Experiential marketing focuses on how customers perceive and engage with a brand. It’s about living the brand experience through an interactive event or a personalized demo. Experiential marketing creates moments that customers find memorable. It goes beyond traditional advertising to establish a more meaningful connection between a brand and its audience.
Ultimately, it aims to influence perception to encourage buying decisions. Many businesses conduct in-person events with the help of event marketing software to put experiential marketing strategies into action.
The statistics below explore how these experiences transform the way consumers interact with brands.
Top experiential marketing statistics
Marketers from all walks of life are optimistic about experiential marketing. They believe that nothing else matters except the experience. The statistics below favor their line of thinking.
- 63% of marketers plan to organize more experiential events.
- 84% believe experiential marketing is a crucial marketing strategy.
- Experiential marketing that involves trade shows and other physical events is the third most effective channel for acquiring customers, behind social media and search engine optimization (SEO).
93%
of event marketers say their company prioritizes hosting events.
Source: HBR
- Experiential events at the beginning of videos perform well, with a 12.7% conversion rate.
- 29% of brands use experiential marketing for their brand, making it one of the top five marketing channels.
- The experiential marketing service market is projected to grow to $57 million USD by 2027.
The success of experiential marketing
Brands and businesses relying upon experiential marketing are on a growth trajectory. Read on for some success stories to see its potential benefits.
- 41% of marketers say experiential events are the most effective marketing channels over digital advertising, email marketing, and content marketing.
- Two in every three marketers believe experiential marketing allows businesses to reach their goals.
40%
of businesses believe conferences are effective in achieving business objectives.
Source: Sendpulse
- 52% of respondents believe experiential events drive more value into businesses than other marketing channels.
- Experiential marketing has a success rate of 38%, followed by digital advertising at 19%, content marketing at 12%, partnerships and sponsorships at 9%, and traditional advertising at 7%.
- 79% of marketers drive sales from experiential marketing through organized brand events.
Statistics showing how brands perceive experiential marketing
Experiential marketing contributes to the recurring success and growth of a business. Several brands feel experiential marketing is a potent strategy to boost sales. These statistics will help you develop a holistic viewpoint of experiential marketing success.
- Brands that use experiential marketing receive three times the word-of-mouth awareness of those that fail to do so.
- 58% of marketing executives believe that experiential marketing increases advocacy.
- 90% of marketers say experiential marketing helps them get more compelling engagement.
- 74% of respondents to a survey said they were more likely to purchase products promoted experientially compared to those that weren’t.
65%
of brand owners who use experiential marketing as a marketing strategy see a boost in sales.
Source: HubSpot
- Marketing executives are expected to allocate 21% to 50% of their marketing budget to experiential marketing in 2023.
- 68% of B2B marketers and 63% of B2C marketers hosted live, in-person events for experiential marketing in 2022.
- 92% of clients and customers expect and love personalized experiences, and one way to deliver this is via experiential marketing.
- Over 60% of senior marketers plan to organize more live events and invest more in them.
- 80% of event planning professionals plan to learn skills to help them design more hygienic environments after the advent of COVID-19.
Consumer-related experiential marketing statistics
Businesses value experiential marketing, and so do their customers. Consumers feel experiential marketing adds credibility to a brand’s product or service.
The statistics below delve into customers’ perceptions of experiential marketing. Keep exploring to gain insights you can use to inform your strategies.
- 91% of consumers think participating in experiential marketing would make them more inclined to buy from the brand.
- 85% of consumers are likely to purchase a product or service after attending a live marketing event.
- After an in-person experiential marketing event, 75% of marketing convention participants felt more connected to a brand as consumers.
91%
of customers confirmed they would feel more optimistic about a brand’s product or service after actively participating in a brand activation or experience.
Source: Economic Times
- 40% of customers agree experiential marketing makes them more loyal to a brand.
- 96% of millennials who engage with a brand take pictures or videos and share them online, and 86% of recipients will open and review these.
- 70% of consumers become repeat customers after experiencing a brand.
- Only 7% of customers prefer television advertisements to live events, meaning around 9 in 10 love experiencing a product.
- 78% of millennials prefer to spend more on brand experiences rather than purchasing a product in another way.
Use of AR/VR in experiential marketing
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) make experiential marketing more impactful and convincing. Below are some statistics that show just that.
- 33% of event organizers plan to use AR for future events.
- AR andVR market users are expected to reach almost $7 million by 2027, with a user penetration rate projected to be 92.2% in 2023 and increasing to 103.6% by 2027. The average revenue per user (ARPU) is expected to be $5.50 USD
- As of 2020, there were 26 million VR headsets were sold to the public.
100 million
consumers use augmented reality to shop both online and offline.
Source: Threekit
- 3D content can increase conversion by up to 28% on retailer websites.
- Over 90% of Gen Z consumers are interested in AR shopping experiences, and 70% of consumers believe AR can be beneficial in various fields.
- Between 2023 and 2028, there is an expected increase of 5.5 million VR headsets in the training and education industry.
Use of experiential marketing in education and healthcare
As per market trends, ed-tech companies and healthcare institutions invest heavily to help customers best experience their services and products. The stats justify these trends and the dynamics of the sectors.
- 88% of top-performing ed-tech companies invest significantly in experiential marketing, with 84.3% of educational institutions identifying marketing as a key strategy.
89%
of marketers cite improving customer experience as a top motivator for personalization in their strategies, a key component of experiential marketing.
Source: Salesforce
- 80% of customers say the company's experience is as important as its products or services.
- 91% of consumers reported they would be more inclined to purchase a brand's product or service after participating in a brand activation or experience, and 40% felt they became more loyal to the brand.
Go above and beyond
Experiential marketing makes unforgettable and engaging experiences for customers. The statistics above reveal how brands perceive it and why they want to consciously invest in it. They want to go beyond traditional advertising to establish a deeper connection with their audience.
The personalization fosters brand loyalty and successfully generates word-of-mouth promotion. An effective experiential marketing campaign can create a social buzz for the brand. This extends the campaign's reach beyond its initial audiences.
Want to boost your sales with experiential marketing? Learn more about how to sell directly to customers on the field.
