Experiential Marketing: When More is More
The saying less is more is true…sometimes. But sometimes, you have to toss aside that old adage and go big! At large-scale events, where dozens, or even hundreds, of brands are competing for attention, if you don’t stand out, you’ll be lost in the shuffle, and you can expect your ROI on the event to […]
How to Find the Right Brand Partner for Retail Demos
If you’ve read many of our blogs, you’ve probably seen that one of our recommendations for cutting down the cost for experiential marketing activations is to find a like-minded brand to go in on it with you. We’ve seen beautiful partnerships grow over the years, but we’ve also seen some…well… “irreconcilable differences.” If you’re not […]
How to Get the Best Brand Ambassadors at Big Events
Large experiential marketing events take months of work. Budgeting, negotiating, applying for permits, tracking shipments – it’s enough to drive anyone bonkers. And even if you nail all those logistics leading up to your event, there’s one piece of the puzzle that will make or break your event day: your staff. Today we’re sharing […]
6 Ways to Ensure High-Quality Events
We pride ourselves in executing high-ROI experiential marketing events and retail demos. As much as we’d love to say ongoing, high-performing execution comes naturally to us, that wouldn’t be truthful. It actually takes a lot of work to deliver consistent results. A LOT of work. We spend hours each week poring through data, both quantitative […]
Is Guerrilla Marketing Right for Your Business?
If you want to get a lot of samples out fast in a cost-effective way – you’re probably considering guerrilla marketing. The planning is relatively simple compared to other styles of experiential marketing. 1. Assemble a street team. 2. Load them up with thousands of samples. 3. Send them into the oncoming traffic at a […]
Why Do Costco Roadshows? … and how to knock them out of the park
If your products are in Costco, you know velocity matters. If you want to stay on the shelves, your product needs to move…fast. You’ve got to consistently outpace your competition or risk losing your coveted spot. So, how do you move your products? We recommend Costco roadshows. Costco roadshows combine the benefits of experiential marketing […]
How Your Brand Ambassadors Can Make the Most of a Slow Demo
We aim to crush sales every single demo. We bet you do too. But sometimes the weather is crummy, your local baseball team is in the playoffs, or there’s a zombie apocalypse right outside the retailer’s front door. Ok – for that last one, we just wanted to make sure you were paying attention. But, […]
Events or Retail Demos – Which is Right for Your CPG brand?
I’ve become a lifetime purchaser of several products I first tried at a product sampling. Beet Elite (now Superbeets) has been part of my running supplement regimen for years, after being educated about its effect on endurance at an event at my running group. Lupini Beans introduced themselves to my salads when I tried them […]
These Communication Tips Will Increase the ROI of Your Experiential Marketing Activation
We call ourselves an experiential marketing agency. Really, we are communicators – master communicators. When you work with 1,000 brand ambassadors, hundreds of stores, dozens of clients, and an internal team, you have a lot of opportunities to sharpen your communication skills. Based on feedback from brand ambassadors and clients, we’ve realized that our communication […]
7 Tips to Make the Most of Expo West
Is it just us, or does Natural Products Expo West feel more like a family reunion than a trade show? New products, old friends, early mornings, and late nights. Our team looks forward to this industry celebration every year. In our decade of attending this event, we’ve seen brands crush it at Expo and we’ve […]
How to Find the Perfect Brand Ambassador
One of the many questions I’m asked during new business meetings is “how does HFA find their brand ambassadors?” This is such a great question because how exactly do we find the “perfect” candidate for your unique brand when we work with a variety of brands? Let me tell you, it’s not a one size […]
What Goes Into the Perfect Training Deck?
Did you know there are four learning styles: Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, and Kinesthetic? Have you ever taken the time to explore your learning style? It may differ greatly from your best friend, sibling, co-worker, or spouse. When training new brand ambassadors for your experiential marketing activations, it’s extremely beneficial your brand training deck is aligned […]
Four Ways to Activate at SXSW
“Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours.” – Elton John If there’s one week that cements Austin’s title as the “Live Music of the World” it’s the second week of March, when South by Southwest, or SXSW as it’s more commonly known, descends on […]
Recommended Reading for a Promotion
If you have your heart set on a promotion at your workplace, you’re probably doing everything in your power to show up as a star employee. You’re meeting your deadlines, going above and beyond for your team, and showing up early. You’re filled to the brim with ideas to take the company to the next […]
3 Must – Ask Questions When Hiring a Brand Ambassador
How would you describe your ideal brand ambassador? Engaging? Knowledgeable?Passionate? Us too. We all agree that it’s critical the person representing your brand in face-to-face interactions embodies your brand’s personality. But how can you find this unicorn? It’s all about asking the right questions. Not sure what to ask? Try these! 1. What is something […]
How to Improve Brand Ambassador Retention
Turnover in the experiential marketing industry is high – very high. Most brand ambassadors have other primary commitments, like school, a full-time job, or auditioning for acting or dancing roles. When the demands of one of those roles increases, they’ll usually drop their side hustle like a hot potato. And this turnover is costly for […]
Tips for Relaunching Your Demo Program
While many people are enjoying eggnog and hot chocolate, many of our clients are busy plugging away at spreadsheets and finalizing budgets for the new year. Like many other health-minded brands, some of our clients took a break from demos during the holidays and are gearing up to relaunch their demo programs in January. If […]
The Devil’s in the Details
When you work in the experiential marketing world, there’s never a dull moment. Sometimes a hurricane rolls in on the day of your outdoor activation. Sometimes you use hay to soak up the water left behind by the hurricane rains, only to discover your tour manager is severely allergic to hay. Sometimes you are trying […]
Trade shows: 4 tips to plan
Trade shows have returned. Are you ready? Working business development for Health and Fitness Activations, I have the pleasure of conversing with many companies about their go-to-market strategy. Occasionally companies will have ideas already fleshed out and only need Health and Fitness Activations to bring the ideas they have on paper to life. More often, […]
