Have you ever had a hands-on experience with a brand, like joining a live demo or stepping into an interactive space that made you feel part of the story? That’s experiential marketing in action. It’s about creating real-world moments that connect people to your brand in a way no advert ever could.
With years of hands-on experience delivering impactful brand activations at Team Tecna, we’ve seen how experiential marketing, done well, can transform a space into an experience – and your target audience into a loyal advocate.
So, how does it work, and how can you make it work for your brand?
Let’s find out.
Table of contents
What is experiential marketing?
Why experiential marketing matters
Types of experiential marketing
How to create a successful experiential marketing campaign
Team Tecna: For next-level brand activation
What is experiential marketing?
Experiential marketing, also known as interactive marketing or participation marketing, is a strategy that creates opportunities for people to connect and interact with your brand in real, memorable ways.
Rather than relying on passive forms of promotion, experiential marketing invites your audience to take part in something face-to-face, whether that’s a product trial, an interactive display, a pop-up event or an immersive installation.
What is brand activation?
At its core, brand activation means giving people the chance to use a product or experience a service in a way that brings its value to life, or ‘activates’ it.
This is where experiential marketing comes in. It’s one of the most powerful tools in brand activation, helping you design hands-on, immersive experiences that activate consumer engagement and brand loyalty.
Why experiential marketing matters
In 2025, 51.8% of organisers view incorporating experiential learning elements as very important for boosting attendee engagement and knowledge retention at events.
So, what makes it so effective?
When people are part of the action, not just watching from the side-lines, they engage more, remember more, and connect more deeply with your brand. And it’s not just limited to events. Experiential marketing can happen anywhere your audience encounters your brand – on the high street, in-store, at festivals, or anywhere else.
Let’s go into more detail on the benefits of experiential marketing.
Increase brand awareness in competitive spaces
In crowded, high-energy environments, whether that’s a trade show, festival, shopping centre, or city street, your audience is bombarded with messages. Standing out isn’t just about being louder. It’s about being unmissable.
Experiential marketing gives your brand a presence that speaks before you even say a word. Think interactive product demos that draw crowds, immersive installations that spark curiosity, or bold, sculptural builds. These aren’t just attention-grabbers, they’re conversation starters that allow you to get hands on with a brand. These experiential moments work best when they encourage people to share these moments digitally, allowing your brand to be visible in memorable ways to new potential customers as well – maximising the impact.
Create emotional connections
Experiential marketing creates space for real, emotional engagement – moments that make your audience feel something. Whether it’s joy, surprise, nostalgia, empowerment, or even calm, those feelings build trust and deepen connection.
It could be as simple as a personalised takeaway that makes someone feel seen, or a sensory installation that speaks to your values. It might be an AR mirror that lets a customer visualise how a product fits into their life or a game that gets people moving, smiling, and talking.
The point is: you’re not just showcasing a product. You’re encouraging a feeling, a connection, an idea, or a mission people want to be part of.
Encourage word-of-mouth and social sharing
Great brand experiences don’t stay quiet for long. An engagement marketing campaign gives people something worth sharing, whether that’s a visual moment, a fun challenge, or a story they want to feel part of. These brand touchpoints are naturally social, encouraging organic content, conversation, and amplification.
A well-executed activation can turn one audience member into a dozen new impressions – through a single post, video, or mention. And because the experience is real, the engagement is more authentic.
Types of experiential marketing
From workshops and classes to pop-ups that surprise and delight, there’s no limit to how and where you can make an impact with experiential marketing.
Let’s explore some of the most effective formats.
Pop-up experiences
Pop-ups create buzz by appearing in unexpected places and offering something different, whether it’s a product trial, a limited-time experience, or a sneak peek into something new.
They work well for product launches, festivals, seasonal campaigns, or test marketing. For example, M&M’s ‘Flavour Room’ pop-up created a multi-sensory journey through themed rooms, where visitors could sample and vote on new flavour ideas. As well as delighting attendees, it provided live feedback that helped guide product development – a clear win for both engagement and insight.
Exhibition stands & events
Got an event coming up? Experiential marketing has the potential to transform your stand from static to standout. You’re not just filling space, you’re creating one.
Take our work with Z by HP as a case in point. At a major trade show, the brief was clear: we needed to create a space where people could see, feel, and experience their technology first-hand.
Here’s how it came to life:
• QR Scavenger Hunt
A playful and strategic engagement tool. Visitors were encouraged to explore the stand by scanning QR codes hidden across different zones. Each code unlocked a piece of the Z by HP story, and completion of the hunt led to exclusive prizes, incentivising full exploration and repeat visits.
• Glamdroid Social Video Booth
This high-end video setup allowed attendees to capture dynamic, professional-quality content with ease. The booth not only drove footfall, it amplified the brand’s presence across digital platforms in real time.
• Interactive Prize Vault
A touchscreen offered instant-win giveaways through a simple PIN-entry mechanic. It created a sense of fun and anticipation, while encouraging repeat engagement.
• AI-Powered Personalisation Station
Perhaps the most innovative feature. Visitors input their preferences – colours, creative styles, interests – into the Z by HP AI Studio. The system then generated a one-of-a-kind graphic, printed live onto a tote bag.
Interactive workshops
Workshops turn your audience into active participants. They learn by doing, and connect with your brand in a more meaningful way.
This could be anything from a creative session with your product, to behind-the-scenes insight into your process. It comes with the bonus of positioning your brand as both expert and enabler.
Guerrilla marketing in public spaces
Guerrilla marketing is bold, unconventional, and designed to catch people off guard in the best way possible. These campaigns show up where no one expects them – woven into the environment, interacting with the world around them, and breaking routine in a way that stops people in their tracks.
It could be a bus stop that talks back. A pavement mural that changes with the weather. Or an oversized replica of your product. When done responsibly, they can turn a simple walk or shopping trip into an experience.
How to create a successful experiential marketing campaign
Great experiential marketing doesn’t happen by accident. Here’s how to build a campaign that delivers.
Define your objectives and target audience
Start by getting laser-focused on what success looks like. Are you introducing a new product? Strengthening brand perception? Driving footfall to a physical space? Without a clear objective, it’s easy to lose direction.
Equally important is understanding who you’re designing for. What motivates your audience? What frustrations can you solve? What kind of experience feels natural – or unexpected – for them?
Knowing this helps shape the format, the tone, and even the timing of your campaign. A student audience on a university campus needs a very different approach to tech buyers at an enterprise-level trade show.
Prioritise engagement
This is where experiential marketing truly earns its name.
Consider how your audience can physically or emotionally take part. Can they co-create something? Make a choice? Influence an outcome? The more agency you give them, the more memorable the experience becomes.
Even subtle moments, like choosing their own sample, leaving a message, or unlocking a personalised result, can turn passive visitors into active participants.
Integrate digital touchpoints
Digital tools can extend the life and reach of your experiential marketing campaign when used with purpose.
QR codes can unlock deeper content or entry into a prize draw. Augmented reality can overlay information or bring static displays to life. Live social feeds, photo booths, or branded filters encourage instant sharing and help amplify the moment beyond the physical space.
Share and promote the experience
A strong promotional plan ensures all that creative energy gets the visibility it deserves. Use a mix of pre-launch teasers, live coverage, and post-activation content to build anticipation, drive traffic, and extend engagement after the moment has passed.
Leverage your owned channels, influencer networks, and press where appropriate. And don’t forget the power of social content, both user-generated and branded. Encourage visitors to share their own take, and give them something worth capturing.
Capture and use data for follow up marketing campaigns
Experiential marketing is rich in insight, if you know where to look!
Collecting data doesn’t have to disrupt the experience. You can create memorable experiences and build in naturally digital interactions, opt-in competitions, or feedback stations. Social listening also offers a window into real-time sentiment and reactions.
Once the experiential marketing campaign ends, review what worked. Did people engage where you expected them to? Which touchpoints drove the most interest? What comments or behaviours stood out? Use this insight to refine your marketing strategy, fuel your content pipeline, or shape your next activation.
Team Tecna: For next-level brand activation
What makes working with Tecna different?
It’s our design thinking.
Our collaborative spirit.
The people, the energy, and the way we bring your vision to life with clarity and creativity.
You won’t just get a stand-out brand activation. You’ll feel supported, inspired, and part of something exciting – every step of the way.
We bring together bold ideas, precise planning and flawless execution to deliver brand activations that go beyond the expected. Whether it’s taking your exhibition stand to the next level, or building a fully immersive pop-up, we’re all in.
Ready to push the possible? Let’s create your brand activation.
Frequently asked questions
Detailed answers to the most common questions on experiential marketing.
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What are some examples of experiential marketing?
Experiential marketing creates real-world moments that actively involve your audience. Some specific experiential marketing examples are:
• A headphone company installs “Silence Pods” in noisy public places, letting people experience true sound isolation while listening to a curated playlist. Passers-by queue just to step inside.
• A logistics company creates a giant, walk-in cardboard maze in a business park, where visitors race to deliver a parcel to the finish line. Along the way, they learn about supply chain innovations through gamified touchpoints.
• At a trade show, a tech brand sets up a fast-paced digital challenge. Visitors step up to compete against an AI-powered avatar in a timed task, like solving a puzzle. A live leader board tracks the top scores throughout the day, and winners walk away with personalised merch. -
How does experiential marketing differ from traditional marketing?
The difference between experiential marketing and traditional marketing is interactivity. Traditional marketing is one-way – ads, billboards, brochures. It tells people what your brand is. A well thought through experiential marketing campaign flips the script. It invites people to step in and try it for themselves.
Instead of a print advert that says “Our new shoes are built for speed,” imagine a branded treadmill at your exhibition stand where visitors can race in the shoes and instantly see their times on a leader board. They’re not just being told the shoes are fast, they’re feeling it for themselves.
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What is the difference between event marketing and experiential marketing?
The difference between event marketing and experiential marketing is focus.
• Event marketing is about attending, hosting, or sponsoring an event. Trade shows, product launches, festivals. It’s the where and when.
• Experiential marketing is about the how. How people interact with your brand at that event or beyond. It’s about creating a standout moment inside the event that people actually remember.It’s also worth pointing out that experiential marketing campaigns can happen at events, but it’s not limited to them. A branded escape room in a shopping centre using virtual reality? That’s experiential. An interactive mural on the street that unlocks prizes with a QR code? Also experiential.
Think of event marketing as the stage. Experiential marketing is the performance. Bake it smartly into your marketing strategy and it will always provide a commercial return.
