Are you looking to join the rapidly increasing number of brands taking their marketing efforts to the streets? Are you holding back because you think you can save money by doing it in-house? Whether you need to convince yourself, your team or your boss, these 8 reasons will show you why you need to hire an experiential marketing agency for your next brand activation.
1. Retain Complete Control
You define the agency’s role. An experiential marketing agency’s objective is to support you where you need it most. You have bigger things to focus on than tracking shipments, coordinating with activation sites or staff t-shirt sizes. An agency filters through the logistics so you focus on what’s important.
2. Score the Cream of the Crop
Agencies have the experience and connections to land you the best marketing vehicles, displays and brand ambassadors across the U.S. Great experiential marketing agencies will have an extensive inventory and network of supplies, vendors and talent that are well-seasoned in the industry. They have relationships in place that will help score the best prices for your budget, saving you the hours it takes to figure out what the market value for your need even is.
3. A Tried & True Process
Any master of their craft tests their methods and adjusts to optimize success. The more years in the industry, the more opportunity there is to boil down a tried & true turnkey event production and management process. You don’t have years to master event logistics, so hire a seasoned veteran!
4. Permits, Parking, Police
3 things no event planner loves to deal with; 3 things an agency will endure just for you.
5. Reporting to Your Boss
They want to know how many people showed up, how many samples were given out, how many posts to social media used your #hashtag, and all the other analytics needed to measure your return on investment (ROI). Tell an agency your key performance indicators and they’ll report the numbers!
6. It’s the Little Things
When you go to an agency that specializes in event logistics, you’re hiring experts of the event production industry: They know every ingredient, down to the fire extinguisher! Flowers, batteries, extension cords and dinner reservations for your team after the big launch are the small touches that make a difference.
7. Insurance
Ice cream can melt, tents can fly away, tires can go flat. A $2 million liability insurance plan keeps you covered when life happens.
8. On Time & On Budget
You’ll save both time and money when you outsource your brand activations. When your contract is signed, you have a team committed to keeping one eye on the calendar and the other on the bottom line. You’ll be notified of approaching deadlines and purchases will be made with your budget in mind.
In the end, you’re hiring experts to do expert work. As long as you hire an experiential marketing agency with a reputable list of clients, a diverse portfolio, and numbers that show results, you’ll be happy you avoided the headache and put your time and money in the hands of industry professionals.