More and more brands are realising that community engagement is crucial for establishing unique connections with their audience.
The goal is to create interactive brand experiences, inviting followers to participate and immerse themselves in the brand.
With spring coming and brand experiences thriving, here are five types of brand experiences that we will continue to see more of in future months.
1. The Pilates Craze
Pilates and Yoga have been popular recently, showing no sign of slowing down. Many fitness-related brands with a similar target audience are jumping on the pilates craze, including Adanola and Pretty Little Thing.
Adanola
Adanola hosted Pilates and Reformer Pilates events for influencers and community members who came together (wearing their clothing) to promote the brand, create content for social media, and get a better sense of it.
Pretty Little Thing
Pretty Little Thing has also hosted Pilates and Yoga events for brand ambassadors and Influencers, promoting their fitness/ yoga clothing range.
They host regular influencer events, such as brand dinners and trips; however, here they are taking advantage of the current popularity of Pilates and Yoga, recognising themselves as a competitor of other brands that supply activewear, such as Adanola.
Opening up events such as these to followers and fans of the brand, rather than just influencers, would increase their reach even more and make their customers feel like they are more involved- experiencing it for themselves instead of simply seeing the events through an influencer’s social media.
REFY
Although not a fitness-clothing brand, REFY understands what their target audience enjoys, so also jumped on the wellness trend.
These brands know that a lot of their target audience (women aged 18-30) will be taking pilates classes.
By aligning their marketing with activities that their target audience already enjoys, brands can seamlessly integrate their products into their consumers’ lifestyles, promoting brand loyalty and driving sales.
2. Other Fitness and Wellness Events
Adanola hosts a ‘Run Club’ and other wellness events for their community, such as ‘Adanola Rewards’ members and influencers.
This ties in with the brand and encourages the community to participate, creating sharable content across their social media channels.
Gymshark also hosts run clubs and ‘lift’ events in cities worldwide to bring fitness enthusiasts together and build a sense of community.
By portraying themselves as supporters of overall wellness rather than just sellers of clothing, these brands reinforce their identity and create stronger connections with their audience.
3. Public Events
The REFY Wine Bar
REFY hosted a ‘Wine Bar’ experience at Kurb in Manchester, where followers receive a free mini lip gloss with every wine order.
When going out for drinks, many girls take lipgloss with them- why not take a REFY lipgloss?
REFY Coffee Shop
Similarly, REFY partnered with a coffee shop during their Manchester takeover, providing branded drinks for their customers, the first 100 free!
Although these partnerships seem unrelated, REFY are using them to add to the experience of their brand.
By offering branded drinks and complimentary products, REFY creates memorable experiences that resonate with its customers, driving user-generated content and creating a sense of belonging within the brand community.
More Accessible Founders
REFY hosted an International Women’s Day panel with founders Jess Hunt and Jenna Meek.
This provided a platform for the founders to connect directly with their audience, reinforcing brand values and solidifying brand-consumer relationships.
This ticketed event, which was open to the public, brought the REFY community together to discuss their common values and, ultimately, what REFY stands for.
Jess and Jenna were also present at the pop-ups, welcoming and talking to customers, making them seem less out of reach than most brand owners.
REFY markets a lifestyle, not just beauty products.
4. IRL Shopping
Ecommerce brands are narrowing the divide between the online and offline communities by organising pop-up stores and curated events for their customers to experience what they’d usually buy online, in real life.
S&S Sample Sale
Sisters and Seekers recently hosted a pop-up store in Liverpool with an extremely successful sample sale, with long queues and lots of user-generated content that was good exposure for the brand, adding to their inbound marketing strategy.
REFY Curated: The Exhibition
REFY Curated showcased the brand’s new lash sculpt, as well as an exclusive line of clothing. This was also open to the public and raised awareness and user-generated content for the brand.
By providing consumers with the opportunity to interact with products in person, these experiences create memorable touch points that resonate long after the event has ended.
5. Competitions
Competitions have always been popular, but brands have been and will continue to up their game regarding customer competitions.
Pretty Little Thing has recently posted a competition for Taylor Swift tickets, which will create a LOT of traction for the brand, as many of their target audience will be Taylor Swift fans:
Both Adanola and REFY have also recently hosted giveaways on their social media, encouraging followers to comment and share:
This creates excitement around the brand, gives a chance for the brand to give back to their customers, and up impressions and user-generated.
Overall, brand experiences will continue to become more popular, especially for ecommerce brands in the fashion and beauty industry. This is because it can make them stand out within a crowded market.
This shift towards immersive experiences and community engagement will redefine brand-consumer interactions in 2024.
Brands recognise the importance of humanising their image, making their followers active participants rather than passive consumers.
A brand experience is about building community, which is a huge selling point for modern brands.
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