What is Brand Activation in Marketing?

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What is Brand Activation in Marketing?:

Brand activation is a process that involves building and sustaining customer engagement with a brand’s marketing efforts.

It involves activating customers through experiences that are meaningful to them, in line with company brand guidelines.

In this new digital world, everyone is looking for ways to get their business noticed. However, not everyone knows how to do it.

If you’re reading this, it’s very likely that you’re curious about the concept of brand activation in marketing.

You probably want to know more about this topic so that you can figure out if it’s worth exploring further.

“Brands with creative advertising that harnessed emotion acquired 198X more followers on average than the rest of the companies on LinkedIn” - LinkedIn Marketing Solutions

That being said, you don’t necessarily know where to start or how to get started with creating an activation plan for your brand.

Well, let me help by explaining what brand activation in marketing is and why it’s such a great way to create awareness of your company or business without spamming people with advertisements all over the place.

Image Content Source - Semrush

What is a Brand Activation?:

A brand activation is when you use your brand as part of an event to spark an increase in interest and increase your reputation. When someone sees your logo at an event, they’re more likely to pay attention to the overall experience.

For example, if you have a clothing line but no events are currently scheduled, you can have some models wear their clothes to an event. The models could wear a plain T-shirt with your logo on it and nothing else.

You could also get a photographer to take pictures of the models wearing your clothes and publish them on social media. These are just two examples of ways that you can use your brand to spark brand activations.

Benefits of a Brand Activation in Marketing:

1. Brands can Become more Memorable:

When your brand is used interestingly, people are more likely to remember it.

This way, they’re more likely to think about your brand when they need to buy from you in the future. This also leads to higher customer engagement and increases sales volume.

2. Brands can Build Trust and Legitimacy:

When people have used your logo at an event, they’re more likely to trust the brand and think that it’s legitimate. This way, you can gain more customers.

This leads to improved brand perception among target audiences and greater brand awareness.

“80% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a brand that provides personalized experiences” - Litmus’s Personalization Lessons Report

How to Create a Brand Activation in Marketing?:

Research:

Before planning your brand activation, you’ll want to research the brands already out there. You can do this by searching Google and looking at the first few pages of search results.

Once you find a few brands that catch your eye, read their articles and social media posts. What are they doing? What are they inspiring people to think? From what you read, you’ll be able to create a better plan for your activations.

Consider the Location:

Next, you’ll want to think about the location where you’ll have your brand activation.

If you’re going to have someone wear your clothes and bring your logo or business to an event, you’ll want to make sure that the location is crowded.

This way, you want to make sure that people are paying attention to your logo or business, not other things in the area.

Consider the Type of Event:

When you choose an event, you’ll want to think about the type of event. If the event is social, you’ll want to pick an activation that doesn’t feel too commercial.

Otherwise, you risk feeling like you’re cramming your brand down people’s throats.

You’ll also want to think about the audience at the event that you’re attending. If the event is aimed at your specific audience, you can highlight it to spark brand activations.

Consider the People in your Audience:

Next, you’ll want to think about the people in your audience. You can use the people in your audience to spark brand activation.

For example, you could find couples in your audience and have them wear your clothes and attend an event together. Chalk out what possible ways you can explore to keep people on the hook.

“Branding will not get you clients or cash today. What it will give you is clarity, authority, focus, trust, continuity, alignment, distinction, and a course of action” - Tim Beehler, Idea Machine Newsletter

Tips for Building Effective Brand Activation in Marketing:

Pick something relevant to your brand:

When you’re creating an event or having people wear your logo, you want to pick something relevant to your brand.

Otherwise, you risk creating something that has no meaning for your company. Pick something interesting or associated with your brand.

Pick something that has a big draw:

When you pick something for your brand activation, you want to pick something that has a big draw. That way, people will be more likely to notice your logo at the event.

For example, you might want to pick a big draw event like a music festival or similar events.

Pick something that is at a high-traffic location:

When you pick an event, you’ll want to pick something that is in a high-traffic area. This way, more people will notice your logo when they’re out, and generates brand awareness on a mass scale.

Pick something fun:

The last tip is that you want to pick something fun. That way, the brand activation will be more memorable, and people will enjoy it more. This also improves engagement by potential customers.

Tracking Brand Health:

Image Content Source - YouGov

In summary, branding is important. It’s what helps you create a name for your business or company in the industry and distinguish it from your competitors.

Branding activation is also essential because it helps you build your reputation and make an impression on your audience through experiences that are meaningful to them and are responsible for driving engagement and sales [revenue] for your business.

Here's related information that you may also find helpful – Brand Reputation Risk

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