The numbers: RL and CreateMe customized 2,200 garments, 1,000 water bottles 300 tote bags and 1,000 stickers over a 20 day ”Create Your Own” pop-up customization studio at Wimbledon.
Drawing roughly 500,000 fans over the course of the tournament, live events and experiences are back. The prestigious event was canceled in 2020, and played in 2021 with limited capacity.
And the Ralph Lauren collaboration with CreateMe at The Championships is just one recent example of the big-time being back — big time.
A study conducted by experience relationship management firm AnyRoad reveals that 75% of brand marketers resumed live in-person experiential marketing, and more than two-thirds of consumers have returned to these in-person events. That figure reached as low as 4% during some of the pandemic's darkest days in 2020.
Consumers have a pent-up desire for in-real-life events, and brands that are quick to reopen will build loyalty and get ahead of competition as restrictions reduce
Tim Williams, Chief Customer Officer at apparel industry disruptor CreateMe Technologies, says retail and tech brands are again looking for ways to re-engage with their audiences and brand experiences are a surefire way to do just that.
“Things have changed a bit,” says Williams. “Of course, we follow special safety protocols during installation, the event and after. We want to keep our team and the public healthy. But all in all, it feels like normality is returning.”
“Consumers have a pent-up desire for in-real-life events, and brands that are quick to reopen will build loyalty and get ahead of competition as restrictions reduce,” AnyRoad co-founder and CEO Jonathan Yaffe says. “We’re already seeing brands that are hosting in-person experiences getting more engagement, data and insights and, in many cases, seeing meaningful revenue growth from add-ons and premium offerings.”
We can help brands re-engage and excite their customers in new ways never before imagined.
First reported by MediaPost, AnyRoad's study, based on nearly 3 million unique experiential records from more than 400 consumers engaging with over 400 brands across 90 countries, primarily in the U.S. and the UK, suggests that event marketing is returning to normal, as in-person branded experiences outpaced virtual for the first time in over a year
While most brands resumed in-person events, 70% continue to offer online experiences as part of their customer engagement strategy. “Virtual experiences are here to stay,” Yaffe says, “and the smartest brands will continue to take a differentiated, hybrid approach to break through the noise.”
Live events? “They are once again key to coaxing consumers out of their homes and back to stores to spend money,” says Williams. “We can help brands re-engage and excite their customers in new ways never before imagined.”
