Winning Hearts and Minds: Incorporate Experiential Tech into Marketing Channels

The experiential technology landscape today is a vast ecosystem of tools and technologies that brands can and should be taming to drive their goals. But how?

Last week I spent some time at ADWEEK House discussing experiential technology in sports and though a thought provoking and creative discussion, like most panels or roundtables, we didn't get into many tangible takeaways. I love a good chat, but what I love most is finding ways to connect insights to action.

For brand leaders looking to incorporate experiential tech into their marketing channels in meaningful ways, for meaningful gains, here are a few considerations:

✅ Starting small is OK!

You don't need to, nor should you, try to conquer the ecosystem of tech opportunity right away. Start with something achievable, measurable, and manageable, and build from there.

✅ Strategy first.

With any new tech it's easy to be excited to find a way to use it and leave strategy and brand alignment behind. We're seeing this with some really shallow AI gimmicks right now that might turn heads but are tech first / brand as afterthought and don't build affinity or lead to purchase. While a splashy tech use might get some impressions, did it make meaningful gains for your KPIs?

✅ Creative Sponsorships?

Where is a space you want your brand to dominate and could tech give you an in? Technology capabilities are way out in front of consumer experiences just about everywhere - from stadiums to festivals to tech conferences. How can your brand leverage technology to enhance those experiences in ways that create affinity with your brand and open up a more creative sponsorship investment strategy?

✅ Brand alignment + Omnichannel application.

Where does your brand have an authentic fit and how can tech deliver on that? If your brand is uncanny, how can tech make you deliver on uncanny not just in one space but in all of your spaces... from stadiums to retail to social to conferences? Experiential tech goes beyond events, in it's best form it's part of an omnichannel conversation.

✅ Are the right people at your table?

An experiential technology strategy at scale will take a table inclusive of agency partners and channel leaders to understand the opportunities, hone the brief, and execute as a collective. If that's your goal, who should be at your table?

✅ Build experimentation into your budgets

In a strong financial investment strategy you'll create a portfolio with safe bets, moderate risks, and a few moonshots. While dollars are tight and KPIs are higher than ever, if you can, save some budget for experimentation. Maybe that moonshot idea is the one that leads to you crushing your KPIs.

Shout out to Rachael George (Xpedition Events), Richard Newcombe (Xpedition UK), Megan Barron, Lee Billington, and Andrea Ramsey for the conversations leading up to the panel! I'm always impressed by your thought provoking insights and experience, thanks for your time in helping me prepare.