Choosing the right experiential marketing agency is an essential business decision. Marketing isn’t something that should be left up to the receptionist, owner, or manager of your company.
To make the right choice, determine your marketing goals and a realistic budget. Then, evaluate an agency’s experience and track record in achieving those goals.
1. Experience
The most important factor when choosing an experiential marketing agency is their experience. This includes how long they have been in business, and what their track record is like. You can get a good idea by asking for testimonials and seeing case studies.
Look for an agency that has worked with a wide variety of brands. This ensures they understand your industry and the challenges you face. They will have experience working on campaigns with similar goals to yours and can help you avoid common mistakes.
Experiential marketing is a powerful tool that can improve customer relationships, brand awareness, and customer lifetime value. However, it’s not a standalone strategy and must be integrated with your other marketing efforts.
Many companies mistakenly believe that they can handle their experiential marketing in-house, which often results in an underfunded and rushed campaign. This is a risky and costly mistake that can lead to adverse consequences for your brand. Choose an experienced experiential marketing agency to create a program that will give your customers a positive experience and increase their love for your brand.
2. Creativity
Experiential marketing is a specialized area of marketing. Choosing the right agency to build and deliver a program for your brand will have an impact on the success of that campaign. Choose an agency that is willing to take the time to get to know your national or global brand on a deep level so they can effectively develop a creative solution to meet your goals and objectives.
Look for agencies with a good reputation in the industry. Word of mouth and peer recommendations are always a solid starting point, but researching agencies with prestigious awards and high rankings is also a good way to start.
Ask for case studies and examples of work done by the agency. Whether you are looking for an experiential campaign that drives engagement and interaction with your guests, raises brand awareness, builds brand affinity, or generates valuable first party data, you want an agency that has done it before and knows how to accomplish it. Look for an agency with a loyal client base, as this shows that they have the experience and creative energy to do the job well.
3. Innovation
The best experiential marketing agencies are always thinking of new ways to connect with consumers. Whether it’s a class or workshop that showcases your brand as an advocate of knowledge and education, or a brand activation that demonstrates your company’s products or services in the context of real-world situations (for example, GE Healthcare’s Healthymagination event series where doctors shared stories live on fabricated sets that replicated rural African clinics and urban hospital emergency rooms)—your agency needs to be innovative in how it approaches your project.
The top experiential marketing companies take the time to get to know your national or global brand and mission on a deeper level. They’ll want to learn about your core values and how you engage audiences, as well as the goals you have in mind for the campaign, including growth and brand amplification.
The top experiential marketing firms will also be willing to take the time to listen carefully to you and to answer any questions you have. If an agency seems reluctant to do this or is constantly interrupting you with new ideas, it’s probably time to move on to the next company on your list.
4. Integrity
Integrity is a virtue that means being honest and fair, even when it’s difficult. It also means being accountable for your actions and admitting when you make a mistake. Choosing an agency with integrity is important because it ensures that they’ll treat your brand the way they would their own.
Experiential marketing companies should take your needs seriously and work hard to deliver on their promises. Look for agencies that provide transparent communication throughout the entire process and are willing to adapt their strategy if needed. If you notice any signs of communication issues, it’s best to move on to another potential partner.
For example, when deciding whether to collaborate with an agency, it’s crucial to ask how they handle shipping logistics. Some experiences are traveling installations and require durable materials. It’s also important to know if they manage the entire process, including design, simulation, building requirements, activation and break-down.
Also, check out their online testimonials to see what other clients have said about them. However, be wary of agencies that trade free work for positive testimonials.
5. Accountability
Ensure that the agency you choose will be accountable. If you get the impression that they are using experiential marketing as a fad or an add-on to other campaigns, look elsewhere. They should take the time to understand your brand, your objectives and challenges, and work from a foundation of marketing strategy.
Asking for references from past and recurring clients can be very helpful in your evaluation process. Having the opportunity to speak with former clients can provide you with an insider perspective on the agency’s ability, work ethic and results.
A good agency will also be able to show you how their ideas have been executed in the real world, not just in a pitch deck. This can include limited-time pop-ups, in-person events or leveraging existing venues or festivals to create one-of-a-kind experiences that will leave a lasting impact. If you see that the agency has been able to capture the attention of media outlets and social media users, this is a great indicator that they will be able to do the same for your branded experience.