Expo West was Great… Now What?
Welcome to the post-Expo West season. No doubt by now you’ve gone from the high of the Expo West energy – the intense tradeshow hours, retailer meetings, connecting with past colleagues, team dinners, after hours meet-ups, and VIP parties – and now you are left with the “real work” of figuring out what to do […]
When Is It Time to Let a Brand Ambassador Go?
Unless you’re a monster, letting people go is probably not your favorite part of the job. For many, the idea of letting a team member go gives them a nauseous feeling. But, ultimately, it’s important to your company and your team that every person gives 100%, including your brand ambassadors. In my experience, there’s no […]
How to Measure the ROI of Retail Demos
When clients come to us for retail demos, they often want to know how they can measure their ROI. It’s a valid and important question. At HFA, it’s imperative that our clients see a high ROI on their retail demo programs and experiential marketing activations. Our primary growth strategy is built on retaining long-term clients […]
Experiential Marketing: The #1 Key to Success
Location, location, location. It’s the most important factor in a real estate purchase and it’s just as important in experiential marketing. Choosing the location for your next experiential marketing event is the single most important factor that will lead to your event’s success…or lack thereof. To find the best location for an experiential marketing activation, […]
Benefits of Spot-Check Calls
One aspect of the experiential marketing industry that draws independently-minded individuals is the fact they get to operate as their own agents. Brand ambassadors choose their shifts, and often work without management on site. It takes a very dependable and trustworthy person to work in this kind of environment. Unfortunately, not everyone is cut […]
The Top 5 Reasons Brand Ambassadors are Late…And How to Avoid Them
5 minutes until the event starts. No brand ambassador. “It’s ok…they still have 5 minutes to get here, but I’ll bet we are swamped as soon as the doors open.” 1 minute until the event starts. “Eeeek…where are they? The doors are opening any second…” 1 minute after the event starts. “I see the […]
The Lesson We’ve Learned Twice
A few years ago, we implemented an unpopular policy with our demo clients. We began requiring a minimum number of visits per store – 6 to be exact. This means if a client wanted to add a store to their store list, we required them to complete 6 demos at that store within the first […]
5 Ways to Increase the ROI of Your Experiential Marketing Campaign
Before launching any kind of experiential marketing program, almost all our potential clients ask us how we measure their ROI. Usually, the question behind the question is, “Are you going to help me grow enough to offset the cost of the activation?” The ROI on experiential marketing campaigns is notoriously difficult to measure. However, with […]
The Origin of HFA
“Who are these people and why are they at my event?” I was 26 years old, touring with the largest sponsors of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. Each of our clients invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into their activations. It was my job to make sure that investment produced the highest returns possible. My […]
5 Ways to Integrate Digital Marketing with Experiential
Should we invest in digital or in-person marketing events? The brands we work with are constantly asking themselves this question. They often come to us when they’ve decided to go all in with in-person events. But it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Digital and experiential marketing can play nicely together. One can enhance […]
Why Premium Products Need Education-Focused Activations
Imagine you walk into a fancy store, and you see some special, expensive things on the shelves. You’re curious about them, but you’re not sure if they’re worth buying because they cost more. Do you take a chance? Not likely. But what if there was a brand ambassador there letting you actually try the product, […]
When Should You Start Planning Your 2024 Demos?
While our friends and family are planning their New Year’s Resolutions, those of us in the health and fitness industry are working hard to make sure those goal-setters are set up for success! We’re filling orders to stock the shelves, setting up promotions for retailers, and when January 1 comes, we’ll be out there passing […]
How to Avoid Out of Stocks at Your Retail Demos
There’s nothing more defeating than having a demo scheduled, showing up, and then there’s not enough product. It’s a bummer for everyone involved. The retailer wishes they had product for you to sell. The brand, obviously, wants to sell product to increase velocity in that retailer. And the brand ambassador goes home without having made […]
4 Policies that Help Us Keep Great Brand Ambassadors
We believe passionate, well-educated, driven brand ambassadors are the key to success for any experiential marketing program – from product sampling at key retailers to large-scale activations at music festivals. Without the energy great brand ambassadors bring to events, you will be fighting an uphill battle in creating memorable engagements with your target consumer. At […]
Remember – It’s Not About You: Putting Customers First in Experiential Marketing
We may be biased, but we believe in today’s marketing landscape, there is nothing as exciting as putting together an innovative, engaging experiential marketing campaign. When done well, creating unforgettable brand experiences is a win/win for the brand and the consumer. But here’s the thing: to truly connect with consumers, you need to put them […]
Are Higher Traffic Events Always the Right Fit?
When we meet with an experiential marketing client about a new campaign, we always start by asking them what their goals are for the program. They almost always focus on a high number of engagements – handing out pallets of samples, capturing thousands of email addresses, or having an entire music festival walk through their […]
Incorporating Your Brand Story into Your Experiential Marketing
We all know it’s important to have a brand story, right? All founders have a reason why they started their businesses, but unless you share this with people, they’ll never know it! That’s a huge miss because consumers today want to connect with your “why.” The brand story is what makes people connect with your […]
Major Trends in Experiential Marketing
If you want to connect with your target consumers on a deeper and more personal level, experiential marketing is a powerful tool. This has been true for decades. But with developments in technology, changes in consumer preferences, and the deep desire for connection, the way brands are successfully building these relationships is changing. In today’s […]
How to Make Your Experiential Marketing Earth-Friendly
In today’s world, where environmental concerns are at the forefront, businesses and marketers have a responsibility to make sustainable choices. Experiential marketing is no exception. By incorporating sustainability into experiential marketing campaigns, brands can demonstrate their commitment to environmental responsibility while engaging and connecting with their target audience. In this blog post, we will explore […]
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, […]
