibility with every product demonstration. You can achieve the same results by offering the consumer a taste of your company's creativity and vision.

Make Your Product the Center of Attention

So what is it that makes your brand tick? Before you begin planning your next brand activation, you need to know exactly what you want to say to your audience. Creating a memorable moment is important, but it needs to spark useful consumer engagement, too.

The focus should always be on quality over quantity. Splashing out on a grand, visual event is only practical if you earn back your money through increased traffic and sales conversions. Throughout the conception process, you need to keep your brand message at the forefront of your project.

Any branding company worth its salt will tell you that your brand activation needs to be both interactive and memorable-but to instantly engage your consumer, it also has to be paradigm shifting. You want them to forget about your competitors and commit wholeheartedly to your brand.

How do you do this? You put your product at the very heart of your event. Forget about acrobats and green screen performances; if your product isn't in the hands of each and every person there, then they won't associate it with the memory you've created. Make your brand the centrepiece of the experience and build the rest of the event around it.

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