In-person brand activations are still best; here's why.
In the midst of Covid-19, most brands placed a strong emphasis on digital promotion out of necessity. Made possible by the continuing rise of social media and the widespread adoption of video conferencing, this strategy is viewed as an alternative to in-person brand activations, but getting out and reaching your audience still has some significant advantages over digital promotions. From their ability to directly engage to the unique atmospheres they create, live events capture an audience's imagination and create lasting memories. In this article, we’ll give you the essential factors that help in-person brand activations deliver a superior experience to digital promotions.
Guaranteed engagement
When people turn up to your event, they are there to engage with your brand on a physical level. They’re committed to the interaction in a way that screens can’t inspire, and it’s an interaction that begins well before they arrive. The anticipation, the time and effort spent preparing, and even the journey to the event itself all create a sense of value beyond the reach of a laptop or mobile phone screen. Guests at your live event are offering you their attention on a plate rather than being one click away from leaving you.
Digital promotions like social media giveaways ask the audience to interact with a post to be entered into a giveaway. It’s supposed to raise brand awareness and reach new audiences, but does a glorified raffle really capture an audience's imagination or leave a lasting impression? What do you actually get in return?
In-person events get marked on the calendar. Outfits get bought just for the occasion. They mean making plans with friends, family or colleagues and create anticipation for something beyond the ordinary. When you’ve seen a crowd of excited baseball fans queuing up to play ‘Home Run Derby X’ (an interactive baseball experience housed in one of Star Live’s state-of-the-art cage structures) you know that’s not something you can easily generate with a digital promotion. Whether they struck out or hit a home run, MLB London Series: Trafalgar Square Takeover gave people a story to tell about the event.
A recognisable name like Trafalgar Square draws in more people, and the right location can even add bystanders and passers-by to your audience. Combine that with an eye-catching structure, allowing you to control the experience wherever you are, and the possibilities are wide open. Difficult locations become exciting opportunities to surprise both attendees and passers-by with your presence.
Versatility of in-person environments and structures
The environment of any brand activation is important in setting the tone for the whole event. We delivered the ‘Barclays Clubhouse’ at Wimbledon Park during the 2023 Championships using two unique Starboxes. The lower one was transformed into a bar, while the upper one was used as a dedicated dressing room area, providing a relaxed space for guests to pamper themselves in. We included a well-finished floor, astroturf, eye-catching cladding, and flowers on the outside. This set a classy tone in keeping with the experience the guests were going to have.
When hosting a digital promotion, creating an environment that accurately reflects your brand and experience is difficult. You have little to no control over your audience environment, and they’re not even sharing the same location. Personal experiences of a digital event can vary to an alarming degree. This is when in-person brand activities really come into their own. When you control the environment, you control the experience.
The Starbox can form part of permanent or semi-permanent infrastructure that creates any environment you need. Designed for flat-packing, efficient relocation, eco-friendly reusability, and different configuration options. It ticks all the boxes.
Starboxes can be stacked or grouped together to create any space, from luxury hospitality to a bar. They’re fully customisable, with branding options internally and externally and a range of optional extras, from terraces to HVAC to alternative lighting. Thanks to the flexible and mobile nature of Starbox, they can be rapidly deployed and installed, ready in hours. Using environmentally low-impact, reusable materials with a long life cycle, Starbox is one of the most cost-effective and sustainable solutions.
Brand activations are an experience
The biggest advantage that in-person brand activations have over digital promotions is the feeling and atmosphere they create. They are experiences you might only encounter once but should remember forever.
At Wimbledon 2023, we created temporary structures for the event’s sponsors in the Southern Village as part of the guest experience. We delivered custom structures for Vodafone, Ralph Lauren, American Express, and Babolat that captured the feel of a prestigious event and the exceptional quality associated with the brands. This created a unique, luxury experience for the guests that will stick in their memory for years to come. Being able to create a luxury, high-class experience online is difficult, if not impossible, which is why luxury brands are still sticking with in-person brand activations.
Brand activations should be exciting, unique, and memorable experiences for everyone involved, including the team behind the event itself, and we relish the challenge of bringing your wildest and most creative ideas to life. The proof is in our portfolio here. See what we have done for clients like Jaguar, Samsung, and Hennessy. Work like this makes us certain that In-person events are still king; why settle for digital when you can go personal with Star Live?