When Wallbox, an EV charger brand, held its grand opening last year, it didn’t want drivers to just see its offerings – it wanted them to experience it for themselves. So, it turned its opening into an experiential event where drivers could touch, test, and witness demonstrations of Wallbox’s products in action.

“We focused on adding experience to our recent factory opening – taking it beyond a simple ribbon-cutting ceremony and turning it into an opportunity to engage our key business partners and customers,” says Michael Droeger, event and experience manager at Wallbox.

The results from inserting customers into the action speak for themselves, according to Droeger. “We saw heightened interest in our products and commitments from buyers to increase their purchasing plans going forward, resulting in an overall net positive for our business,” he says.

There’s been an uptick in customers craving brand experiences that get them out of their homes and into interacting with products, likely due to being relegated to their homes for much of the pandemic. Brands are taking notice of that trend: According to Event Marketer’s 2021 EventTrack report, 81% of brands believe their event and experiential budgets will match or exceed their pre-pandemic budget.

Those budgets will be well spent on events that’ll get people talking – something Joe Dimuro, CEO at GTA-based global brand experience Astound, knows a thing or two about. Astound has been involved in some of the most memorable experiential events with big-names brands such as Mattel, Nike and Lego, to name a few.

“Whether in an in-person or virtual setting, consumers connect more with brand stories in interactive environments than via traditional marketing methods. They want something they can engage with and remember – that’s why experiential is so powerful, and why brands see it as an essential tool for reaching their target audience,” says Dimuro.

But how can you make sure your experiential event reinforces recall and user experience, instead of coming off as a forgettable gimmick? At its heart, this is a tell-tale sign of experiential done right, or an event gone wrong.

“We wholeheartedly believe that experiences make a longer-lasting impact than other less interactive marketing tactics,” says Dimuro. “Experiences, if done well, resonate. And they create sustainable memories which transcend an advertisement, a message or a moment. They become part of a brand’s personality and character. They are attributed to a more personal connection that has a much longer and deeper duration of purpose.”

Experiential can not only deepen a brand’s purpose, but it can also help it stand out. “Think about how many targeted ads you’re served on a given day. Especially in an era where consumers can choose how their cookies are used, it’s easy for brands to get lost in the noise of traditional channels. But experiences help create a bond with the consumer – and the long-term effect of building brand loyalty through authentic experiences is invaluable,” says Dimuro.

Droeger echoes these sentiments, noting that experiential is the perfect way to bring a brand to life. “For us, experiential marketing allows us to communicate the form, functions and features of the products and services we sell in a way that websites and brochures just cannot match,” he says.

For Astound, creating experiential that hits the mark begins with in-depth research and deciding which emotions to evoke in an audience. “A combination of smart data, analytics and researched nuances allow us to understand consumer behavior, traffic patterns and sensory engagement which are critical to hone our experience design capabilities from creative, to strategy, to fabrication, to production,” he says. “This is not a singular approach, but a holistic one using insights, data, and emotion to create experiences that matter.”

Once that holistic approach is conquered and put into action, your brand’s relationship with its consumers has the ability to change – for the better. “There is the emotional connection that comes with an experience. Regardless of form, shape or dimension, brand experiences become the cornerstone of creating a fan relationship – not just a consumer. Build love for your product or service, create loyal fans, and consumption will surely follow,” says Dimuro.

Droeger knows that for Wallbox, experiential doesn’t just add benefits to the brand side, but to the customer side as well. “Those tools are an important part of our marketing mix, but for many of our target customers, the ability to touch and use our products and see them within a visual context of how they appear and are used in the real world makes a huge difference in moving sales forward,” he says. That’s a win-win.

While there’s a place for larger-than-life one-off events, experiential marketing should be strategic and act as an embodiment of the brand, product or service. “These components are intrinsically linked together and form a bond and relationship which is intimate and special, and allows for expression of story,” says Dimuro. “Brand marketers should take advantage of this medium by thinking about how they want their ideal customer to feel when they think about the brand – and then translate that into an unforgettable moment in time that leaves a lasting impression on the consumer.”