Paul Soseman
Paul Soseman is the founder and CEO of Department Zero, an experiential marketing agency in Kansas City, Missouri.
After months of social distancing, people are craving human connection more than ever. As stay-at-home orders expire and the country reopens in some areas, people will return to life — not necessarily as they knew it, but life nonetheless. Restaurants are allowing dine-in customers in limited numbers, and stores are once again opening their doors, albeit cautiously.
Another part of life that will return? Experiential marketing. Although the country has been quiet for several months, brands have not. While the world embraces its new normal, experiential marketing will do likewise.
Creating and executing brand experiences will look very different because of COVID-19, and the same old event marketing tactics won’t do. In this new reality, experiences once meant to be tangible will focus more on creative visual marketing.
Two potential challenges come up as we learn how to use visual marketing to host events in a COVID-19 world:
The notion that people love to get free merchandise at events remains true. But it’s not exactly easy to hand out physical rewards like branded T-shirts, giveaway prizes, and keychains in a way that is both safe and sanitary. How do we do this in a world that will likely feel the effects of COVID-19 long into the future?
The world looks different now. Just because extra precautions are needed to confront these new experiential event marketing challenges, there is no reason gatherings can’t still be an incredible way to connect and gather.
Our experiential event marketing tactics just might have to become more creative. We’re moving through an unprecedented crisis, and so is our industry. That said, our world is craving connection more than ever before — safe and strategic experiential marketing can bring it to them.
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