That time of year has arrived: to reflect on the past 12 months and ponder what the future has in store.

Spoiler alert (in case our blog title wasn’t obvious enough): we did just that.

Experiential Marketing continues to be a space where technology plays a key role in how brands derive value from their activations. It probably won’t come as much of a surprise that most of our 2019 predictions are centered around technology.

Here’s where we think experiential marketing is headed over the next 365 days:

1) The popularity of Augmented and Virtual Reality continues. We already see a lot of these engagement technologies because they are highly effective at attracting consumers to displays, so be prepared to see them become more commonplace and go far beyond gaming (which has been their primary application).

2) Experiential will need to play nicely with DMPs. As companies and agencies continue their investment in data management platforms (DMPs) for traditional and digital marketing, it only makes sense to have experiential marketing data join the party to enhance the marketing intelligence, which ultimately ends up with laser-focused campaigns that track and act upon the consumer journey.

3) Events will incorporate region-centric elements. Cities across the U.S.A. are really embracing their individuality these days. Instead of deploying the same experience from city to city, we might see variations that could incorporate a live music theme in Nashville or surfing in So Cal. Acknowledging the culture and customs of the local market adds authenticity and relevance to the experience, which ultimately leads to better throughput.

4) Fewer lines, more reservations will keep consumers happy. For our daily chores, technology has made the concept of waiting in line extra painful. Having total transparency into dinner reservation times, haircut appointments, or troubleshooting your latest technology woes has become an expectation. With the right technology, events shouldn’t be any different, so anticipate more options to schedule interaction at an event (as opposed to just showing up and waiting for it).

5) A single source of consumer data will become a non-negotiable. Let’s be honest for a moment: experiential events exist to create customers, and part of that effort involves deploying a method for being able to interact with them. Consumers don’t like repetition, so it’s a bit antiquated to think they will be happy submitting names *and* emails *and* phone numbers multiple times at a single event. Having the capability where this activity is one-and-done will be a trend.

So there you have it – our five predictions for 2019. Trust us, there’s no crystal ball or time machine in our office; however, we are confident that integration of technology within a brand’s experiential strategy will continue to be integral to achieving marketing objectives.

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