“We do 10 times more experiential than we did five years ago,” Jon Cook, global CEO of VMLY&R, which will be rebranded VML in 2024, told Adweek. “And since the return of events, brands are using experiential as a way to reintroduce themselves into the lives of consumers.”
The move is driven by the potential impact, with Mignott noting a significant “uptick in the amount of legacy brands that are going full force into experiential, I think in large part because it converts and it’s a core element to driving sales, CRM and brand awareness,” she said. “Experiential is a conduit to earned media and a chance to build deeper relationships with consumers.”
Post-lockdown demand has surged, with a recent study from Experian finding that 63% of Gen Z and 59% of millennials would rather spend money on “life experiences” like travel and concerts than save for retirement. Overall spending on experiences has jumped by 65% in the U.S. between 2019 and 2023, per a Mastercard Travel Industry Trends Report that showed the strength of the category despite an uncertain economy.
Physical activations provide an antidote to today’s ever-present ChatGPT and deepfakes, according to James Robinson, global chief strategy and product officer at Momentum Worldwide.
“As things on screens become more artificial, a human interaction with a brand that can’t be faked is becoming more important,” said Robinson.
2023’s winning trends
Against that backdrop, there was no shortage of activations vying for the fifth annual Adweek Experiential Awards. Judges inside and outside the company sifted through scores of entries, cherry-picking winners across a range of categories including Best Use of Video, Best Community-Focused, Best Mobile and Best Use of Partnership.
Because of timing, the Kitchen Nightmares smashtacular, “Squid Game: The Trials,” and Neiman Marcus’ high-end bobbles weren’t in the contender group. Keep an eye out, though, because they could end up among next year’s cream of the crop.
Several common threads emerged from 2023’s winners, though each project took its own unique route to meeting a brand brief, drawing in participants and producing results. Read on for a peek into the latest trends, and check out write-ups for each winner here.
Solving real-world problems, aka showing your humanity
Experiential often equates to entertainment, and there’s plenty of demand for pure-fun pop-up installations, whether it’s a creepy “Huluween” haunted house or a re-creation of Graceland’s iconic jungle room outside Elvis’ hometown.
Some programs, though, intend to solve a nagging societal or community problem in an inventive way, leading with practicality or heart, or both.
Two-time Cannes winner “The Brake Room,” from Chick-fil-A and McCann, wore compassion on its sleeve, developing a comfortable, functional, safe space for New York’s food delivery workers to rest between gigs. The project, which became a media phenomenon with 1.8 billion impressions, may repeat in the cold winter months ahead.
Far from being proprietary about the project, the agency’s team hopes the idea is widely copycatted by brands, entities and local governments. “Inspiring others was very much the point,” Larry Platt, executive vice president and global executive creative director, told Adweek. “We wanted it to be an example of what’s possible.”
