Ben Bestford, Director at BAM Agency Ltd, shares the secrets to creating experimental concepts that engage youth markets.
Experiential marketing is broadly defined as “an advertising strategy that focuses on helping consumers experience a brand”, but at BAM we like to take this one step further, striving to make our experiential marketing campaigns, innovative, creative and always more than memorable!
Experiential marketing with BAM is all about achieving direct engagement with consumers. Whether this is the youth market or beyond, our strategies are always bespoke, inventive and most importantly, draw in the crowds.
When creating bespoke experiential ideas for the youth market we always consider a number of key factors;
- Product/Service
- Relevance
- Impact
Firstly, we take into account whether we have a product to work with. According to a Marketing Week report “48% of people say they are more likely to buy a new product if they can try it first” (Ratcliff, 2014). For this very reason, if we have a product to work with, we’re going to want to show it off!
From food product sampling to trying out new technologies, if showcasing a physical product is possible it is a must for any experiential campaign. Although something physical is great to work with, brands that sell services or businesses that simply just want to promote themselves to the youth market also reap the benefits of working with BAM.
Even without a product we still need to bring businesses to life, interact directly with the target audience, keep it relevant and create lasting and positive associations with the brand. We do this through creative concept creation.
After years of developing successful brand campaign concepts, we have found the best ideas sit at the intersection of what consumers already enjoy and a unique experiential offering. Take our Greggs 2018 Freshers campaign for example.
We know students always enjoy a freebie, but we wanted to deliver this to them in a way they weren’t expecting. Taking things to the next level BAM created, branded and produced the Greggs ‘Lucky Lockers’, an interactive experiential game where every student was a guaranteed winner. With students queuing out the door to get their hands on some amazing freebies, our experiential concept with Greggs drew the crowds more than ever before.
Impact is the final factor we always consider in the concept creation process. Regardless of the size of the experiential, maximum impact is something we always strive for. Even if a one-off installation may only last for a matter of hours, we aim to create a closer bond between youth consumers and the brand by immersing them in a fun and memorable experience.
From chill out zones to pop up shops and even the occasional human hamster wheel (yes you read that right), every experiential is thought of, designed and produced with the brands look, feel and needs in mind. From safely gathering consumer data, to distributing product stock across the UK, every experiential we run is 100% unique and 100% guaranteed to engage with consumers.
If you would like to find out more about BAM and how they can help you, please contact Ben Bestford at ben@bamuk.com