Experiential marketing has been around for years now, in fact it dates back to the late 1970’s. In 1979, Gary M. Reynolds formed the Miller Band Network and the beginning of engagement marketing. From that point on, engaging the consumer became more of a focus. Although this practice has been a key part of marketing for decades, it wasn’t until March 2006 that the Advertising Research Foundation actually defined engagement marketing.
Fast forward to now and experiential marketing is a very popular method of advertising. With music festivals ranking in thousands of pounds every Summer, brands starting to announce their experiential plans for the festival season.
Heineken takes Isle of Wight
Heineken recently announced their plans to bring a Strongbow Cider tree to the Isle of Wight Festival. With cider being one of the most popular drink of choice at festivals, this is an incredibly smart choice from Heineken. The brand plan to plant a twelve meter high tree which will play host to an apple shaped DJ booth. To market Strongbow Cider further, the area will also include a bar, food offerings, games and a sampling activity for their new product: a cloudy apple flavoured cider.
Kopparberg’s Urban Forest returns this year
Koppaberg’s Urban Forest provides the Swedish cider brand to showcase their full fruit cider range. This year, the forest promises a merge of Swedish and London culture to be set in a pine forest inspired by the very town the brand got their name from. Guests will be able to enjoy music from Scandinavian artists and enjoy a range of drinks from two serving areas. Supporting the brand are Spotify, who will amplify the event by providing a selection of audio setlists from performing artists — for fans who are unable to attend can still tune in. The forest will also showcase their brand new frozen fruit cider as well as the newly launched Fagerhult.
Adidas at Primavera Sound Festival
Just last week, Adidas had a huge presence at Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. The brand offered festival goers the chance to experience the magic of Oculus Rift – a virtual reality headset for 3D gaming. Inside a lifesize Adidas Superstar shoe, festival goers got to experience what it was like to front a band on stage. They were also given an Adidas jacket to wear and the chance to win a pair if they shared their photo using the designated hashtag: #ADIDASSUPERSTAR.
What brand experience are you looking most forward to this summer?