Brand Activation: Definition, Examples & Strategies

Brand activation is one of the marketing strategies believed to be effective in increasing the brand awareness of a product/service. 

In the continuously evolving marketing landscape, this strategy serves as an innovative approach with the goal of strengthening the relationship between a brand and its target customers. 

It focuses on direct interaction and personal customer experience, distinguishing it from traditional, more passive marketing approaches.

Brand activation strategy is considered the best option for brands aiming to build emotional connections with consumers and enhance the impact of campaigns in the real world. To gain a comprehensive understanding of what is brand activation, its functions, and its strategies, you can delve into the following explanation.

What is Brand Activation?

If you are a business enthusiast, you've probably heard about what is brand activation, right? 

Brand activation strategy is a form of marketing promotion involving direct interaction between a brand and its target audience. 

Given its direct engagement with potential consumers, this marketing strategy is considered effective in raising awareness about a brand. 

In general, it is highly beneficial for new brands still defining their target audience but it can also be adopted by well-established brands to strengthen their position and positive image.

Brand Activation Functions

Examining this marketing strategy from a broader perspective reveals it as an ideal choice for brands seeking to craft distinctive and enduring impressions in the minds of consumers. 

The direct engagement between consumers and brands presents a valuable opportunity for a brand to communicate its values and showcase commitment. 

In order to delve into additional goals of this marketing strategy, you can consider exploring the following key aspects.

1. Increasing Brand Awareness

One of the main functions of this strategy is to enhance brand awareness among the target audience on a broader scale. 

Brand awareness is a crucial foundation for the long-term success of a company's marketing strategy. 

Through direct interaction with consumers, a brand can create engaging and relevant experiences, allowing the target audience to become more familiar with the brand. 

Thus, this activation strategy is an effective step to help a brand increase consumer awareness of its existence and advantages.

2. Get More Engagement 

Another primary function of this strategy is to create direct interaction and invite a higher engagement rate. 

With this activation strategy, businesses can involve their target audience through various activities, such as exhibitions or promotions in crowded public spaces.

3. Build Positive Perceptions

This strategy can strengthen a business's position against its competitors as it can engage the target audience emotionally and cognitively, which will ultimately shape a positive view of a brand.

4. Maximizing the Customer Journey

It is an essential step that helps businesses maximize the customer journey through engaging and attention-grabbing direct experiences. 

This strategy is designed to enrich and maximize each stage of the customer's journey from the initial phase to the end.

5. Increasing Visibility

In addition to increasing visibility on search engines through SEO optimization, a brand also needs to achieve maximum visibility in the real world through brand activation strategies. 

Many major brands continue to adopt activation strategies to maintain visibility in the minds of consumers and attract more new customers from different market landscapes.

Various Types of Brand Activation Strategy 

Compared to other marketing strategies, the activation strategy of a brand becomes an option that requires more time in planning to ensure the effective execution of its procedures. 

Based on its procedures, the brand activation examples can be categorized into three types:

1. Sampling Campaign

This type is often applied by many brands as it is considered easy and effective. 

Sampling campaigns are typically conducted by providing free samples to stimulate the interest of the target audience and facilitate trial activities for a product or service. 

In marketing activation efforts, a sampling campaign is a suitable step to let potential consumers directly test a product and influence their future purchasing decisions.

2. Experimental Activation

This approach focuses on active interaction between two parties: a brand and its customers. 

Conceptually, experimental activation is somewhat similar to a sampling campaign as it gives potential customers the opportunity to experience the quality of a product or service first. 

A concrete example of experimental activation can be found in the promotion efforts of a cosmetic brand, allowing the target audience to see the "before" and "after" changes through a makeover session using a specific product.

3. In-Store Activation

In-store activation is an approach that has the potential to contribute to a more diverse and personal customer experience compared to other marketing strategies. 

Through this strategy, consumers can see, touch, and try products/services directly to create a stronger emotional connection. 

4. Digital Campaign

With the widespread development of the internet in the digital landscape, the opportunities from digital campaigns are promising.

It allows brands to actively engage with the target audience through various online platforms. Hence, brands aiming for brand activation marketing through digital campaigns usually plan campaigns more specifically and strategically. 

Compared to the previous three types, digital campaign procedures for brand activation marketing are more budget-friendly and offer high flexibility. 

However, it's essential to note that digital campaigns require high levels of creativity and innovation to ensure that content production remains attractive and relevant.

Methods and Strategies for Brand Activation

Now you fully understand that this marketing strategy is designed to increase positive stimuli from consumers, build engagement, and enhance awareness and preference for a brand. If you intend to implement this marketing strategy, it's advisable to consider the following strategies for smooth and obstacle-free execution.

1. Fully Understand Your Brand

Before initiating any marketing strategies, a company needs to have a thorough understanding of the brand's identity. 

This includes defining core values, objectives, brand excellence, niche types, and the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to be conveyed. 

In this case, in-depth knowledge about your brand serves as the main foundation for designing an authentic and consistent strategy. 

2. Conduct Audience Segmentation

Segmenting is a crucial step that determines who the audience will be throughout the marketing process. 

Therefore, you need to conduct a data-based analysis to define each audience based on generations or specific demographic groups.

3. Implement SWOT Analysis

Before proceeding further, another strategy to be implemented is a SWOT analysis. 

SWOT, stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, which is used to evaluate the elements that a brand possesses. 

With a SWOT analysis, you can visualize the brand's position in the market and design strategies according to specific situations or conditions, both internal and external.

4. Create Customer-Benefiting Programs

Creating special reward or discount programs can serve as a powerful incentive to increase consumer participation in the activation process of a brand. 

These programs stimulate purchases, expand the customer base, and create a positive perception of a brand.

5. Integrate Strategies Online and Offline

This marketing strategy needs to be maximally integrated through both online and offline approaches to enhance the user experience. 

For example, in-store strategies can be supported by online campaigns involving remote consumers. 

This integration is necessary for brands to create a cohesive experience across all channels and increase consumer engagement from various sources.

Examples of Brand Activation Activities by World-Renowned Brands

After learning about its definition, let's review some of the brand activation examples carried out by one of the world-renowned brands, Adidas.

Adidas is well-known for its sports shoes and apparel. However, did you know that this strategy is consistently employed by Adidas, even though the brand is already successful and recognized globally? 

It's important to note that this strategy is not limited to new brands; the fundamental principles can also bring significant benefits to well-established brands.

One example is conducted by Adidas occurred when the brand released its basketball shoes, D Rose. 

Adidas utilized this strategy by setting up a store that housed the D Rose shoes at a height of 10 feet. 

The condition was that anyone who could reach the shoes within 24 seconds was entitled to receive them for free. This strategy has successfully captivate and left a lasting impression on their target audiences.

That concludes the explanation of what is brand activation, its types, examples of implementation, and effective strategies within the business scope to remain relevant in the current era of digital competition.

To enhance this direct interaction strategy, you also need to pay attention to the visibility of your brand from a digital perspective to reach more customers online. 

One way to achieve this is by ensuring your brand is well-indexed, optimized for SEO, and ranks high on search engine result pages (SERP). 

To accomplish this goal, you can trust the SEO Service by cmlabs, which is ready to help you increase visibility, gain high-quality organic traffic, and build customer trust through search engines. Let's collaborate with cmlabs and Contact Our Marketing Team now!