Bringing the “Live” Back to Brand Experiences

One thing has become very clear during this pandemic: the importance of human connection. With the country and businesses starting to resume operations, we are seeing a swell in consumer eagerness to reconnect with people and brands, both live and in-person!    

Studies confirm that in isolation, people feel a greater sense of hopelessness and lack of control. The ability to leave your house and shop or dine at-will with friends is proven to improve one’s mental state.  So in an industry built on 1:1 consumer engagement, how will brands continue to evolve meaningful and personal connections with their audience?  

As consumers begin to feel safe and get excited about leaving their quarantine days behind, marketers now have a unique opportunity to capitalize on face-to-face interactions. In the past this referred exclusively to in-person engagement. Today it has evolved to include live online experiences. Here are 5 tips on how brands can safely provide consumers the interaction they are craving. 

1 – Be Safe 
Now more than ever, it is critical to provide safe, sanitary and contactless options for sampling and other brand interactions. Investing in the right program set up to guarantee the highest level of safety for both your team and your consumer will lead to stronger results including higher conversion of samples. 

2 – Be Smart 
Leverage Research and targeting tools (i.e. Prizm) to identify hyperlocal markets where your consumers are present. Through precision location mapping for guerrilla sampling programs, or direct to door-drops you maximize ROI and consumer conversion.  

3 – Think Hybrid
Consider integrating a virtual interaction component with your live campaign and create an additional option for consumers who are local or remote, that may be tentative or unable to interact with your brand. Send products to consumers in advance and drive engagement through them attending an online live session. 

This interaction is fully measured and leads to exposure in remote areas and high engagement with all attendees including follow up, data capture, engagement metrics.  

4 – Plan for longevity
It is more important now to look for repeated and sustained messaging beyond 1 show or event. 
With social distancing, it is important to ensure you get maximum exposure for your investment: larger teams, more event days, integration with PR and Communications plans will all lead to sustained impact and higher brand awareness. 

5 – Train. Adapt. Repeat.
Ensure your Brand Ambassadors have up to date training and information when it comes to working events during and post pandemic. Our comprehensive safety training (PXP Event Safety Playbook) has been completely overhauled and addresses specific protocols and safety measures to ensure maximum safety and security for all. 

Constantly evaluate and adapt your training to reflect the most current guidelines and safety protocols. Budget for additional training modules to ensure ambassadors are constantly updating and practicing their skills. 

Moving forward, we need to focus on bringing back authentic human connections online and in-person. Providing your consumers with conversation, interaction and the sense of normalcy is a win for any brand.  Be sure to keep interactions individualized, authentic and on the consumers’ terms: these will be determinants of success in returning to live consumer engagement.  

For more information about our virtual staffing solutions, click here.