Remember those good old days, when marketers had tools such as experiential outdoor activations, events, in-store experiences, and outdoor media? Looking at the enormous change brought in by the pandemic, and large marketing budget cuts, everyone knows we are far away from going back to business as usual. Adversity breeds creation and innovation, so it’s about time we evolve our marketing campaigns.
While most brands have adopted a storytelling approach to achieve a more meaningful relationship with their customers, the pandemic has brought about a serious challenge with lockdowns. From safe distancing measures, hygiene protocols - the “try before you buy experience” and experiential designs at retail stores are a thing of the past now. There’s a need for new strategies & channels to appeal to the emotional & rational quotient of the consumer’s decision-making process.
Brand marketers have laid a lot of emphasis on Digital Marketing in the past decade and have reaped the benefits of the same with a handsome contribution of online sales to the overall revenues and an engaged online community. The traditional form of Digital Marketing has become a must for all businesses, independent of their size and has helped brands appeal to the instinct and the logic quotient of the consumer’s decision making process by putting the right information about the products/services, in front of the right customers, at the right time. The usage of video ads, influencers and sequential ads has become the core of brand marketing campaigns.
But what about those moments that make your audience experience the brand or live the brand? Is storytelling in the 2D environment enough to keep them engaged and choose you over your competition every single time? Your consumer is longing to be out in the open again and experience life the way it was meant to be. Is there any way you can make your brand campaigns appeal to that longing of your consumers? The answer lies with integrating immersive storytelling into your brand campaigns.
HOW?
Create virtual showrooms or walkthroughs of your stores/spaces with interactive VR experiences and let your customers feel connected with you
Give the “try before you buy” experience to your customers sitting at home with Web-AR marketing. Imagine if they could customize the product sitting at home, or try out the product in their physical environment with the use of just their mobile phones!
Use your product packaging to share a story! Consumers have shown an affinity towards brands that have given back to the society during the pandemic. Give your customers “the feel good” factor with AR powered brand packaging that showcases your efforts in this crucial period, every time they scan your packaging.
Move away from traditional social media marketing and let your customers feel your product and the brand with AR ads on Facebook & Instagram or just a fun filter that let’s your customer interact with your brand story.
The possibilities with AR/VR in your brand marketing campaigns are endless! They are no longer futuristic technology that only some brands will use as a part of their experiential campaign. With more & more investment in this space from companies such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Apple – Immersive marketing is going to become a part of every successful campaign. The time to integrate these technologies in your campaign is “NOW”, and brands who adopt the strategy of immersive marketing are going to create deeper meaningful relationships with their customers.
To learn more about how you can shift towards immersive marketing, connect with the team at Strobe Works and explore our new suite of immersive solutions “StrobeNow”.