Brand activation is marketing that builds a brand’s image and drives a specific consumer behavior. [1] It encompasses all aspects of marketing outside of advertising. [2]
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) cites six specific disciplines that make up brand activation which help bring the brand to life through connecting and interacting with consumers:
- Promotion marketing includes tactics that encourage short-term purchase, influence trial and quantity of purchase, and are very measurable in volume, share and profit. Examples include coupons, sweepstakes, rebates, premiums, special packaging, cause-related marketing and licensing. [1]
- Retailer marketing recognizes that a true win-win for manufacturer, retailer and shopper would require specific shopper insights, collaborative planning and solutions between brand and retailer, such as shopper marketing, omni-channel and eCommerce. [1]
- Experiential marketing is a marketing approach that directly engages consumers and invites and encourages them to participate in a branded experience. [2] It includes events and more individual experiences, such as a demonstration of a product’s performance, extra care/personal connection, and grassroots events. [1] Its importance lies in its ability to stimulate an emotional connection and reinforce an essence of the brand. Examples include sponsorship and sampling. [1]
- Relationship marketing refers to strategies and tactics for segmenting consumers to build loyalty. It leverages database marketing, behavioral advertising and analytics to target consumers precisely and create loyalty programs. [1]
- Content marketing is a technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience—with the objective of driving profitable customer action. [3] It involves various methods to tell the brand story. More and more marketers are evolving their advertising to content marketing and storytelling to create more stickiness and emotional bonding with the consumer. [1]
- Influencer marketing focuses on leveraging individuals who have influence over potential buyers and orienting marketing activities around these individuals to drive a brand message to the larger market. Rather than marketing directly to a large group of consumers, a brand inspires or compensates influencers (which can include celebrities, content creators, customer advocates and employees) to get the word out on their behalf. [1]
References
- Association of National Advertisers, Brand Activation Info.
- Common Language in Marketing Project, 2019
- Content Marketing Institute. What is Content Marketing? Useful content should be at the core of your marketing.