Through creativity and a symphony of sights & sounds, you can ignite a spark that will transport your event audience to the realm of imagination. And it is what we love doing at JR Promotions.

Therefore, if you want to save your research time & energy, stay on this page because we compiled the 16 best Event Activation Ideas for you to utilize in your upcoming promotional functions.

Before you delve into the details of those ideas, explore our services at JR Promotions (South Africa). We are passionate about adding a WOW factor to below-the-line promotional campaigns using seamless & immersive marketing techniques. In addition, you can also join as a brand promoter.

What is brand Activation?

Brand Activation is a promotional event in which a company showcases its products and portrays its message to the target audience. These events bring the brands to life and involve many marketing strategies like product sampling, experiential marketing, and social media campaigns.

The main goal of these brand activations is to develop a connection between a brand and its target audience. Other than that, these events can also lead to benefits like improved brand loyalty, reputation, and customer retention.

What steps are involved in Behind-the-Scenes of Event Activations?

The 16 Best Brand Activation Ideas

There are many ideas to amaze your attendees at an event activation involving creative stations, product demonstrations, and many more. However, we have selected the 16 best Event Activation ideas for you to utilize in your upcoming promotional events.

On-Site Activation Ideas

Premium Branded Lounges

Having exclusive lounges is a popular feature of these events. These lounges are made by coordinating with the aesthetic theme of your brand and have comfortable seating spaces for people to relax & enjoy.

These lounges have many advantages for brand promotion because you can tailor them with phenomenal ideas like appointing brand promoters to connect with the audience, demonstrating the visuals of your band, and giving away free samples and discount vouchers.

Through these tricks or strategies, you can engage more people in the immersive experience of your brand. In return, they share their experience on social media, and your business gets more exposure than usual.

Meetup with Social Media Stars

Inviting Social Media celebrities and influencers is a trending feature of brand launches & activations. Usually, brands outreach to influencers having millions of social media followers, invite them to events and give them premium access to their products or services.

Here are some benefits of inviting the Social Media Starts to your brand activation events:

Personalization

Social media influencers can showcase your brand’s products through their perspectives & opinions. As a result, more people buy these products when they find them relatable.

Pre-event Promotion

These influencers can help you elevate the buzz & excitement of your event activation. Reach them before your event and ask them to promote it on their public profiles. This way, more people visit the event, and you get double the benefits.

Audience Engagement

Social Media Stars can engage your audience at the actual event. You can arrange a meet & greet section for them to communicate with people. Consequently, they can encourage the audience to buy your products, and you get an enhanced sales response.

Interactive Displays

Using Interactive Displays at brand activations is among the best user engagement ideas. These displays get created by combining the latest technologies and immersive elements to create an atmosphere of wonder and awesomeness.

The two best examples of the interactive displays commonly used at event activations are the following:

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual Reality experiences can add spark to your event because this technology is super engaging. The most common equipment for these experiences includes screens, handheld controllers, and a VR headset that provide a 360° view of the virtual world.

This technology can yield improved outcomes for your brand. Following are the two examples of how brands utilize VR for their event activations:

• Brands use this technology and allow the audience to participate in virtual contests. When people enter this realm, they feel like they’re playing in the real world – for example, in snowboarding competitions and the Olympics.
• Brands can also customize VR Experiences to promote their products. For example, a diving equipment brand can allow the audience to participate in a virtual diving experience using the respective products.

Augmented Reality (AR)

Besides Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality (AR) experiences also get used for creating interactive displays for the audience. These experiences work on the idea that by using technology, you can place virtual objects over real-world objects.

Many brands have been using this technology to engage their audience. Some examples are as follows:

• A zoological garden can use this technology to make people engage with exotic animals. This way, their audience can interact with them in a virtual world and also, and they can raise awareness about eco-friendly products.
• A brand belonging to the Automotive industry can promote the launch of its new car by using this technology. They can encourage the audience to participate in a test drive in the real world using Augmented Reality (AR) technology.

Art Galleries & Pop up Installations

Using art and pop-up installations at events is a popular idea for proposing your brand’s message to the audience. These ideas incorporate diverse artistic elements like immersive paintings, sculptures, interactive 3D art, and photographs.

An example of how brands incorporate pop-up installations at their events is as follows:

Let’s say you have a tourist company. You can develop a room with a multi-sensory pop-up installation showcasing the large photographs of your previous trips. This way, you can show the beautiful destinations to customers and encourage them to buy your trip plans.

Prize or Reward Stations

It is a human instinct that their behavior gets reinforced when they get a prize in return. You can use this idea to connect with your audience at your next event. These stations can be in different forms, like spin-to-win wheels & claw machines. Set up these stations at your events and encourage the people to interact and win sustainable prizes. This way, people remember your brand, share their experience with others, and your brand gets enhanced exposure.

Product Giveaways & Incentives

Likewise the reward stations, you can incentivize the customers with discount vouchers, signature products, and free samples. In addition to these incentives, you can organize free giveaways and collaborate with other small businesses. 

In addition to the on-site giveaways, you can also promote them before the actual event takes place. You can utilize social media channels for this purpose. As a result, more people get to know your brand and visit its event activation.

Gaming Arcade

Setting up gaming arcades at event activations has been a trending idea for many years. Usually, brands set up a separate corner where gaming machines get organized. 

Along with the games, you can make other uses of these arcades. For example, demonstrate your brand’s information to the audience using Augmented Reality glasses and arcade controller buttons. This way, you save money by creating two digital experiences with simple gadgets rather than large displays.

Silent Discos

This idea has been gaining popularity for its benefits. In Silent Discos, people use headsets through which they can hear the music of their liking. The best thing about this idea is that the music is audible only through these headphones, and only those who wear them can hear it.

So, silent discos reduce noise pollution and help you create a peaceful yet engaging environment for all the attendees. In addition to the music, you can demonstrate your brand’s message through these headphones resulting in better audience retention.

Escape Rooms

Having Escape Rooms at the event activations is a super interactive idea. In these rooms, people get locked for a set time. They collaborate and solve the riddles/puzzles to escape the room. In addition, these rooms can get modified using diverse themes depending on the brand. For example, a tech brand will prefer a Sci-fi theme over a horror theme and vice versa.

Theatrical Performances

This idea demands careful planning, attention to detail, and the right stage performers. However, theatrical performances are among the best ideas to create a long-lasting impact on the target audience. These performances can take different forms depending on how the brand wants to portray its message. For example, you can invite people on the stage for a more interactive experience. And in another example, you can create a stage show that showcases your product features and details.

Souvenirs Customization Stations

Giving away the souvenirs can add some extra money to your bills, but it is a way to build a connection with the audience. These souvenirs include mugs, cushions, t-shirts, and phone cases.

In addition to giving away these items, you can set up a section at your brand activation event where the audience can customize these souvenirs using a small 3D printer and digital tools. 

Live Stream Displays

If your brand demands a visual product demonstration, use live stream displays. These large screens can engage the event attendees to a great extent. On top of that, you can organize it in this way so that people who could not attend the event can also see the live stream through the internet.

In addition to product demonstrations, you can use these screens to display your event highlights and celebrity appearances. Plus, if you combine these displays with interactive gadgets, you can virtually allow the audience to interact with your products and vice versa.

Photo-booth & Selfie Station

Who among us doesn’t love capturing memories? Everyone loves taking pictures. Usually, it happens that people who visit the event activations accompany their friends and employees. So, you can help them create memories if you set up a separate corner having an aesthetic wall with a classic photo booth or a selfie station. It is one of the best ideas to make the audience fall in love with your brand.

Graffiti Walls

Graffiti walls are among the most exciting ideas for brand activations. You can easily set up these creative walls at your event by fixing a large blank canvas on a wall and putting some spray paints & markers for the audience to create their art on this wall.

An additional benefit of these walls is that they are compatible with many brand themes like fashion, sports, and music. These walls appeal to a wide range of target audiences and create a unique opportunity for them to collaborate and engage with each other.

Post-Event Activation Ideas

Special Offers & Loyalty Program

Post-event offers & customer loyalty programs are a great way to engage people. Many brands utilize this marketing strategy, and it always yields successful results. Besides that, you can also use this idea for on-site customer engagement. For example, encourage people to buy loyalty cards that they can utilize in buying your products and vice versa.

Exclusive Content

Offering post-event exclusive content is a unique idea that often gets ignored but has many marketing benefits. This content can be in the form of behind-the-scenes footage, panel discussions, and sneak peeks.

Offering such content to only some members makes them feel like they are an essential part of your brand’s community, and they feel responsible for sharing your brand’s message with their social circle. As a result, you get more exposure than usual for your brand.

And to keep this content exclusive, you can create on-site password-protected sections and private social media groups for sharing the content.

What are some Eco-friendly Event Activation Ideas?

Tips to Create a Perfect Environment at Brand Activations

Creating a fun environment at Brand Activations is essential to retain the audience’s attention. Following are some tips on how you can generate such an exciting environment:

Understand your Target Audience

Knowing the information about the target audience can help you craft more effective promotional techniques. For example, if you collect demographic information about your target audience, you can modify your event settings to their liking and maximize the ROI (Return on Investment) potential.

Use Creative skills

It is evident from the history of event activations that brands that use creative ideas for promotion are far more successful than those that do not focus on this aspect. Using creativity, you can maximize the benefits of experiential marketing. For example, you can create unique & personalized gifts for the audience and immerse them in the event using creative virtual reality experiences.

Stay updated 

It is human nature that people like to experience new things. Therefore, if you want your brand to create a long-lasting impact on the target audience, stay updated with the trends and use the latest technologies. For example, use social media tools and augmented reality experiences for brand activation events.

Encourage Eco-friendliness

As responsible global citizens, everyone should practice eco-friendly measures and encourage them through possible ways. You can also do it at your event activations. For example, motivate the audience to use biodegradable utensils, renewable resources, and green transportation.

If you encourage these practices, there are multiple benefits – people develop trust in your brand & share it among their social circle – resulting in better product sales & profit.

The Do’s & Don’ts of Event Activations

FAQs

What are Activation Ideas?

Activation ideas are the strategies used by promotional companies to engage customers and audiences. These ideas get implemented at different promotional events and have diverse options. For example, companies offer discounts and arrange gaming stations at promotional events like Expos & Exhibitions.

What are examples of Brand Activations?

Here are some examples of Brand Activations:

• Setting up Eco-friendly stations to portray brand awareness in a positive light
• Uploading engaging event-teasers on social media profiles
• Engaging your target audience through Virtual Reality experiences

What are some examples of successful Brand Activations at Sporting Events?

Promoting your products at a Sporting event is among the best ideas because these events get super-exciting with a youthful audience. Here are some examples of brand activation ideas for these events:

• An Augmented-reality station put up by “Nike” that included customized jersey stations and allowed the audience to participate in a virtual Basketball contest.
• A facial recognition system developed by “Samsung” matched the faces of the audience with famous Olympic athletes having similar facial features.
• A personalized campaign created by “Coca-Cola” in which people decorated the bottles with their names and shared their pictures on social media.

What are Activation Events?

Activation Events or Brand Activations are the experiences created by promotional companies to launch a new brand or to promote products. These events are usually experiential and connect the audience with the brand’s message and vision. Some examples of such events include pop-up shows, road shows, retail store activations, and sampling programs.

What Event Activation Ideas Can I Use for a Successful Roadshow Event?

Looking to plan roadshow events with expert tips? Here are some activation ideas for a successful roadshow event. Collaborate with local influencers to generate buzz and attract a larger audience. Create interactive experiences such as photo booths or virtual reality stations to engage attendees. Leverage social media platforms for promotion and live coverage. Provide branded merchandise or exclusive discounts to enhance participant experience.

To Conclude – The 16 Best Event Activation Ideas

To summarize, there are endless possibilities for creating a long-lasting impact on event attendees. From pre-event teasers and personalized invitations to on-site interactive stations, every idea can create a fun environment for your target audience.

And if you want to add more flurry to the excitement, invest in on-site theatrical performances and virtual reality screens. And lastly, you can connect with the audience through feedback surveys and engaging questionnaires.

Thank you for reading, and contact us at JR Promotions to get the best activation services for your next event in South Africa. From in-store activations to youth marketing, and expos, we will help you with all promotional services and would love to hear from you soon.