Hasta La Creative!

Brands placed big bets at Coachella, Bonnaroo and other music festivals this year, paying up to seven-figure sponsorship fees and multiples of that number to build brand experiences to please the crowds. Post-festival, the brands that provided free hairstyling and build-your-own light shows hope they’ll be remembered. Those activities are fun, but did they make enough of an emotional connection with consumers — one that will last long after the stages are broken down? The way to do that is to make sure the brand identity is baked directly into the experience.

To get there, ensure that before, during and after a brand experience, consumers receive positive reinforcement.

First, understand whom you are trying to talk to. Then, connect with your target in a different, interesting way. For example, during NBA All-Star Week, Kumho Tire (a Pearl Media client) got subway riders in Times Square to stop and shoot hoops with NBA star Carmelo Anthony at a subway stop (digitally, anyway). The interactive game, “Pop-A-Shot”, wove the brand into the experience by using digital Kumho tires instead of basketballs that bounced off the backboard the way a tire would. The subtle integration of playing with the product reinforced the brand within the fun part of the experience.

Continue reading at AdAge.com