Your brand activations drive a customer response by taking your brand to your audience, engaging with them in their environment, and creatively adapting the way you present it so that you maintain their existing interest and extend your reach.
Brand activation campaigns are not produced using a single fixed approach. Digital, experiential, word-of-mouth, and guerilla marketing campaigns either stand alone or in conjunction are all techniques used for the same objective.
And they could happen anywhere with the right production to provide a fresh, exciting, and crucially, emotional brand experience.
Take the recent Alien: Romulus film brand activation. The new guerilla marketing campaign in New York involves people appearing to have collapsed in public spaces, leaning out of cab windows, or slumped on the subway with what appear to be incredibly lifelike replicas of parasitic facehuggers attached to their faces.
Of course, actors are wearing the props and adding the convulsions – and of course, the stunt has gone viral. It’s already had millions of views across social media and love it or hate it, it’s increased awareness dramatically to promote the film.
For those who know – the existing audience who already share a connection – it’s genius and it builds. For those who don’t, it certainly grabs attention.
Similarly, many global brands may activate their newest products by using pop-up stores, innovative scenarios, or interesting machinery, for example. But whatever they choose, their brand activation campaigns provide a unique experience for the audience.
Ultimately, as an action designed to drive a customer response, the format of a brand activation campaign is only limited by the inevitable budgetary and time constraints, and it certainly isn’t the preserve of huge global brands.
Done well, whatever the size of the brand, it can reach a new audience and create brand awareness. It can consolidate lasting relationships with your target audience, and strengthen customer loyalty.
In fiercely competitive markets, every brand activation is an opportunity to create a unique, memorable interaction that sets you apart from your competitors by generating the emotional attachment required for the audience to relate to and trust your brand.
And for customers to buy your brand, emotional attachment and subsequent loyalty is key. There are countless brands offering the same products and services and simply being aware of a brand’s existence isn’t enough to drive someone’s action to buy.
You need to capture the attention of a new audience.
You need to present your offering to your potentially interested target audience.
You need to build long lasting relationships with your existing audience.
And you need to do it in a unique, creative and inventive way to differentiate yourself from other brands.
So be attention-seeking.