Experiential marketing, utilizing unique marketing tactics giving consumers the opportunity to engage and interact with brands to create an emotional connection based on a branded experience, continues to evolve, finding new approaches to connect with consumers. One of the most interesting is the latest campaign from Pepsi’s Tropicana brand. In January, Tropicana traveled to the northern Canadian town of Inuvik, which experiences weeks of constant darkness during the winter, to brighten their day. Knowing the adverse effects of 31 days without sunshine they decided to bring them the sun. This seemingly impossible task was accomplished by constructing an inflatable electric powered artificial sun that was raised high above the town. While the locals gathered to watch the sunrise they were given bottles of Tropicana. Not a bad way to market your brand when you want to be associated with morning sunshine. The best part of video was the people’s reactions as they gathered to bask in the “sunshine” with an astonished look on their face. Instead of simply distributing product samples, Tropicana made it an event that will not be soon forgotten. This experiential campaign was especially effective because of the strong emotional connection they made with customers with the unique experience, they will always remember how Tropicana came to their town and did the impossible. They managed to give them an unforgettable experience that is impossible to duplicate at the perfect time and were able to center the whole experience on their brand.
As experiential and guerilla marketing techniques are used more frequently to make a stronger connection between the consumer and the brand I predict we will see more campaigns like this. After all providing customers with an experience centered on your brand is the best way to make an emotional connection and foster a strong brand relationship that will last long after the campaign is over.
The Vitamin Water brand continues to amaze me; not only do they have a wide range of flavors that are all very good, they also have some of the funniest and clever marketing campaigns in the beverage industry that have been remarkably successful. Since partnering with rapper 50 Cent back in 2004, the company has been using a mix of celebrity endorsements, intelligent social media marketing, and entertaining advertisements to reach new customers and build a very strong brand. In 2007, Coca Cola bought the company for $4.1 billion and has increased its availability world wide allowing it to quickly take market share from soft drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, and juice drinks alike. They have launched hilarious ads featuring the NBA star and self-proclaimed “Canadian Celebrity” Steve Nash that are truly the funniest ads on TV right now. Their newest ads featuring Nash spoof the successful Dos Equis “most interesting man in the world” ads with Nash as “the most ridiculous man in the world”. Previous ads featuring Nash have spoofed infomercials where he portrays a Billy Mays type of spokesperson praising Vitamin Water with a priceless cameo by 50 Cent. They have also just wrapped a successful social media campaign on Facebook that culminates with the launch of a customer-created flavor available next month. Their latest ad, celebrating the Winter Olympics, transforms bus stops in downtown Vancouver BC into a ski lift with Vitamin Water signage. Taking bus stop ads, which seem to be a dated medium that hasn’t experienced much change or innovation and turning them into a spot for photo opportunities centered around the Vitamin Water brand is a great idea. With Olympic fever and increased tourism pouring into Vancouver these ads are sure to receive a lot of attention. As they continue their media blitz with effective inspired ads across a range of different mediums, Vitamin Water is definitely a company to watch.
