The relationship between PR teams and experiential marketers has the power to turn two-dimensional narratives into moments that really resonate with audiences, as long as they work together. Zach Perles, Director of Business Development at Industria Creative, illustrates how the synergy between the two drives brand success and amplifies overall marketing impact, emphasizing the imperative for these disciplines to work hand-in-hand as integral components of a brand's communication strategy.
Storytelling – it’s at the heart of what we do as marketers, in conjunction with and on behalf of our brand partners. But passively “telling” a narrative is no longer enough in such an information-saturated and ever-fragmented media landscape. It is increasingly critical that brands are not only clear on their narratives, but also provide their intended audiences the means, environment and occasion to actively “live” these brand stories. Only then will brands enjoy messages that penetrate emotionally and create actionable behavior.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that as both the shaping and activation of brand narratives becomes increasingly vital for marketers, it is critical that two distinct disciplines – public relations and experiential marketing – continue to come together to contribute their unique strengths towards a symbiotic partnership. This synergistic relationship is proven to drive brand success and amplify the impact of overall marketing efforts.
At Industria Creative, we are fortunate to be able to call multiple public relation outfits our partners and collaborators in the truest sense.
When Fancy Feast was looking to further solidify the brand’s message of leadership in highest quality and ingredients within its feline foods portfolio, we worked in conjunction with our friends at Golin to dramatize this message by opening a fully functioning, exclusive and elevated seasonal (human) trattoria in New York City’s West Village, called Gatto Bianco. Alongside world-renowned chefs and Fancy Feast’s Culinary Director, lucky reservation holders (via OpenTable) were treated to a truly immersive experience: a five-course tasting menu and culinary education designed to showcase the care, quality and integration of ingredients Fancy Feast sources and utilizes to create flavor profiles for their four legged consumers. The result was deeper emotional and physical connectivity through guest experience and earned media placement across a wide array platforms – from food publications to late night television – connecting Fancy Feast to highest quality ingredients, R&D and product development efforts.
When L’Oréal Paris wanted to mark a milestone anniversary for its Infallible Fresh Wear foundation product going viral on TikTok, the solution was not to simply distribute a press release, but rather for the brand, Industria Creative and Alison Brod Marketing + Communications to work in partnership to design and activate an experience that celebrated this anniversary. The result was an all-day (tying back to the product’s 24-hour benefits) IRL and live-streamed activation from The Grove in Los Angeles where influencers, brand experts and consumers showcased the product through a telethon-like format – complete with talent performances, make-up tutorials and content creation vignettes. The result was broader awareness of the products, content creation and widespread sharing across TikTok and earned media channels.
In our best cases, Experiential and PR are seen as and act as extensions of each other's teams, where both entities acknowledge and appreciate each other for their core strengths and know that the best work is achieved when we work together to deliver and produce incredible narratives for our client partners.
It is when brand marketing teams have the foresight and keen understanding that we are not “vendors,” but rather specialists across a critical and growing communication discipline who need to have seats at initial planning sessions as overall objectives, messaging, calendars and – yes, budgets – are being outlined. It is then that the truest integrated ideation and most successful programs can be realized.
So as the appetite (and need) for audiences (whether general consumers, press/media, content creators, or trade partners) to immerse themselves in brand narratives continues to rise, the relationship between PR and experiential needs to continue to grow as well. It is imperative that we look for (and look out for), and engage one another – demand the other is in the room as early and as often as possible.
As we understand what it takes to deliver truly integrated and successful campaigns, one of the first questions we look to confirm if approached separately by a client is, “Who is your PR team?” It is also essential that as PR agencies are approached about activation communications programs, challenged by brand teams to deliver communications, to ask “Who is your experiential partner?”
Together, we can forge to deliver the most meaningful, most impactful work for our brand clients, and thus create the deepest connectivity and broadest coverage.
