Experiential Marketing: Examples, Strategies, and Best Practices

You’re exposed to around a hundred ads daily. How many of them do you remember?

Experiential marketing, on the other hand, is built to stay in people’s minds for a while. Instead of pushing messages through screens or billboards, it invites people to engage directly.

And particularly for Millennials and Gen Z — the biggest spenders today — that kind of hands-on connection is exactly what they’re after.

Key Takeaways

1. Experiential marketing thrives on active participation and multi-sensory engagement.
2. The most common examples of experiential marketing include pop-up experiences, product sampling and demos, brand activations, workshops, guerrilla marketing, and AR/VR initiatives.
3. Next time you step into Starbucks, notice how it hits all five dimensions of experiential marketing: sensory, emotional, thinking, action, and association.
4. The direct impact of experiential marketing on sales can be hard to measure. But you can gauge its effectiveness by tracking event engagement, brand mentions, and the volume and reach of user-generated content.

What is Experiential Marketing?

Experiential marketing is a promotional tactic that engages consumers through memorable, immersive experiences.

It invites people to interact with a brand in real life through pop-up events, hands-on product experiences, creative stunts, etc.

Top Experiential Marketing Strategies

These are the forms experiential marketing usually takes.

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Note: Most experiential campaigns blend several of these at once. For example, a pop-up might also include product demos or brand-led workshops (or both).

Pop-up experiences

Pop-ups are temporary setups in high-traffic areas where people can try, explore, or interact with your brand. These usually take form of mini stores, events, or installations that grab attention and drive foot traffic.

Glossier started as an online-only brand and leaned on pop-ups to create real-world buzz before opening permanent stores. Even now, as a global beauty brand with physical locations, it still uses pop-ups to connect with new audiences and keep the experience fresh and fun.

So even if your business doesn’t have a permanent physical location, a pop-up lets you create one temporarily as part of your experiential marketing campaign.

Product sampling and demos

Yes, the last time you were offered free food samples at a supermarket or local bakery is an example of experiential marketing, too. Product sampling works well for food, beauty, tech, and anything that’s better experienced than explained. 

Brand activations at events

Brand activations are on-site experiences created at events where the target audience is already present. This can be done at music festivals, conferences, or sporting events.

At the Dreamforce annual gathering, Provar, the Salesforce testing tool, brought this to life with a retro arcade-themed booth. They created their own video game, “Provar Invaders,” and invited attendees to play for a chance to win a Nintendo Switch.

Workshops

These are branded educational sessions that connect the product or service to a practical skill or experience. It could be a cooking class, a DIY session, or a skill-based workshop.

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Guerrilla marketing stunts

Guerrilla marketing involves unconventional, often surprising in-person experiences placed in public spaces. Done right, they get attention and spread online, but make sure they’re safe, ethical, and legal.

Virtual and hybrid events

With tech like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), experiential marketing is no longer limited to physical space. Brands can now create immersive experiences online through virtual product try-ons, interactive 3D environments, and livestreams.

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What is an Example of Experiential Marketing?

Here are two examples of experiential marketing in action — one of a global brand, and another from a (once) local bakery.

Gisou — annual pop-up

Gisou is a beauty brand founded by influencer Negin Mirsalehi, best known for its honey-infused haircare products and strong focus on aesthetic branding. Gisou’s three-day pop-up in Miami is a strong example of high-investment experiential marketing. 

The setup included a DJ, branded popsicles, cold drinks, mocktails, and gift packs — all wrapped in Gisou’s signature aesthetic.

The event was designed to be photographed, shared, and talked about. It generated a ton of influencer stories and user-generated posts on Instagram and TikTok.

Cedric Grolet — pastry sampling

Not all experiential marketing requires a big budget. Cedric Grolet, now a globally known pastry chef, started by posting behind-the-scenes content of how he creates his pastries.

Today, at his Paris location, he often steps outside the store to hand out samples while people watch him work through the window. The moment always draws attention from people on the street, sparks user-generated videos, and keeps a steady line of customers coming back for Cedric’s pastries.

How It Differs from Traditional Digital Marketing

1. Experiential marketing requires active participation from the audience.

While traditional digital marketing usually involves people watching content, experiential marketing is built on interaction between the brand and a consumer. It can be anything from showing up at an event to testing a product, but the key is that people actually do something.

2. Experiential marketing focuses on long-lasting impact and community building.

Most digital campaigns aim at immediate results: likes, clicks, leads, or sales. Experiential marketing is more about creating a moment people remember and want to talk about. The goal is to build connection and a sense of community around the brand, which has a more lasting impact than a typical ad campaign.

3. You can’t really quantify the effect of experiential marketing.

Experiential marketing isn’t built around measurable goals like lead generation or quick sales. Ideally, it offers people a memorable experience without expecting anything in return. 

If done right, you’ll see a boost in brand mentions or even sales later, but it’s hard to tie that directly back to the campaign.

Key Benefits of Experiential Marketing

If boosting sales isn’t the main goal, what makes experiential marketing worthwhile?

Deeper Brand Connection and Recall

Experiences stick with people more than even the best advertising campaign. They create stronger associations and are more likely to be remembered.

Word-of-Mouth and Social Sharing

How often do people talk about email blasts or banner ads? Usually only when they go wrong. Experiential marketing, on the other hand, is much more likely to get people talking (without the bad publicity).

Emotional Resonance and Loyalty

Seeing an ad is just that — seeing an ad. But, say, meeting a world-famous beauty influencer who owns the brand? That creates an emotional connection that sticks.

And you don’t have to be a celebrity founder to make it work. I once attended a workshop run by the owner of a small local winery — and that wine has tasted better ever since.

What are the 5 Dimensions of Experiential Marketing?

Interestingly, Starbucks was among the first coffee brands to weave all five dimensions into a seamless and consistent experience. Years later, Bernd Schmitt, who first defined experiential marketing, identified these five core dimensions as key ways people connect with brands:

1. Sensory: Appeals to sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. At Starbucks, the aroma of coffee, cozy lighting, warm materials, and curated music create a consistent sensory vibe across locations.

2. Emotional: Focuses on how the brand makes people feel. Writing your name on the cup and creating a cozy “third place” between home and work fosters comfort and connection.
3. Thinking: Stimulates curiosity or reflection. Sharing info on ethical sourcing and sustainability encourages customers to think beyond just what’s in their cup.
4. Action: Drives behavior, participation, or lifestyle alignment. From customizing your order to participating in seasonal drink releases (hello, Pumpkin Spice Latte), the brand creates rituals that become part of customers’ daily routines.
5. Association: Builds social identity and a sense of belonging. Starbucks fosters a strong community of loyal customers who see the brand as part of their lifestyle.

How to Create an Experiential Marketing Campaign

Designing an experiential marketing campaign isn’t as complicated as it might seem.

Define the “Why”

An experiential marketing campaign isn’t a lead generation or sales campaign. It can help with those, but if that’s your main focus, the campaign probably won’t work as well.

So if your goal is to get people straight into your sales funnel, you’d better choose a different approach.

What kind of goals can you set with experiential marketing then? Here are a few examples:

• Build brand awareness
• Create influencer and media moments
• Encourage user-generated content
• Boost social media engagement
• Launch a new product
• Test market response

If those goals line up with what you’re trying to achieve, experiential marketing is the right choice for you.

Know Your Audience

See, I’m not saying “define your audience” — you’ve probably already done that. Maybe it’s something like: early-30s professionals living in cities, earning 70k+, into wellness and weekend getaways.

But to launch a great experiential campaign, you need to really know them. What kind of event would actually get them to show up after work? What’s exciting enough for them to post about or invite friends to?

A few ways to get there:

• Talk to real customers.
• Look at the kind of content they engage with online.
• Analyze past events or experiences they’ve attended.

Based on that, look for a common thread — something that makes the experience feel worth their time, attention, or Instagram story.

Design the Experience

Once you know what you want to achieve and what kind of experience your audience will enjoy, it’s time to map out what the initiative will look like.

Start by choosing the format:

• Pop-up store? Good for retail, beauty, or food brands that want to offer hands-on interaction.
• Workshop or class? Ideal for lifestyle brands that tie into hobbies, skills, or self-improvement.
• Guerrilla stunt? Great if you want to grab attention fast and create viral moments.
• Product sampling or demo? Perfect if your product sells itself once people try it.
• Virtual or hybrid experience? Useful if you’re targeting a global or tech-savvy audience.

Then, think through the key elements:

1. What will people actually do? (e.g., Try a product? Learn something? Take a photo? Share something?)
2. What will it look and feel like? (This is where branding and environment design matter.)
3. What will they walk away with? (A memory, a sample, a photo, a freebie, or a story to tell.)

And don’t forget about the five dimensions of experiential marketing I talked about earlier. You don’t need to include all of them, but try to engage your audience on multiple levels to create a richer, more memorable experience.

For instance, imagine a pop-up for a new coffee brand. You could engage multiple dimensions like this:

• Senses: Let people smell and taste different brews.
• Emotions: Create a cozy, welcoming vibe that makes visitors feel relaxed and happy.
• Thoughts: Share the story behind the coffee beans, how they’re sourced sustainably.
• Actions: Invite visitors to try brewing their own cup with expert guidance.
• Social: Set up a photo-worthy corner with branded props for sharing on Instagram and encourage people to tag the brand.

Boost the Effect with Social Media and PR

Use social media and digital channels before, during, and after your campaign to build hype and keep momentum going.

• Tease the event with sneak peeks or countdowns.
• Create branded hashtags to track conversations and encourage sharing.
• Share live updates, behind-the-scenes clips, and user-generated content during the event.
• After the event, post highlights and thank participants to keep the buzz alive.

Collect Data and Feedback

Finally, learn from your campaign as you execute it. Find ways to collect contact info — maybe through sign-ups, contests, or giveaways.

You can use QR codes to collect data easily and track engagement at physical events. For instance, you may link the QR code to a social media sharing prompt or branded hashtag campaign. It’s a convenient way for participants to create buzz, and an easy way for you to track it.

How to Measure the Success of Experiential Marketing Campaigns

This is a tricky one. But just because you can’t instantly tie the campaign to sales doesn’t mean you can’t track how well it’s doing.

Monitor the following:

• Attendance numbers and participation levels
• Social media mentions and branded hashtag usage
• Press and media coverage
• Volume and reach of content shares and user-generated content

On top of that, there are smart tactics if you really want to track the impact of experiential marketing on sales. For example, you can offer coupon codes to attendees for future purchases, use QR codes to link directly to special offers or landing pages, or encourage participants to join contests and share their contact info. These methods help connect the experience to measurable sales outcomes.

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Challenges and Risks of Experiential Marketing

Though effective, experiential marketing does come with its share of pitfalls.

High cost of execution

Events and experiences often require a significant budget for venues, staff, materials, and promotion. Given that you don’t usually expect direct sales, it’s a big upfront investment.

Logistical complexity

Because most experiential marketing campaigns happen in person, they can be much harder to manage than digital ones. You have to coordinate permits, vendors, timing, and technology — and if even one thing goes wrong, it can throw off the entire experience.

Limited scalability

Unless your experiential marketing campaign is digital, you’re limited to reaching people in one specific location. 

Risk of poor turnout

Well, lastly, there’s always the chance it won’t drive the traction you hoped for. That’s why it’s important to plan your budget wisely and have a backup plan — just in case things don’t go as expected.