In 2024, brands are at a critical and inflection point. Global mobility and the rising demand for personalization means that consumers are having more choice than ever before.

The global economic shift on consumer spending and evolution of technology with AI being a pivotal introduction, leaves brands asking several questions; How do they penetrate the psychology of consumers and keep their attention long enough for a purchase to happen? How do they go beyond the product offering to ensure retention exists? What does it mean to create experiences that matter to a consumer group with shifting attitudes, multilayered cultural nuances and inter-generational economic demands?

At AVANTAGRDE our Experience Marketing team has been addressing these questions with our clients and one key take-away has been through establishing marketing campaigns that builds an experience at every touch point, whilst also reinforcing brand culture and harnesses the power of brand communities. Beyond innovative creativity and mere logo placement, our team has been focusing on how to redefine Experience Marketing that drives commercial results.

Under the direction of Brand Marketing Director, Kubi Springer, the AVANTGARDE Experience Marketing team have supported clients to focus on the emotional connectivity needed before, during and after the campaign to drive KPIs and build an effective retention strategy. It’s not just about marketing communication, it’s about experience marketing and how communication and creativity flow in a synergized manner to penetrate the hearts of the desired audience.

Reflecting on where the ideal began, Kubi references the work she did in 1996 with Nike on their now infamous ‘Nike Midnight Madness’ campaign. Just at the beginning of her career when she worked on this, Kubi notes the importance of what they did, and how this focus still holds relevance today.

“The brilliance of Nike was that they understood, back in 1996, how to utilize the skill of Michael Jordon, the competition element of basketball and the culture of hip-hop to build a community at the intersection of sport, aspiration, empowerment and lifestyle.”

Working on this campaign, Kubi was at the forefront of seeing how each phase from pre-launch to event, to post, proved crucial in bringing the experience alive and contributed to the overall success of the Nike X Jordan campaign. It was the beginning of Jordan’s entry into the urban cultural zeitgeist.

Drawing from that formative chapter of her career, Kubi used the formula of identifying intersections for emotional connectivity, to address the challenges of brand building in 2024. At AVANTGARDE, one of our most notable projects, LIWA Village in 2022 and 2023, which focused on that principle to attract over 78,000 attendees to the festival in year one and over 100,000 in year two.

Nestled in the Liwa Desert in Abu Dhabi, this winter motorsport and family festival offered a harmonious blend of retail, dining, entertainment, and heritage. With a focus on culture, pride and togetherness the intersection of tradition and sport yielded resounding success.

From strategic partnerships with influencers to ignite anticipation and cultivate a community in the pre-launch phase, to a collaboration with the iconic Fast and the Furious actors for FuelFest to ignite dialogue across social platforms, to sponsor activations that immersed visitors in the on-ground and online experience. The Experience Marketing approach resulted in over 100,000 visitors in the span of just a month, ingraining the man-made oasis city deeply within the Emirati culture.

In both these cases, whether it was the key visual, messaging, OOH, digital/social strategy, PR, partnerships, it was the identification of the brand culture, the right intersection and emotional connectivity, that helped bring the experience to life well before the audience even arrived at the first touchpoint.

The essential purpose of Experience Marketing is not limited to creativity. It’s about how creativity drives an emotive experience at every touchpoint, that drives your brand KPI’s. As Kubi aptly believes, “Creativity that doesn’t drive responses, is rendered useless.”

To achieve this, CMO’s and Marketing directors need more integrated and all-rounded solutions for their campaigns.

“The cultural landscape, regionally or globally, is far more multi-layered and nuanced than it’s ever been. To be able to cater to shifting global trends and to be able to place your brand right at the heart of these cultural intersections, a holistic experience focused approach, that’s rooted in the brand essence and harnesses the power of community is the way.” Kubi Springer concludes.