New technologies are enabling B2B marketers to create more immersive and multisensory experiences than ever before. Claire Weekes reports
When you think of experiential marketing what image springs to mind? Most likely one from the many flashy efforts executed by T-Mobile in recent years – the brand has become famous for its take-overs of public places in its adverts. But despite the assumption that experiential activity is more of a B2C thing, its use in the B2B world is more prevalent than ever thanks to an explosion of new tools and technologies available to create sensory experiences.
More than ever, B2B brands are looking for ways to tap into a business buyer’s emotions in innovative and attention-grabbing ways. Traditional B2B experiential marketing includes everything from tradeshow marketing to sales support and customer events, and this remains the case.
However, advancements in technology are fast allowing brands to be bolder and flashier in the types of campaign they execute. They are even allowing them to create their own bespoke events.
An immersive experience
Experiential events are great motivators to an audience because they are both captivating and immersive.
Global corporate car distributor Inchcape recently completed a three-day experiential event for 180 senior managers – the aim being to creatively communicate the company’s future plans and gain commitment to its growth agenda. After receiving an invitation to ‘something incredible’ but given no further details, guests arrived to the event at a hotel in the brand’s native Scotland, which was dressed up as if for a film shoot.
Delegates were given branded clothing to wear and welcomed onto a 19th century ‘ship’ (within the studio space), complete with props such as barrels and oil lamps. A 180-degree projection screen showed a view from inside the ship as it pitched on a restless sea. Delegates ‘sailed’ to dry land at which point they made their way outside to a camp area of seven yurts.
An evening meal within the yurts was served, during which delegates were encouraged to share their inspirational experiences of being part of the Inchcape family and to hear the personal stories and reflections of others.
“It is imperative that attendees are highly engaged at events in order to effect any sort of mindset change,” explains Jess Littman, head of B2B events at Line Up – the content creation agency that put the event together for Inchcape. “One way of doing this effectively is to create impact unlike anything event attendees have experienced before. [The 180-degree screen] enabled us to surround attendees with content even in their peripheral vision to ensure they were completely absorbed by the key messages. The screen was 47 metres wide and 17 million pixels were projected onto it using nine HD projectors.”
This is an example of a campaign executed on a grand scale but for the brand it meant cementing employees’ commitment to the next chapter in the brand’s success, while the use of the projection screen and props helped to create an entirely immersive and adaptive environment. The uniqueness of the event also guaranteed attendees were unlikely to forget it.
“To some, B2B Marketing conjures up perceptions of uninviting and uninspiring approaches but using experiential marketing – whether an event, social media or another tool – in an engaging, unconventional and unexpected way, could be just the ticket to achieving long-term brand allegiance,” says Danny Turnball, MD of Gyro.
Travelling shows
Modern roadshows are providing another effective way for business brands to take live, immersive experiences to the masses.
“Supported by satellite functionality, mobile showrooms enable live demonstrations of heavy technology and machinery equipment. They also provide a bespoke, branded space for complex product presentations, which can be creatively brought to life through interactive video wall technology and supported by surround sound to stimulate the senses and raise the importance of the sales message,” says Justin Isles, client services director at Event Marketing Solutions.
“We’re finding particular widespread use of roadshows in the technology, and oil and gas sectors, where products and services can be complex to demonstrate, as well as heavy weight and cumbersome to transport. Mobile environments provide the only way to give a first-hand experience practically, efficiently and cost effectively,” he adds.
When 20th Century Fox needed to drive Blu-ray DVD sales across Europe, it supported the company’s European retail partners by hosting customer events on board a 55 metre-squared truck.
“Green screen technology was used to make retail customers the stars of their own movie trailer. In return for data capture, Fox rewarded them by delivering the personal movie trailer to their inbox. As a result, it drove important sales and the Blu-ray message went effortlessly global when visitors shared it via social media. This is a great example of appropriate technology used in an experiential campaign and applied for maximum ROI,” says Isles.
Intel’s recent pop-up theatre campaign was also designed to appeal to the masses – both a B2C and B2B audience. Groups of 60 people got together in locations in Los Angeles to create one big image made up out of the 60 screens. A promotional video demonstrating each event saw members of the public having their photo taken with the pop-up artists. The light-hearted campaign was designed to introduce its Ultrabooks as a thinner, more portable laptop.
Technology takes over
As human interaction evolves thanks to technology, so the possibilities for experiential marketers evolve with it. Social media, augmented reality and 3D technologies are already keenly being applied by the brands with the budget.
In March, the Financial Times launched an interactive marketing campaign focused on new ways to engage its US and global audiences. Housed in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal, ‘FT Graphic World’ featured a series of 3D interactive film projections. Projected onto a wall, the infographics told stories of three topics in line with the global breadth and expertise of FT news and analysis. Using a touch-sensitive floor mat, visitors to the exhibit could interact with the films and explore their content in greater detail.
“Technology advances so quickly that there is a constant barrage of exciting new tools to choose from – from the latest in AV to emerging social media platforms, not forgetting the hottest new mobile devices,” says Isles.
Meanwhile General Electric (GE) created a game that allowed tradeshow delegates to ‘build’ a jet engine, in what is another good example of the use of innovative technology in the B2B space.
At Creative Week held in New York back in May, GE staged a holographic gaming experience that enabled players to virtually construct, examine and explore a full-sized jet engine.
During a six minute game entitled ‘Throttle Up’, tradeshow delegates were positioned in front of a 32×20-inch holographic installation on which 200 individual components appeared to be floating in outer space.
Using arm movements to control the parts, players manipulated the components to build a complete jet engine. Once assembled, the life-sized engine could be rotated by a sweeping motion, allowing it to be viewed from any angle. In the final sequence, the engine revved into life and was swept away into the starry sky on the wing of a jumbo jet.
The game was built using a custom-designed SoftKinetic sensor camera, which allows gaming software to be controlled by hand and arm movements, while projection technology meant the audience could experience the game in 3D without the use of glasses. Holographic illusion specialists Musion created the concept.
“The past 10 years have seen brands quickly increase their fluency with standard visual technology. As the market develops, so does the desire for more impressive, immersive approaches. Standing out from the norm is driving the adoption of innovative technologies like holographic projection,” says James Rock, director of Musion.
“From a marketing perspective, you generate a huge amount of awareness for the brand. It also demonstrates the forward-thinking, innovative approach of a company. While our technology is extremely popular in the public-facing entertainment sector, some of the most impressive uses of our technology have been from our B2B clients.
“Visualising products live on stage with interactive elements (such as GE did) is infinitely more impressive than an online video or traditional product campaign.”
Experiential is no gimmick
In a recent blog post, B2B agency Gyro highlighted how now, more than ever, brands are aware of the value of tradeshow events and exhibitions.
“There’s no doubt that more and more brands value the importance of event and experiential marketing. It is no longer just an awareness raising tool but key for generating sales. There is a growing need for such event campaigns to be integrated with technology,” the post continues.
While experiential marketing may once have been perceived as all style and no substance, Isles says it’s now a serious contender in the marketing mix. He concludes with this advice, “By ensuring that experiential marketing activity meets objectives, delivers messages and reinforces the brand it can be seamlessly integrated and complement a wider strategy.”
He adds, “Experiential marketing isn’t a gimmick for B2B, it’s been around a long time and as we become increasingly time poor, try to navigate a crowded marketplace and want to experience a product or service first-hand before purchasing, it’s here to stay.”
Top tips for B2B experiential marketing
Planning an experiential event? Dina Green, MD at live events agency inVNT UK offers these top tips
1. Understand how your target business sector thinks, behaves and communicates. This should heavily inform the structure of your experiential event and the methods you use to engage with them. Be authentic yet disruptive to this audience – this is what creates a memorable experience.
2. Engagement though multiple platforms and technologies is key. Think about using Twitter Falls, check-ins and other tactics to raise a social media profile during the event. But remember those not on social networks. Involve them in webinars before and after the event. Use touchscreens at the event to engage, interact and gain feedback.
3. Business experiential events don’t have to be formal shirt and tie affairs. The more immersive the better, so think about how to stimulate all of the senses of your guests. Sound and vision are important, but what about touch, smell and taste? To be striking and visceral is the aim – but keep it within the company’s brand identity.
4. Cost is always a factor, especially in the current climate. How do you convey brand messaging at the lowest cost? That’s the beauty of experiential – it can be done without a big budget, all it needs is one pure, simple idea.