In a world where technology is changing everything we do at an astonishing pace, the business of live events must also evolve and adapt to capitalise.
It is no secret that experiential marketing is stronger than ever, with the global market boasting an annual spend of more than £62 billion.
The live environment remains a key priority for brands looking to engage, entertain, and connect with audiences – and technology is a crucial part of that, with IRL events increasingly being powered by immersive tech, digital touchpoints and online experiences.
Wavemaker experts Maggie Jones (director of sports, live and gaming), Arun Varghese (national head of emerging tech and experiential marketing) and Marc Macnamara (senior creative content manager) outline the role of technology within the experiential sector and how it drives conversion and impact.
As experiential marketers in this dynamic landscape with new immersive technologies at our fingertips to tap into, global media agency Wavemaker has a front row seat to the limitless possibilities to fuel the transformation and effectiveness of IRL event activations.
As we bring forward live event strategies and experiential concepts to our clients as part of (and connected to) broader media plans and briefs, the role of technology is no longer an option but a critical component to consider and implement.
Wavemaker’s consumer shift from spectator to participant
Live events have historically been about spectators observing or passively engaging when attending brand experiences. However, technology has breathed new life into this paradigm, turning passive attendees into active participants with a focus on ‘activating the senses’.
Technologies like AR and VR have enabled more customised and personalised interaction, and as a result, consumers now expect more out of the events they attend. 3D projection mapping, interactive AI art, drone shows, virtual worlds, digital graffiti, mobile game development and holograms have all emerged as true gamechangers in the live experience business.
Event spaces are now transformed into canvases for artists (and consumers) to paint with light, colour and motion. Building facades have become living artworks, filled with immersive audio visual displays.
These technologies allow for an entirely new level of creative expression that captivates audiences and is redefining those IRL moments.
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Wavemaker’s experiential team is focused on forming strategic alliances with leading partners who can propel what we ideate, deliver, and produce for our clients through innovative and tech-forward experiential marketing.
One example of this consumer shift is the Cadbury Hologram experience from the Wavemaker Experiences team in India. This hologram featured the third umpire in cricket, allowing spectators to get a new perspective and immersive experience unlike any other before.
Blended experiential: bridging physical and digital worlds
Blended experiences combine digital innovations with the physical confines of an event space. They allow brands to amplify the standard on-site engagement elements of an event with a tech-forward and interactive approach that connects a consumers experience to their digital footprint, and vice versa.
A blended experience approach also breaks down the barriers between on-site and online when it comes to live events. The physical experience itself needs to be connected and supported by the digital world before, during and after an event as part of the connected strategy and plan.
The challenge is how to gamify different touchpoints and offer real-time incentives for attendees while leveraging any physical interactions with a measurable digital follow-up.
As an industry, we used to think of events as just one part of larger campaigns, but a blended experiential approach allows us to put events at the center. This means we can create powerful IRL tech-forward experiences with extensions and activations that can thrive the connectivity between events and content, media, influencers, ecommerce, data and promotions.
Wavemaker developed a blended experience for Coinbase within a LiveNation Festival Sponsorship, creating the first NFT gallery to live within music festival walls. The NFTs were created from exclusive IP from past festivals, making them the perfect digital piece of merchandise for fans.
When fans purchased their digital token at the gallery, they were then able to share it or resell it digitally. The activation yielded an 80% app download rate on-site, some 25% above the benchmark.
Tech with purpose delivers better outcomes
The inclusion of technology through experiential activity is more than just a tactic to increase consumer interaction or drive buzz and PR for an event. Instead, leveraging technology seamlessly within every live event is paramount to obtaining better measurement reporting, setting meaningful benchmarks, capturing leads, establishing a post-event connection with consumers, and creating a clear path-to-purchase.
As Wavemaker develops brand experiences, we are looking to create highly immersive and impactful, tech-led activations that generate significant foot traffic and awareness, while simultaneously incorporating low-cost strategic touchpoints within the space to ensure a streamlined approach to generate leads and data – and ultimately trackable conversion.
Wavemaker knows consumers have a propensity for technology on-site, so our goal is to leverage tech effectively, keeping those consumers on the brand journey as long as possible.
It’s about building brand love, generating content/virality, and increasing purchase intent by embracing a technology with purpose mindset.
Wavemaker leveraged technology to drive business objectives in the AdWeek Media Plan of the Year award-winning Locker Room experience for DoorDash. This experiential activation uses both beacon technology and SmartQR to provide valuable audience data and drive directly to DashPass sign ups. Wavemaker and DoorDash have activated the Locker Room in several markets across the US and Canada to continue driving business objectives for sign ups.
As an experiential practice within a media agency, Wavemaker looks at this space through a unique lens, building integrated activation, promotional, and media distribution plans to support and optimise IRL events.
For us, it’s not about producing something that will be measured by standard event metrics. We believe that an event can drive desired ROI and results for our clients, especially when we lean into technology to create those truly memorable experiences.
