MUMBAI: Experiential marketing as a tool of brand activation has become extremely prevalent in the past few years. It is a powerful way to engage the customers better with a brand through first-hand experiences offering not just the look, but the touch and feel of any product on display.
Another interesting aspect that has been added to this whole paradigm of bringing brands and consumers closer is the effective use of influencer marketing. While earlier influencer and experiential marketing were two mutually exclusive trends, in the recent past, both have intertwined rather seamlessly to offer an exponential reach to the brands. One thing that has definitely contributed to its growth is the digital boom.
Anexample of the tactical use of experiential, influencer and digital marketing together is L’Affaire, a luxury lifestyle platform by the Godrej Group.
L’Affaire recently concluded its third edition at Vikhroli, Mumbai, presenting a wholesome experience to its patrons themed around ‘5 Senses’. The unique platform offered rich experiences spanning across fashion, lifestyle, music and dance performances, workshops, food, and engaging conversations. The event saw a huge footfall of influencers from across the genres experiencing the magic of Godrej and other associated brands like Myntra through a stellar show augmented by fashion displays and musical presentations.
Speaking about the concept behind this exclusive soiree with Indiantelevision.com, Godrej Group vice president and head corporate brand Sujit Patil noted, “The key idea behind creating our very own media platform was to build a Mecca of content creation. We had various brands within Godrej, which were interacting with the influencers and people who recommend products individually. So, we thought why we can’t combine these distinct products, which are anyway a part of the same genre and create something bigger. We planned to make to it so compelling that it eventually becomes brand-agnostic and comes out as a kind of property where experiential engagement happens and we get more number of influencers on board.”
He further added, “Most importantly, we wanted to show our products in the real light. We wanted the influencers to experience the look, the feel, the touch, and get to them the factors that really mean the credo of a particular brand.”
On being quizzed why is it important to involve influencers and bloggers in this whole paradigm of experiential marketing, Patil mentioned that today we live in a world that follows authenticity. “If you ask someone to write about something without experiencing it, it is unauthentic, and people will be able to read through that. But when people come here, experience the products and then write about it, they write it from the heart. That helps in getting more traction,” he said.
Sujit also contended that influencer marketing is only bound to grow. He said, “Micro-influencers, even if they have a lesser number of followers, can write authentically and bring out the essence in an honest manner and it’s going to work [for the brands.”
