How Personalization And Augmented Reality Are Shaping Live Marketing [Roundup]

The rise of experiential, event in-person marketing continues, with consumers favoring unique live experiences over traditional ads. As this sector increases in popularity, researchers are providing marketers with valuable information for future campaigns. How are market leaders using personalization and augmented reality to achieve better results for their experiential, event and live marketing campaigns?

Customers Will Happily Give You Their Data -- But Only If They Get Something Back

Customers divulge much more information than you think. Names, addresses, dates-of-birth, interests -- you can use all of this data to influence your experiential marketing campaigns. The catch? You need to give customers something in return. Brand new research reveals that 40 percent of U.S. customers would hand over personal data to companies online, but only if they received more tailored experiences. Moreover, 37 percent of customers would trade off personal info for financial benefits, according to a recent study by Accenture Strategy.

Data capture is an important weapon for any CMO: The more information you have, the more accurate your marketing material. Historically, customers have been wary of the information they share. Giving your customers more personalized experiences and financial incentives in exchange for their data, however, could benefit you significantly. Ensuring all of this data is safe and secure will also influence the quantity -- and quality -- of information you receive from consumers.

"Those that succeed will hit a sweet spot whereby customers will be willing to share more personal insights into their world in return for greater value and the confidence that their data is protected," said Robert Wollan from Accenture Strategy.

One more thing to note: Young people are more likely to share information than older people. Sixty-seven percent of millennials would give over shopping preference data to improve service, compared to just 42 percent of baby boomers, according to the Accenture study.

AR Will Take Off in 2018, but Faces a Bumpy Ride

Experts predict Augmented Reality (AR) will hit the mainstream in 2018. This technology has bubbled under the surface for the last couple of years, but it finally looks set to cross over. In the experiential space, expect more AR apps to enhance live events and let brands engage with customers in innovative ways. Take Ford, for example. The car brand developed an app where customers could visualize the company's Mustang model in their driveway.

AR won't experience a smooth ride, though. Some consumers are finding it difficult to master this new technology. Moreover, uptake of ARKit -- Apple's AR development platform for iOS devices -- is slow, and just 2,000 of the 3 million apps on the App Store are ARKit-enabled, according to this recent article from Mobile Marketer. "Until the technology evolves, AR likely won't put brick-and-mortar stores out of business quite yet, as users still can't get a complete feel of the materials, comfort or quality from a digital rendering of a product," they say.

The Best Experiential Campaigns Have Lots in Common

Take a look at some of the most popular experiential campaigns of 2017, and you'll notice how different they all are. What works for one brand won't necessarily work for another, so marketers are constantly coming up with fresh, creative ideas for future promotional cycles. The best campaigns, however, do share some characteristics, and understanding these will shape your own marketing choices going forward.

First, differentiated brand experiences drive consumer choice, according to research from Canadian experiential marketing agency, Tigris Events. Second, consumers will hand over more money to brands that offer unique experiences. Finally, too few companies are meeting consumers' demands for unique experiences. Planning your own experiential campaign soon? Consider these three points before you even get to the brainstorming stage.

More people are talking about experiential right now than ever before. It's no wonder, then, that budgets in this sector grew by 5.5 percent in the final quarter of 2017. Expect experiential to dominate marketing for the rest of 2018.