The Market Share Compass

Experience Marketing

Jim Richards

CEO & Founder of The Market Share Group

ACTIVATION

After you have selected a property to sponsor, you need to create a marketing solution to activate the sponsorship. Activation is where your sponsorship comes to life — where you take all the components of a sponsorship and focus them on meeting your brand objectives. You cannot simply sponsor a team and wait for the dollars to come rolling in. Yet far too many brands make the decision to invest in sponsorships without a real plan to make it work. The remaining points of the Compass work together to form your activation plan.

“Good Experience Marketing is Never About the Event. It Is Always About the People.”

EXPERIENCE MARKETING

Experience marketing is a critical piece of your activation strategy. Good experience marketing is never about the event — it’s always about people (fans). You’ve invested in a sponsorship to reach a specific consumer, now show them what they need to know about your brand. What do you want to say? What do you want people to feel? How does your brand make life better?

Experience marketing takes on many forms, but it always engages fans and allows them to experience your brand’s benefits. Mobile tours, permanent venue installations, in-game contests, sampling, ticket upgrades, and more are all great ways to draw attention to your brand’s sponsorship and enhance the fan experience.

To maximize the effectiveness of your experience marketing efforts, think beyond the physical event. Fan engagement does not have to be limited to just fans who are onsite. To improve the impact and ROI of your efforts incorporate good storytelling and a solid communication strategy. This enables fans to participate from the comfort of their own home and gives your brand credit for bringing the experience to them. This doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as a social media hashtag promotion. Think beyond the physical event.