From virtual jewels to ice-cold beers: Brands go big on curating experiences

From the peppy birthday dance by Pizza Hut employees in the early 2000s to the free Christmas gift box by Zepto, brands have built a loyal consumer base over the years with commendable experiences. This even helps them build a long-lasting brand recall.

According to a study by Agency EA titled ‘The State of Experiential’, 38.3 per cent of marketing professionals consider experiential marketing as the most successful marketing tactic, followed by 19.7 per cent believing in digital advertising and 12.4 per cent in content marketing.

But, according to a study by Zendesk’s CX Accelerator report, even though India ranks third globally and first in the APAC region on customer experience (CX) maturity, currently, only 17 per cent of Indian businesses deliver ‘exceptional’ customer services, even though 79 per cent said CX is a way to drive revenue.

If we consider coffee as an example, years ago Nescafe was the only option consumers had and now they have moved on to coffee cafe outlets for the experience.

According to Ankur Jain, Founder and CEO, Bira 91, "People are moving away from mass-marketed packaged products to brands that provide experiences which are customised to them."

Brands and their experience strategies

The beer brand, Bira, recently launched Taproom in Gurugram to let consumers experience all their flavours of beer. The founder believes that such moves help brands talk to consumers via experiences.

Perhaps, but not always do brands stick to experiences that leave customers with a positive impression. For all we know, Starbucks misspelt names on their glass for the longest time and built a bizarre experience for its customers. What matters is, the customers did put up on social media about it, indirectly marketing for the brand.

The experiential marketing mantra of curating physical experiences has helped even top-tier brands attain an edge above the rest, in the post-covid competitive market. This game has now been taken a notch higher by leveraging the technology of metaverse and AI.

Ranjani Krishnaswamy, General Manager- Marketing, Tanishq said, “For us, experiential marketing is a two-fold strategy. One, what the consumer experiences at the store and second, how we provide them experience with the help of technology. So be it with our ‘Rivaah’ Metaverse experience or the ‘Chozha’ experience zone or the virtual jewellery try-on, customer experience at every touch point is very core.”

The luxury mobility brand, Lexus has also proven how experiences can be used to build consumer loyalty programs. They offer a ‘Taiken’ card to its consumers which provides them with good deals on food, travel, and lifestyle purchases.

Naveen Soni, President, Lexus shared, “If someone wants to surprise their family members with a birthday party or IPL match tickets, we arrange it for them. Via 'Lexus Life' we also connect people more to Japanese culture with food and experiences. All of this is done so the consumer starts to relate more deeply with the brand.”

Even Zoya, the luxury jewellery brand from the house of Tata, assigns an in-house stylist for every query suggests bespoke designs. They also curate personalised experiences on special occasions which makes the purchasing of jewellery for the consumer a memorable moment.

Challenges

But, this form of marketing also means the target group is very limited and focussed. So how does this marketing work on a large scale?

Jain believes word-of-mouth marketing is the only way experiential marketing pays back to the brand. “You understand their feedback as to what they like and what they don't like very quickly. Hence, from an innovation standpoint, it is really important to build experiences for consumers and get better at it with every feedback.”

Other than this, the Bira executive shared how the only challenge as an experience curator of a beer brand is to keep in check the beer is served chilled, fresh and tasty every time.

He said, “It may sound simple but it is definitely not. From training bartenders to ensuring the right temperature of beer at all times, building a flawless experience for consumers that sticks with them and brings them back to the brand is the only challenge.”

For Tanishq, when a woman wears a piece of jewellery and looks at herself in the mirror, that moment of experience has to be ravishing. The only challenge lies in making the experience more lasting which helps in building a strong relationship with the brand.

Consumers are bombarded with experiences today and hence, intimacy has to mean something to the consumer otherwise it just ends up being a pass-by.