In the ever-evolving landscape of events and sponsorships, brands have long been leaning into experiential strategies to more effectively engage consumers and attendees.
Whether it’s an immersive, standalone consumer activation or an eye-catching sponsor booth at a conference or trade show, the key to success lies in a well-crafted strategy that resonates year-round, not just during the event. Today, more than ever, experiential marketing is about understanding and integrating consumer needs into each and every brand interaction.
SEQ has worked on activations for top brands like The Wall Street Journal, LinkedIn, Yahoo, Danone, GumGum, and many more—and here’s what we see working right now.
1. An integrated, strategy-centric approach
Effective experiential marketing transcends the event itself, seamlessly integrating into a brand's overarching marketing calendar. In short: It’s about more than just selling stuff—it’s about hitting the right notes with your audience consistently.
This approach involves a thorough understanding of the target audience, anticipating their needs, and designing experiences that resonate. When SEQ starts working with a brand, for example, we utilize our comprehensive discovery process—which involves interviewing key executives about their year-round goals for the company. From there, we can craft a strategy for an event or sponsorship opportunity that can strategically fit into the company’s overall marketing plans.
2. Hyper-personalization
The era of one-size-fits-all marketing is over. Modern consumers demand experiences that acknowledge their unique preferences and behaviors. Brands are now leveraging AI to craft personalized experiences at scale, for example, catering to individual tastes even in larger crowd settings.
Additionally, the recent shift towards smaller, regional events allows brands to meet consumers where they are, both physically and culturally. It’s an approach SEQ client GumGum has been taking: The brand leans into a mix of high-impact activations and smaller-scale engagements throughout the year, always ensuring they host at least one to two events per region, per quarter.
3. Wellness and inclusivity
Today’s experiential marketing also involves creating spaces that are considerate of attendees’ physical and mental well-being. For GumGum’s presence at last year’s POSSIBLE Conference, for example, we leaned into wellness-focused activations like Zen breathwork sessions, hand massages, and grab-and-go amenity kits.
Inclusivity is crucial, too. From offering a range of dietary options—including non-alcoholic drink choices—to designing spaces that are accessible to all, inclusivity is now a staple, not an afterthought.
4. Sustainability
Sustainability is a key pillar of today's experiential strategies. Environmentally friendly practices not only benefit our planet, but also align with the values of consumers who prioritize ecological impact in their purchasing decisions. At Sequence, we hold vendors and venues to a high environmental standard and ask to see their green practices before entering a contract.
5. Multi-generational appeal
It's crucial to design events that cater to multiple age groups—but today’s most successful brands are giving a special focus to Gen Z, which is expected to make up about 30% of the U.S. workforce by 2030. According to several recent studies, this generation prioritizes authenticity and experiences over material goods. Successful activations are those that forge genuine connections and deliver memorable, shareable moments.
6. Interactive moments
Interactive moments transform attendees from passive viewers into active participants. The best experiences engage all five senses and invite consumers to become part of the story.
For Danone’s presence at Aspen Ideas Fest in 2023, for example, we worked with the brand to showcase its efforts surrounding food disparity via an on-site podcast studio, an open mic space where attendees were asked to share their own thoughts, and smoothie bikes that allowed guests to blend—and then enjoy!—three recipes that highlighted Danone brands.
7. Spaces that bring people together
The craving for real human connection has intensified in recent years—but in a digital-first world, attendees and consumers also need extra incentives to attend an activation in person. Experiential marketing now plays a crucial role in facilitating connections, emphasizing the creation of spaces that foster community and togetherness.
For Horizon Organic’s presence at the Mom 2.0 Summit in 2024, for example, SEQ worked with the brand to create large-scale, Horizon-branded games like Connect 4 and Jenga. Not only did the interactivity allow the booth to stand out, but it also encouraged the audience of moms to come together, laugh, and bond by “playing” like kids. (And yes, we offered them Horizon milk and cookies!)
8. Remember the other “ROs”While Return on Investment (ROI) remains a crucial metric, forward-thinking brands are also focusing on Return on Emotion (ROE)—something we lean into a lot with our nonprofit clients—and Return on Objectives (ROO). These metrics ensure that every experiential element aligns with the brand’s core goals and emotionally resonates with attendees, fostering long-lasting brand loyalty.