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I’m bullish the next wave for brands is community, activations, experiences, competitions, and commitments. So, over the next two newsletter issues, I’m going to share my predictions and how you can take advantage of it.

And a big thank you to ALT TERRAIN for partnering with us and letting us create media for a livin’.

Get your brand in front of 200,000+ marketers & founders.

In partnership with ALT TERRAIN

Creating Week’s Worth of Content:

Recently, I was studying Liquid Death.

And the one thing that immediately jumped out?

How Liquid Death continues to invest in IRL brand activations.

Why do these IRL experiences work so well?

Besides being 100x easier to capture customers' attention IRL vs online, brands like Liquid Death get weeks worth of content from these IRL activations.

From behind-the-scenes preparations to live-streaming events.

Every moment is captured and turned into short-form content that’s perfect for social.

And with ALT TERRAIN, creating these IRL activations has never been easier.

With 10+ years of expertise, ALT TERRAIN has helped brands like Liquid Death and Converse create world-class IRL experiences.

Curious what this could look like for your brand?

Marketing Examined readers get a custom activation plan to see what a successful IRL campaign could look like.

In 2020, remote work took off. Duh. But this accelerated our digital consumption. More content consumption, creation, and engagement. Now, you feel the shift occurring. What’s old is new. Yes, we’re consuming more content than ever. But brands are investing more and more into community events, activations, and IRL experiences.

Why?

Because the digital landscape lacks the bond building a brand can build with a customer IRL.

Think about it:

Content can last seconds > IRL experiences can last hours to a day.

You barely remember content > IRL experiences imprint memories in our minds.

Consuming content can feel mindless > IRL experiences create associations with specific memories.

Does that mean ditching all the content efforts for IRL experiences? F*ck no.

It means it needs to be part of the funnel. But here’s the thing - the funnel doesn’t end at acquisition. It actually never ends. Because the goal is to transition from acquisition to affinity.

But affinity is something you’re forever building. The good part is that it compounds. Because the more affinity you build with someone, the more they’ll buy and recommend you.

Which is why we’re talking about IRL experiences today.

Because it fast-tracks affinity. And if you do it right, it transitions from IRL to URL organically.

So lemme show you some examples.

Kith x NFL

Kith originated in New York. So, inking a collab with the New York Giants to kick off the 2023-2024 season was special. And so it needed a special activation in the streets of NY to really anchor the campaign.

So, they hit up our friends at ALT TERRAIN to cook something up. ALT TERRAIN then pitched the idea of a mobile showroom with a sleek, glass-walled truck that’d serve as an extension of Kith's in-store experience, elegantly showcasing the apparel collection.

Then the trifecta to create all the hype needed to make it a success:

• Partnership Collabs (NFL posted content)

• Organic Content

• Influencers & Athletes

I love activations like this because they bring a brand’s value and experience to life, which creates brand camaraderie. Something that’s very hard to put a price tag on.

Reebok x Wodapooloza

Reebok went into this activation with a challenge. A competitor beat them to sponsoring Wodapooloza (a fitness event) but they still wanted to launch their new shoe, the Nano x4 at Wodapooloza.

So, they didn’t only plan an activation, they planned an ambush. An ambush that would get their product not only into people’s hands but into the event.

This is why they decided to implement a swap-out strategy.

Out with the old. In with the new.

Visit the Reebok truck, give them your current training shoes, and they’ll give you a brand new pair of Reebok Nano x4s.

This campaign was about three pillars:

1. Visibility & Distribution - This got Reebok’s new trainers on 1000+ people’s feet.

2. Word of Mouth - Friends tell their friends how to get new training kicks.

3. Cementing the Brand - Reebok wanted to be taken seriously in fitness culture.

Another killer activation by the crew at ALT TERRAIN.

Why Invest In Activations As A Brand

There are three core reasons:

1. Association - You want your brand associated with core moments in someone’s life. Every New York Giants NFL kickoff is a big deal/moment. Kith getting to piggyback off this moment puts them at the heart of it which is monumental for turning bystanders into customers and customers into fans.

2. Memories - Association is the root of a core memory. These activations are more than just micro-moments spent with a person. When done right, they imprint a memory in a customer’s mind that can’t be replaced.

3. Affinity Building - Activations bring brands to life in a world dominated by a digital landscape. This accelerates the path from awareness to affinity in a way that can’t be duplicated digitally.

So, if you’ve spent time and money driving eyeballs, and pushing people down your funnel but haven’t spent enough time driving affinity, then I highly recommend my friends at ALT TERRAIN to create, strategize, and execute your IRL activations.

And/or to make it part of your brand’s growth strategy.

They’ve worked with hundreds of brands like Kith, Reebok, Google, Rag & Bone, and Disney+ to put together activations that people never forget.

You can hit them up here for an idea or to get a quote.

Appreciate you reading,

Alex G