If you sneak in today’s scenario, you will find the world has completely changed for the past 20 years. All the sectors have evolved, by leveraging from the internet industry and so does the industry. The latest advancements in technology have been noticed ever since the social media platforms came into existence. With each passing year, discoveries and technological enhancement have been made. Many changes came a long way which has affected the core dynamics of the advertising industry.
An enormous growth has been observed in the advertising industry in the past 20 years, and one can not deny the fact. The evolution of brand activations has given brands a much-desired hike. If we talk about the recent arena and current dynamics, brand activations have changed its gameplay completely and have entered the gateway of recent trends in marketing.
20 years ago, the advertising industry was struggling to prove its worth but the current phase has completely changed, and the internet is flooded with event and brand activation spaces.
How brand activations has evolved and helped brands in the past?
Brand activations simply refer to “giving life to a brand” and making the audience aware of your brand to generate sales leads. ATL (above the line ) was the traditional method of advertising a brand through newspapers, magazines, radio & television. It allows the brand to communicate the message to the customers and make them aware of the benefits of a particular brand. Later BTL activations completely overpowered ATL activations saying goodbye to print media, by giving the audience a chance to feel the brand through sampling and mall activations. Various other forms of BTL activations helped brands to mark its presence in the strategic marketing dynamics. It allows the brand to increase awareness and enhance audience engagement that boosted the sales. BTL activations offer an opportunity to brand to showcase its products to customers and create a niche for the brand by increasing its recall value. Brands have benefited from Btl activations by saving themselves from getting lost in the clutter of advertisements, that are being switched off or fast-forwarded by customers on television. BTL (below the line) activities have helped brands to build a positive image and maintain a relationship with their customers.
Let’s have a look at some brand activation strategies used in the form of BTL activations that helped brands to leverage in the recent past:
1. Sampling
Samling is the easiest method in BTL activations, which is an effective marketing technique, that enables customers to feel the product. Everyone must have come across free samples of products, it gives you an insight into the product later resulting in the sale of the product, if the customer finds the experience overwhelming. If the product is liked by the customer, it assures them while building trust in the brand which later results in brand loyalty.
2. Mall Activations
Everyone must have come across mall activations for a brand, where products are displayed in a grand spot that gains customer’s attention quite quickly. It allows the brand to demonstrate the use of the product or allow the brand to leverage by communicating the brand message clearly and engaging the target audience.
3. Email Marketing And Telemarketing
Email marketing and telemarketing are traditional forms of BTL activations that are used by brands to spark a conversation with prospective clients who hold interest in similar brand or subject and get their insights.
4. Pop-Ups In-Store Or Discounts
Discounts and pop-ups in-store are an effective tool that gains audience attention quickly, resulting in sales. Discounts attract the audience to a greater extent and help brands to deliver their message and boost hefty sales. Big and small brands offer discounts to attract potential customers which later turns in brand loyalty and those customers help in advocating the brand to other customers.
What are the recent trends in brand activations?
Gone are the days where traditional BTL activations can make the impact. With the recent trends in marketing technology, BTL activations have changed its gameplay. Ever since experiential marketing came into existence, the dynamics of advertising the brand have been completely changed. Experiential marketing solutions has lifted brands and has paced up internet marketing.
Today’s customer is not just satisfied with one-way communication, with the advent of experiential marketing it allows customers to have their stake in building a brand by giving valuable feedback.
Now the journey of the brand is not it’s own, they carry the customers along. It allows customers to engage with the brand through online events and interact directly with the brand while building a customer-brand relationship.
Experiential marketing solutions allows the brand to pace up their BTL activations and engage customers in a more interactive and fun way. Brand activations have buckled up its game to match the recent trends prevailing in the market. Hashtag printers, social 360, social cafe, magic mirror, etc. are some of the ways that help the brand in the recent arena to generate memorable interactions.
Brand activations have been reinforcing brand positioning and generating awareness ever since its evolution, just the gameplay has been enhanced in current dynamics with technological advancements.
