What is Brand Activation and Why do You Need it?

How do you ‘activate’ a brand?
With an increasing number of channels and touch points comes a growing number of ways to introduce your brand to people.

Let’s take a look at some of those methods.

1. Experiential marketing

Perhaps the best way to activate your brand in people’s minds is by allowing them to experience it first-hand.

Experiential marketing has become increasingly prevalent in the last few years, perhaps the most famous example being Carlsberg’s ridiculously successful beer poster campaign.

This type of campaign can be a powerful way to get your brand in front of people and make it stick in their mind.

2. Sampling campaigns

But the experiential element of a brand activation campaign could be something more stripped-back. It could simply mean giving people the opportunity to try your products.

Giving out free samples of a new product can be a great way to introduce people to your brand and get them talking.

But make it timely and be creative to ensure the best result.

3. In-store brand activation

Another opportunity to activate a brand is through in-store promotions or events. Again, this comes down to creating an experiential element whereby customers can touch and interact with your brand.

Join it all up
As I mentioned earlier, the marketing world has more channels than ever and it is important to understand how to link up the brand activation experience across the various customer touch points.

The first thing to mention is social. If you are running an experiential campaign, for example, it is vital that you coordinate social media activity to ensure the campaign gets the exposure it deserves.

There is no point putting a huge amount of time, effort and resource into something if you’re not going to shout about it at the same time.

What is the end goal?
As with all types of experiential marketing, brand activation should not always be measured simply in terms of additional sales.

Of course the end goal in everything marketers do is to increase revenue, but more directly a brand activation campaign is about raising awareness and opening a two-way dialogue with potential customers about your brand.

It is about creating an emotional connection between them and your brand so that it sticks in their mind and they are more likely to engage with it and become long-term customers.

Conclusion: emotional reaction through interaction
We often talk about the need to elicit an emotional reaction through content, and with brand activation it is particularly important.

Often it is the first experience somebody will have with your brand, therefore it’s important to make the right kind of impact so that your brand sticks firmly in their mind for a significant period of time.

Whether you make people laugh, cry, feel anger or excitement (this will all depend on your product and audience), you must create some kind of emotional connection or it is unlikely people will remember the experience or your brand.