The Contingency Plan IS the Plan: Welcome to 2020 - The New Age of Experiential Marketing.

We can see the scramble and the way video and technology contingency plans are currently being used for so many Brands that have had to cancel live and in-person experiential marketing events in light of the COVID-19 crisis.

The irony of the race to deliver a physical-natured experience to a remote audience in today’s world is that the design process for space planning has ALWAYS required 3D designs and virtual tools. Designers who work in fabrication, set design and other physical elements are all familiar with the challenges of creating models that must be built to scale in reality and know well how virtual tools have played a role in the design process before delivering the final product to their clients.


Take for example, during the design process while working on the Delta Airlines CES2020 experience, our firm, [a] Non Agency, decided to use Virtual Reality (VR) to both solve a business challenge and provide better decision making tools as part of the design and concept development processes. During the user experience design process, we needed the Client to understand how the CES Booth visitors would experience the physician space. But our world doesn't always afford us the luxury of time to build models and rework floor plans over a period of six months, our Client needed to virtually experience the space throughout the various design stages. This is when we saw the opportunity and made a decision to introduce VR as a key tool for our collaborative process while creating an internal and client facing value add.


Looking ahead, that very core element of the design process has become the foundation for the next generation of VR experiences. And the future has already arrived, with the changes in our world that COVID-19 has prompted.


Now, live video content and pre- or post-promotion tactics, which may once have been segmented channels, will now need to be integrated into the full experience of the event that a Brand or client needs to activate using VR technology at a minute's notice. As we saw in the days leading up to the breakdown of in-person experiences and more generally, living, clients must now expect contingency tools – like VR – to be built into any consumer-facing experiential marketing strategy.


Likewise, user generated content will need to adapt to real time, two-way dialogue and 'privacy unveiled' environments. The vision forward is to leverage VR to not only advance the design process, but to create efficiencies and help clients make better business decisions, including:


REDEFINE CONTENT CREATION –Now Content needs to be supportive of the actual consumer experience and emotions tied to that experience. Brands must redefine their content using social influencers who can drive a substantial conversation about the reason for the consumer to believe in their Brand and not about driving them to a physical space.


The INFLUENCER REDEFINED - Now that we have had to force ourselves to opening up our homes on live video to conduct business and share our stories, we have experienced feeling exposed at times and allowed this very genuine experience to break through traditional barriers. As a result, a good portion of a Brand’s audience will now want to see an influencer in his or her authentic space. It's a different reality TV generation that will not buy into the staged reality.


SPACE RELEVANCY REDEFINED - VR can help a client understand how a consumer experiences their Brand in large spaces even if the Brand only has the budget for a small space, such as a window display. Your design should be modular and using VR, be able to right fit the large-space experience where consumers are.


REPRIORITIZE YOUR BRAND AMBASSADORS - Our ethos stems from an Albert Einstein quote, "Creativity is contagious. Pass it On." We are building and creating valuable assets and tools throughout the lifecycle of a project. Historically, Agencies and Brands don't share the work in process. Why are we limiting all of this to the final build, portfolio case studies and awards submission? Why not agree that this should be shared with your most important Brand Ambassadors - your employees.


Interested in sharing experiences and forward thinking thoughts about leadership? Let's connect! https://www.linkedin.com/in/evmichellecollins/