Event marketing helps drive brand awareness and aids in promoting business events across the nation. COVID-19 wiped out in-person events in 2020, but the event marketing industry is still poised to bounce back. As of 2022, the event marketing industry in the U.S. was worth $3.2 billion.
2023 is here and with it comes a new set of challenges and goals for effectively promoting business events. This means keeping up with the current and upcoming event marketing and experiential marketing trends. You will also need to tap into the different types of experiential marketing available such as social media marketing.
Although this sounds like a daunting task, it doesn't have to be. This guide will help you hone your event marketing strategy and make event marketing a breeze. Keep reading below for more information on event marketing and experiential marketing trends you can expect for 2023.
Pop-up experiential marketing is not new to 2023. It is a tried and true method that keeps evolving in order to help businesses adapt to new event marketing strategies. A pop-up shop is any type of shop that temporarily inhabits an existing location with its own branded merchandise and decor.
When The Simpsons Movie was to be released in 2007, a dozen 7-11 stores across the country were transformed into the familiar Kwik-E-Mart motif. This clever event marketing strategy tie-in to the movie made shoppers feel as if they were in Springfield. Inside the store were Simpsons-branded merchandise and references to the show and movie.
With the progression of 2023, pop-up events are more likely than ever to become a top source of experiential marketing. They are ideal for promoting business events in a big way. Pop-up experiences also aid in expanding sales and brand engagement.
Because of their high cost, pop-up events are better suited for companies with a larger experiential marketing budget. You may need to already have a brand partnership in mind.
Life imitates art, but in the case of event marketing, art can also imitate life. Using art-style installations can create a big impact for promoting business events and creating brand awareness. For a fast food chain, this could entail incorporating gigantic food sculptures into the surroundings of a widely trafficked area like a public park.
This also helps on the social media marketing front. People passing by will jump at the opportunity to take fun and exciting pictures to share on their social media accounts. This creative use of user-generated content will spread your campaign across social media and help you get more followers, likes, and shares.
The right type of art installation relating to your brand can even help you create a viral experiential marketing campaign. This is why art-style installations can propel your event marketing strategy into the stratosphere in 2023 and beyond.
The COVID-19 pandemic threw a collective monkey wrench into the plans for in-person events. Companies had to get creative to navigate this unprecedented change in event marketing. Many businesses turned towards holding virtual experiential marketing events instead.
In 2023 however, this form of event marketing is still a highly plausible way of promoting business events. It provides a way for those who are unable to attend the in-person event to still feel like they are a part of the overall experience. This can include online experiences like concerts or Q&A sessions with their favorite celebrities.
Virtual events allow you to broaden your reach to the at-home crowd. It creates accessibility for persons with disabilities or health issues who can't attend an event normally and also saves on transportation costs. 93% of event marketers surveyed plan to hold future virtual events post-pandemic.
Adding to the increasing use of virtual events is the utilization of AR and VR. Augmented Reality uses computer-generated graphics to give users a composite view of the virtual and real world, like the Pokemon GO mobile app. Virtual reality relies on creating a wholly immersive and lifelike virtual image or the environment around the user.
AR and VR technologies are making it possible for businesses to elevate the possibilities of event marketing. Over 70 million people already use the AR lenses feature on Snapchat. Now, consumers can be a part of their favorite brands in a big way, while newer brands can have a more competitive edge to take the marketing world by storm.
Brands can use AR and VR through mobile apps for a virtual experience. They can also be implemented into in-person events with special headsets. For example, a business can turn an augmented-reality app into a branded treasure hunt for free merchandise.
Now that some concerns about COVID have reduced, in-person events can resume as usual. This pertains especially to big-name outdoor multi-day festivals like Coachella. These festivals are prime locations for event marketing due to their enormous attendance rates.
After being canceled in 2020 and 2021, Coachella came bounding back with an impressive sold-out attendance of 750,000 people over the course of two weekends. Food and merch booths are trendy areas of interest. Brands can set up shop for new product launches and receive great interest.
Having experiential marketing in place is a surefire way to get attention. Provide opportunities to create user-generated content and interact with your brand. Then, encourage booth visitors to take photos to share on social media.
Not only does this create major FOMO for social media followers, but it also helps to get new eyes on your brand. Go where the people are and make a connection through experiential marketing. It's an event marketing trend that will undoubtedly continue well into 2023.
With so many eyes on social media, hosting giveaways and contests will help your brand thrive. Everyone loves getting free swag. Free swag is a key element in promoting business events and brands while also leveraging social media marketing.
Having a social media contest or giveaway will get people talking about your brand. Contests and giveaways also encourage sharing the link with friends to gain more entries. Be sure also to use relevant hashtags to build up your exposure.
A free t-shirt, hat, or tote bag can go a long way to amping up your event marketing efforts. You can create hype for your event and your brand in one fell swoop. It also serves as an additional channel for brand advertising since your brand will be seen whenever they wear your merch.
Social media contests and giveaways will continue to boost your brand in 2023.
Along the lines of giveaways and contests, taking part in branded challenges is another form of social media marketing you can utilize. Unlike contests and giveaways, challenges require some form of participation by followers on your social media accounts. This encourages more engagement with your brand.
For instance, if you have a brand of baking products, why not host a challenge on social media to come up with new and exciting pancake recipes? Followers can buy your products and whip up a new recipe to share on social media with a particular set of hashtags. Other followers can see these recipes and try them for themselves as well.
At the end of the challenge period, social media followers can vote on which recipe they think is the best. The top recipe submission can win a great prize package from your brand. Since social media challenges bolster brand engagement and sales, they are a terrific form of event marketing for 2023.
The shift in modern culture now heavily favors brands that have a cause that they support or a set of ideals they back. Many brands are turning towards an ideology of sustainability and eco-friendliness when it comes to the environment. Other brands may endorse a social justice cause as a part of their brand.
This special form of branding endears consumers to your brand and gives your business a more positive presence online. It educates and informs consumers while laying the groundwork of your values. Sincere and honest branding efforts like supporting environmental and social justice causes are a continuing event marketing trend to expect for 2023.
Something people like even more than receiving free swag is getting free food. For food-based brands, the best way to get people talking about your products is to give out free samples at tradeshows, conventions, and other large-scale events. Even if your business is not food-based, incorporating food into an event marketing campaign is a great way to get your brand more attention.
Social media followers love to post pictures of food on their profiles. A new drink flavor, product launch, or limited-time item is certain to make its way to the 'gram. Moreover, your followers will feel privileged to be in on the ground floor of trying a new product as a part of experiential marketing.
Food-based marketing lets you put your money where your mouth is. It gives your loyal social media followers a taste of what's to come for experiential marketing in 2023.
Hybrid events are the blending of in-person and virtual events. Taking a page out of the virtual events playbook from the pandemic, this method gives online attendees a way to access your in-person event. Having multiple options available for event attendance either physically or virtually will help your brand obtain a much wider reach.
Hybrid event audiences can still engage and take part in the fun thanks to innovative technological advances. They can communicate with other event guests through interactive chat and video features. They can also win prizes and participate in quizzes and polls throughout the event's run.
Hybrid events ensure that no matter where your event attendees are, they can still have an interesting and enjoyable experience. Hybrid events show no signs of slowing down as experiential marketing trends in 2023.
NFTs have been a part of a growing trend that has helped shaped our modern culture as we know it. They encompass many digital areas such as art, gaming, and collectibles. NFTs can now also be used as a part of event marketing to create a distinctive experience for event attendees.
For event ticketing, NFTs give event guests the opportunity to own a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork or exclusive collectible linked to your brand's event. This alone can help drive up attendance rates based on exclusivity. NFTs can also be airdropped post-event as event mementos.
Event attendees can even take photos in an NFT digital photo booth at your event and have their photos turned into NFTs for the ultimate in experiential marketing. These special photo booths will also lead to more brand awareness among event guests. Using NFTs will help enrich your event marketing strategy for 2023 through this cutting-edge strategy.
Digital photo booths are a growing trend in the experiential marketing industry. They let your event attendees take control of creating their own user-generated content. Guests are going to want to take photos of the event, so why not give them an interactive tool for producing content for your brand at the same time?
A digital photo booth can create GIFs, take 360º high-resolution videos, and produce augmented reality content. Guests can upload and share this content to their social media accounts. This is an effective form of social media marketing for your brand as well as an event marketing strategy.
There are also options for hybrid and virtual photo booths. So, you can still let your online event guests get in on the action from home or on the go. Digital photo booth rentals can take your next event from ordinary to extraordinary in a snap!
Promoting business events can be a challenge if you don't know which marketing trends to use. You want to create a fun, memorable event that will get people talking. Start the conversation with a digital photo booth rental from OutSnapped.
OutSnapped offers an array of photo booth rentals to suit your needs. Our digital photo booths can provide an interactive experience your guests will flock to. Level up your experiential marketing with immersive photo experiences and get your brand noticed.
Contact us today to request a quote on photo booth rentals for your next event.
