Transform Your Car Launch Event with Experiential Marketing

What does a new car launch event and a theme park water ride have in common? They both need to make a splash. 

After all, each new model that an automotive brand launches represents countless hours of development and a significant investment. And, considering the competition, it can’t roll into the market undetected. It needs to make an impact and start generating a return. 

Fortunately, this is an excellent opportunity for experiential marketing to step in and be a game-changer for your brand. 

By giving your audience an immersive, memorable experience, you can engage them and help your launch resonate with them long after it’s over.

Here we’ll explain exactly what experiential marketing is and how you can use it to transform your car launch events, creating brand loyalty and driving sales.

What is Experiential Marketing?

Experiential marketing, also known as engagement marketing, is a type of marketing that favours an interactive experience as opposed to just delivering information to the consumer.

This way, potential customers can actually immerse themselves in and interact with the product or brand. This engages their senses or emotions and creates a meaningful connection that’s more substantial.

The Benefits of Experiential Marketing for Car Launch Events

When applied to car launch events, experiential marketing can be very beneficial for the following reasons:

1. It helps make your brand memorable: Advertisements can so easily become white noise. But, experiences are more likely to be remembered. So, a well-executed experiential marketing campaign can make your brand stand out in a crowded market.

2. It creates an emotional connection: A memorable experience can stir an emotional connection in your potential customers. And, through this connection, you stand a better chance of converting them into loyal customers.

3. Inspires social sharing: If your event is exciting and engaging, it will naturally prompt attendees to share their experiences on social media. This gives you genuine reach that requires no ad spend.

4. It makes your brand human: By being able to interact with your brand in a physical setting, customers see your brand as approachable and relatable. This helps foster trust, which can turn to loyalty.

5. It allows for genuine feedback: Direct interaction with your audience gives you instant feedback at the event as well as opening the door for post-event surveys. These can be highly useful both for product development and for future events.

Cars are interesting products in that they’re functional, but they’re packed full of feeling. 

Yes, you’re selling a form of transport. But, you’re also selling a lifestyle. 

A car can give you the freedom of the open road, the thrill of speed and acceleration, a higher status, or precious family time. 

And, if it’s harnessed correctly, this emotional aspect can be a highly valuable basis for an effective car launch event.

By incorporating the following elements into your launch, you give your new model the best chance of being a car that people want to be a part of their lives.

1. Create engagement ahead of the launch

In order for your car launch event to be as successful as possible, you need to create a buzz ahead of time. 

Fortunately, in the modern age, you’re spoiled for choice in terms of strategies. Use a mixture of traditional and digital platforms to reach your target audience and generate interest.

Your strategy could include teasers on billboards or social media, countdown emails, ticket giveaways, and invitations to celebrities, influencers, and notable media.  

2. Make your car launch interactive

Perhaps in the past, simply looking at a car was enough to convince someone that they wanted it. 

But, times have evolved. Modern consumers do more research before making purchasing decisions. So, it’s important to not only answer all their questions but also inspire them. 

And, a great way of inspiring people is through interaction.

Through modern technology it’s possible to put attendees in the driver’s seat at the launch event itself. An example of this could be offering virtual reality test drives, where attendees can experience the feel of the car on the spot.

You could also offer test drives or passenger rides with professional drivers, where attendees can really experience the car’s capabilities.

Interaction is useful in experiential marketing because it brings in an entertainment aspect. This helps increase attendee enjoyment and lets them feel less like they’re just being prompted to buy a product.

3. Showcase your brand with event design

For your launch, be sure to use design and technical production to transform the space into something that suits your brand and creates an environment that matches the appeal of the car model. 

An all-terrain vehicle could benefit from rugged terrain, whether it’s a designed set or an outdoor location. Conversely, a sports car would look at home in a neon showroom or on a race track. 

Everything about the setting should be designed to suit the feeling of the car. This should include the lighting, mood music, and venue layout.

The right design elements can mean the difference between just another launch and a memorable experience that resonates with attendees.

4. Increase your car launch event’s reach through social media

Your live launch event has the power to captivate attendees first-hand. But, you’re missing a big opportunity if you let it remain local. Through social media and professional video production, your event’s potential reach could be global.

Set up photo opportunities with the car that encourage social sharing, potentially using filters to place attendees in the car or place the car in environments that suit its style. 

Create a specific hashtag for the event and encourage guests to use it, possibly offering incentives for sharing, such as giveaways or discounts.

It is also a good idea to invite bloggers, influencers, and media to the event in order to gain added reach with their followings.

5. Engage attendees’ senses for an emotional response

Use sensory cues to tap into the emotions of attendees and help create the immersive experience you want to offer. You could do this through:

• Sights: These could include dramatic lighting, the design elements of the space, interactive displays, and virtual reality experiences.

• Sounds: These could be anything from mood music or driving sounds to musical performances.

• Tactile elements: Engage attendees through touch, letting them sit in the car and hold the steering wheel, experience real acceleration, or feel different materials that could be used in the interior.   

• Aromas: These could be the smell of a new car, the fragrance of the wilderness, or, for a high performance car, the smell of burning rubber or petrol. Even if used subtly, aromas can dramatically add layers of immersion.

• Tastes: If you’re serving food, theme it to the car model. These could be designer canapés or gourmet meals for a luxury car or picnic style snacks for a minivan.  

6. Continue marketing after the event

The effect of an event should last longer than the event itself. Maximise your launch’s impact by keeping the momentum going after the attendees have gone home.

You can do this by keeping in touch via email, offering exclusive content, discounts, information on future events, and requesting valuable feedback. 

This helps carry forward the momentum of the event and potentially create loyal customers. 

Successful Experiential Car Launches

Ford Go Electric Event

Ford’s Go Electric event is a great example of experiential marketing being used in a car launch.

At this event in London, the brand used an acceleration tunnel to help attendees experience the electric speed of the Ford Mustang Mach-E. They were strapped into a seat and shot down a 50-metre tunnel at the Mustang’s highest possible acceleration. 

Attendees were also able to better understand electric charging using interactive plug-in chargers that gave them bite-size information on the technology.

Ford Go Electric Event | 14th - 21st February 2020

Tesla Semi and Roadster Launch

When Tesla unveiled the Semi truck, the brand went big on production value. The event featured dramatic lighting, dance music, and an appearance from Elon Musk. 

It even wowed fans with a surprise reveal of the new Roadster, giving them a chance to experience its acceleration with a passenger ride alongside a racing driver.

FIRST RIDE in the NEW TESLA ROADSTER!! Semi Truck Event

Jaguar E-PACE Barrel Roll

Jaguar wasn’t satisfied with a simple reveal when it launched the E-PACE at London’s ExCel. Instead, the brand aimed to add some action and adrenaline to its image by staging a barrel roll, breaking the Guinness World Record in the process.

This was an excellent launch that had the knock-on effect of online reach, with over a million people watching the stunt in its first week online. 

FIRST RIDE in the NEW TESLA ROADSTER!! Semi Truck Event

Speak to Sleek 

Through interactive and immersive experiences, you can help your brand stand out from the competition and reach its target audience on a deeper level. At Sleek we can take your project  from concept to completion, ensuring your event stands the best chance of giving your audience a memorable experience.