Many companies do not have the resources to strategize for, plan, and implement an experiential marketing campaign. For this reason, companies often turn to an experiential marketing agency for assistance. But, there are many agencies that claim to be experiential marketing experts, so how do you know which is the right one for your brand? Ask these questions to narrow down your options and help you decide:

How do you select and train brand ambassadors?

Brand ambassadors will be the face of your brand at your experiential marketing event. They will be the ones who deliver your message, communicate with your audience, and create memorable experiences for your guests. To put it simply, they play an incredibly important role at events, which is why it’s so important that the agency you work with knows how to choose the right ambassadors and properly train them.

The experiential marketing agency should choose brand ambassadors that will be able to relate to your target audience. For instance, if your audience is older adults who are nearing retirement, hiring college-aged students is not the best idea. Likewise, choosing English-speaking brand ambassadors is not wise if the majority of your market solely speaks Spanish. What characteristics do they look for in a brand ambassador? How do they know when a brand ambassador is a good fit? Do they meet the brand ambassadors in person or conduct interviews over the phone? It’s crucial that you learn more about their process before trusting them to plan your experiential marketing event.

Once the right brand ambassadors are chosen, they must be trained. Experiential marketing agencies should have a plan in place to quickly and thoroughly train brand ambassadors before an event. Brand ambassadors need to learn about the brand’s products or services, their target audience, and the goals of the event. If they aren’t, the guests at your event may not connect with the ambassadors, get the information they need, or create memories tied to your brand.

How will we partner together?

We will handle the planning and execution of your event, however you may still want to be involved in the process so you can approve ideas. We will update you on the status of the event and make sure the plans are consistent with your brand’s message. You will have one main contact from our agency to ensure that your brand’s voice is heard during the planning process.

What type of clients have you worked with in the past?

It’s a good idea to learn more about the clients that an agency has worked with in the past to see if they have experience working with companies in your industry. This becomes even more important if you do business in an industry that is heavily regulated, such as healthcare. Healthcare companies should try to find a firm that has worked in the industry before so they understand the do’s and don’ts of marketing these products to consumers. For example, an inexperienced firm may not know that when promoting pharmaceuticals, they have to name all of the known risks and at least one approved use for the drug. If this information is not included on promotional handouts distributed at the event, this could become a major issue for your company later on.

How do you measure success?

If you’re allocating marketing dollars to an experiential marketing event, it’s important that you know the results once it’s over. If you are selling products or services at your event, it’s fairly simple to calculate the ROI. However, it’s much more difficult to do so when the goal of your event was to raise brand awareness or generate new leads. We will go over these different scenarios with you and discuss how we will measure success in each situation.

Are you really an experiential marketing agency?

This may seem obvious, but it’s important to find out whether the company you are interested in is truly an experiential marketing agency. Many marketing firms take on experiential marketing campaigns for their clients, but they also handle other types of marketing, such as print, digital, and TV. They may have the resources to plan and implement an experiential marketing event, but they won’t have the knowledge and experience that a true experiential marketing agency has. Look for an agency that only works with clients who are planning experiential marketing events instead of settling for one that dabbles in this type of marketing on the side.

Which of your events are you the most proud of?

Towards the end of your meeting with an experiential marketing agency, ask them what events they’ve enjoyed being a part of in the past. Then, find out what aspects of the event they enjoyed the most. Did they love generating buzz on social media leading up to the event? Or was their favorite part designing the graphics? The answer to this question will help you get a feel for how passionate the team is about experiential marketing. It will also help you learn about some of their previous work so you have a better idea of what they’re capable of pulling off for their clients.

If you’re in need of an experiential marketing agency, contact Factory 360 to ask us these questions and learn more about our company!