Though the past few years have been defined by a pandemic-necessitated pivot to virtual events, this year, event-attendees and companies alike seem to be craving in-person experiences. With our work in Experiential Marketing, we get it. There’s nothing better than meaningful, shared experiences – especially now that we can gather safely. Three years after the pandemic shutdown, we have truly understood what it means to be without live experiences, socially isolated and craving connection. That trial revealed to us just how important and impactful Experiential Marketing is.
We are only at the beginning of 2023, and two major festivals – Sundance Film Festival and South by Southwest (SXSW) – have signaled a big, bold return of Experiential Marketing this year. Both festivals featured extensive immersive experiences and brand activations.
“We’re not really seeing a lot of engagement around hybrid or purely online [activations]. We have a handful of partners who are doing that but the biggest and most obvious thing we’ve seen is this roar to be back on the mountain and this excitement to be engaging in-person again.”
—Mary Sadeghy, head of partnerships and co-director of advancement, Sundance Institute, in an interview with Digiday.
At Sundance, there were 122 brands that came to Park City, Utah and 18 event marketing partnerships that set up activations along Main Street. Activations included classes, panels, parties, beverage stations and numerous other experiences for Sundance attendees.
The same approach was seen last week at SXSW in Austin, Texas. A great deal of brands created experiential activations throughout the festival, but the most exciting trend this year was the innovation of (ridiculously cool) brand houses. Lush, ParamountPlus, Planned Parenthood, Prime and Roku created interactive brand houses for the festival, each a unique and elaborate physical manifestation of the brands.
Hats off to the agencies and brands creating new experiences for all of us to enjoy! Innovation in Experiential Marketing is one of the most exciting aspects of this industry. theatreMAMA has been pushing the boundaries of brand marketing for almost 20 years and we have loved every second of it! Reflecting on past campaigns, and the imagination invoked by them, we are thrilled to continue innovating as we move forward, with gratitude, into a year defined by connection, shared experiences and Experiential marketing.
A Look at theatreMAMA’s Experiential Marketing Campaigns
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