Integrated Marketing & Brand Experience in Experiential [Roundup]

In the experiential marketing world, things change fast. As technology is updated, new innovations are dreamed up, and creative ideas are explored and executed, industry leaders must stretch to continue to be at the top of the live marketing game. One way to do that is to stay on top of live and experiential marketing industry news. Here are some of the most exciting recent updates and happenings in the field that you should be paying attention to.

The Value of Integrated Marketing Communications

In "The Value of Integrated Marketing Communications," Gary C. Bizzo of Equities.com explores the importance of having a marketing strategy that both involves all stakeholders across a company -- and is executed and implemented across a variety of media.

Bizzo discusses how all companies -- particularly those undertaking experiential marketing efforts -- should include all departments in the planning and implementation of marketing campaigns. When planning a live marketing event, have sales explain their goals; HR contribute hands to help; IT to ensure a smooth tech process, and more. Once you're done with your event, share all the data you collect, too. It'll be useful for everyone across the board.

3 Ways to Transform Your Brand's Customer Experiences

If you want to make an impact on your customers, you need to focus on providing an unrivaled customer experience. This article from Brett Hyman in Chief Marketer explains how to do just that.

Hyman offers advice on how to use experiences to make an impact on customers. First, he explains that experiential marketing is a chance for companies to be transparent with their goals and to foster loyalty, since they bring the consumer and the company face-to-face. Also, he explains that companies have to ensure that the experience they offer is relevant, meaningful and timely for customers.

Finally, he lays out how companies should also use experiential marketing to gather important data about customers to gain better insights into their behavior and interests. If you're looking to ensure that the marketing experiences you offer customers actually work and are worth the investment, this piece can help guide you through their creation, execution and analysis once they're finished.

The Secret to Hosting Unforgettable Live Events: CMA's Chris Marr on Marketing Smarts

MarketingProfs recently released a podcast episode with Chris Marr from CMA. On it, he discusses the power of live event marketing, and how brands can host experiential marketing events that make a positive impact on a business and a brand.

In the episode, Marr explains that events are the future of marketing, and that experiences offer value that other types of marketing do not to consumers. He describes what makes experiential marketing powerful: the education you receive, the speakers you listen to, the people you meet in the room, and the value of attending -- and the combination of these things, which results in a kind of magic that consumers cannot get elsewhere.

He pushes brands that are not embracing live event marketing to do so, and mentions that one of the best benefits of marketing experiences is that customers can meet one another and form their own supportive, interested and loyal community, which is associated with your brand. Listen to the podcast to hear more about why experiential marketing matters and works.