Make no mistake, social media marketing is still relevant and effective. Though, there are a couple of concerning trends. Engagement rates seem to be decreasing and growth is slowing down.
Plus, after two years of limited face-to-face interactions, we all crave some human connection. Moving forward, it’s safe to say that if you dreaded corporate events in the past, you’ll have a new appreciation for them (at least, for a while).
So, where does that leave brands and marketers?
While marketing strategies like content marketing and social media marketing remain important, it can also be worthwhile to explore experiential marketing. In short, it focuses on creating extraordinary experiences that will immerse audiences and create a strong emotional connection. From product demos to events, there are many ways that you can create impactful experiences. Needless to say, for this to work, you’ll need all hands on deck and the following are some of the best experiential marketing agencies that will help you to ensure that your event gets remembered for only the right reasons.
Top Experiential Marketing Agencies:
Leading Experiential Marketing Agencies:
1. Viral Nation
Notable clients: Walmart, Energizer, PUBG
Location and global presence: Toronto, Canada
Year founded: 2014
Pricing: Minimum spend of $50,000 per project
Viral Nation’s core values are innovation, connection, and drive. They believe in creating for the future. Using a strategy-first approach, they push the boundaries. That said, while innovation and industry-leading tech are at the core of how they approach marketing campaigns, it’s never at the expense of authentic life experiences.
As an influencer marketing and talent agency, much of their work relies on collaborations with influencers and creators. When it comes to experiential marketing, social media and analytics form the foundation. From exclusive events to pop-ups that delight to high-impact stunts, they can draw attention to your brand in various ways. They’ll also take care of all the stages involved, whether that’s getting a booth or speaker ready.
For example, for a project for Meta Quest (formerly called Facebook Oculus), they worked with 70 creators across key platforms like Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok to build excitement and immerse audiences. Through interactive stories, live streams, and gameplay compilations, they managed to create 1.3 million engagements. Plus, at the 2022 AVA Digital Awards, this campaign also received top honors.
Viral Nation
Viral Nation unlocks the full power of social-first marketing to scale brands into the future.
50+
USA, Canada, Caribbean
Best for:
Enterprises and Large brands
Viral Nation
Viral Nation unlocks the full power of social-first marketing to scale brands into the future.
Are you an Influencer looking for an agency? Discover your options with influencer talent agencies.
2. NeoReach
Notable clients: Airbnb, Walmart, Amazon
Location and global presence: Headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA
Year founded: 2014
Pricing: Minimum spend of $50,000 per project
Experiential marketing comes natural to the marketing team of NeoReach. From getting a whole soccer stadium to participate for FIFA to curating large-scale events, the agency boasts expertise in engaging the target audience in offline and online experiences.
What makes them such a great agency to partner with for event marketing is that they have a network of influencers that they can leverage. This way, you can amplify the presence of your brand. Though, they won’t solely rely on influencers to create a buzz, but will also use tactics like teasers and post-event content to keep your brand foremost in your target audience’s mind.
For example, they recently worked with Sony for CES 2023, an event for which they used a full production team along with a group of content creators. The result — a content series that they could share on their social media channels too.
NeoReach
NeoReach creates world-class original influencer campaigns for leading brands and Global Fortune 500 companies. Founded in 2013 and managing over $250 million dollars in influencer spend to-date, their team is responsible for creating some of the mos...
50+
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando, Tokyo
Best for:
Large Companies
NeoReach
NeoReach creates world-class original influencer campaigns for leading brands and Global Fortune 500 companies. Founded in 2013 and managing over $250 million dollars in influencer spend to-date, their team is responsible for creating some of the mos...
Are you an Influencer looking for an agency? Discover your options with influencer talent agencies.
3. HireInfluence
Notable clients: Microsoft, Ricola, Oreo
Location and global presence: Headquartered in Los Angeles with additional offices in Houston and New York City
Year founded: 2011
Pricing: Minimum spend of $50,000 per project
Part of HireInfluence’s full-service influencer marketing services is delivering experiential ideation and fulfillment to its impressive roster of clients. The agency has solidified its reputation for creating influencer experiences that are innovative, diverse, and powerful.
It helps brands stand out from competitors by making sure that these experiences go beyond industry norms. It supports a wide range of events, from photo shoots and travel experiences to festival promotions and TV commercials.
HireInfluence understands that in order to have longevity in the market, one must connect with the target market on an emotional and psychological level. The agency works full-force in forging and fostering such connections, creating immersive experiences that will surely engage the target audience and form favorable associations with brands.
A fine example of this is the agency’s partnership with Southwest Airlines. This campaign was launched to drive pre-sales tickets for the airline’s first-ever flights to Hawaii. By organizing account takeovers for 6 Hawaii-based influencers in order to capture real-life emotions in a Hawaii vacation, HireInfluence was able to generate a whopping 56 million impressions and 3 million engagements for Southwest.
HireInfluence
Influencer Marketing Agency of the Year 2022 + 2023. HireInfluence is an award-winning agency, serving the world’s most established brands since 2011. We have been exceeding expectations for content agendas for over a decade - managing successful c...
1 - 10
Houston, Los Angeles, New York
Best for:
Large Companies
HireInfluence
Influencer Marketing Agency of the Year 2022 + 2023. HireInfluence is an award-winning agency, serving the world’s most established brands since 2011. We have been exceeding expectations for content agendas for over a decade - managing successful c...
Are you an Influencer looking for an agency? Discover your options with influencer talent agencies.
4. Zorka.Agency
Notable clients: Tencent, Domino’s Pizza, AliExpress
Location and global presence: Limassol, Cyprus
Year founded: 2014
Pricing: $100 – $149 per hour / Minimum spend of $5,000 per project
Zorka.Agency is an international digital marketing agency specializing in forecast strategies that can scale your brand. The company has made its mark on influencer marketing, having won several awards and recognition in 2020, such as from us here at Influencer Marketing Hub, App Growth Awards, and Clutch.
As for creative launches, they have the best experiential technologies and influencer targeting to help businesses grow and gain measurable returns. Bespoke content, be it video, graphics, or photo shoots, is designed to keep the brand’s essence intact while pushing the audience’s interest around it.
Zorka.Agency
Zorka.Agency is an influencer and performance marketing agency focused on creating ROI-forecasted strategies with a fair risk assessment that help businesses scale up.
1 - 10
Limasol (Cyprus)
Best for:
Enterprises, Large and Small brands
Zorka.Agency
Zorka.Agency is an influencer and performance marketing agency focused on creating ROI-forecasted strategies with a fair risk assessment that help businesses scale up.
Are you an Influencer looking for an agency? Discover your options with influencer talent agencies.
5. Next/Now
Notable clients: Adidas, LG, Samsung
Location and global presence: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Year founded: 2011
Pricing: $100 – $149 per hour / Minimum spend of $50,000 per project
Next/Now is an award-winning experiential marketing agency that concentrates on digital exhibition and multimedia design. Their team of 40+ employees come from different backgrounds and often incorporate new tech solutions like generative art, virtual reality (VR), and extended reality (XR) into their experiential campaigns.
For example, for Intel, they created the Intel Best Buy Retail Experience. All the digital assets that were used for this display of innovative experiential retail tech were created by Next/Now’s in-house team. The result was a mixture of branded portals, vertically stacked screens, and an Intel robot that created truly immersive experiences for their customers.
They’re one of the most reviewed experiential marketing agencies. They’ve been praised for their ability to stick to deadlines and innovative ideas. Needless to say, these are two critical qualities when it comes to experiential marketing specifically.
6. RMNG
Notable clients: Hello Kitty, Barbie, Walmart
Location and global presence: Los Angeles, California, USA
Year founded: 2009
Pricing: Minimum spend of $25,000 per project
RMNG joins brands and their target audiences face to face to create magical moments that leave a long-lasting impression. For the past 10+ years, they’ve taken advantage of their knowledge of mobility and food trucks to create unique marketing opportunities.
Similarly to their founding father, Roaming Hunger (the authority in food trucks), they weren’t satisfied to be stuck in one place. They’ve served the majority of US states and expanded their reach to hundreds of markets across Canada and Europe too.
Trusted by leading global brands, they can help your business to go mobile. It doesn’t necessarily need to be with the help of a food truck. Their services include mobile pop-up shops that are easy and quick to set up and disassemble as well. And, if you’re interested in something bigger, they can also help you to organize a mobile marketing tour.
7. MKG
Notable clients: Target, Delta Air Lines, Motorola
Location and global presence: Headquartered in New York City with another office in Los Angeles
Year founded: 2003
Pricing: $100 – $149 per hour / Minimum spend of $5,000 per project
MKG is a women-owned and operated creative agency that’s listed by Built In New York City as one of the top experiential marketing agencies. They were also named as Ad Age’s 2023 A-List Experiential Agency of the Year.
They specialize in creating brand action like employee engagements, virtual events, social impact actions, and live experiences. From developing a brand and campaign strategy to competitive analysis to production, they can help you with all the key aspects involved in experiential marketing.
For example, to help Barbie celebrate her 60th anniversary, they worked with R/GA, an international marketing and global digital product company, to create a pop-up celebration that brought her past to life. From a life-size version of her Dreamhouse to a physical timeline that highlighted her different looks, there were more than enough to keep Barbie young and her young crowd entertained.
They’ve also worked with a number of other big brands. For example, to help Google launch its newest lineup of products, they partnered with influential New Yorkers who could help audiences see how these products would be used in a real-life setting.
8. Sector 5 Digital
Notable clients: American Airlines, Dell, IBM Cloud
Location and global presence: Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Year founded: 2014
Pricing: Minimum spend of $25,000 per project
Sector 5 Digital (or simply called S5D) is an award-winning creative agency that uses emerging tech and storytelling to help transform brands. They offer a wide range of services that include experiential marketing, augmented reality (AR), integrated campaigns, video production, and 3D animation.
They’re one of the most reviewed agencies in the experiential marketing category and past clients have praised them for really going the extra mile and putting in loads of effort. For example, to help potential passengers of American Airlines get a better idea of the different cabins of the fleet, they created a web-based product that allowed them to experience a 360 animated tour.
From big planes to big contracts, they know how to go big. Their agency recently entered into a six-figure engagement with one of the largest architecture firms to create an immersive experience that will bring their business campus to life.
9. Pro Motion
Notable clients: Bosch, Gatorade, Disney
Location and global presence: St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Year founded: 1995
Pricing: $100 – $149 per hour / Minimum spend of $50,000 per project
Pro Motion is one of the oldest independent experiential marketing companies. As you would expect, they’ve received a number of awards during their 20+ years in business. As a matter of fact, in the past 18 months alone they won a total of six new industry awards.
Their services include B2B experiential marketing, pop-up shops, event marketing, and experiential marketing tours. For example, for Bosch, they organized the Bosch Big Blue Tour to help them boost product exposure among professional, DIY consumers. By building five mobile workshops on wheels with interactive stations, they could demonstrate new products. Not only did they engage half a million consumers, but they also recruited and trained more than 20 Bosh brand ambassadors. Almost half of these brand ambassadors were appointed on a full-time basis by Bosch.
When working with them, you’ll be assigned a senior level account team. Combine that with the fact that they work with only 10 clients at a time and you can look forward to a truly collaborative approach.
10. Amplify
Notable clients: LEGO, Netflix, Nike
Location and global presence: Global hubs in London, Paris, Sydney, New York City, and Los Angeles
Year founded: 2008
Pricing: Undisclosed
Amplify is a brand experience agency that helps brands to create meaningful and authentic connections with their audiences with the help of digital content, experiences, and PR. With offices on three continents, they’ve worked with a number of global brands.
Recently named Campaign’s Brand Experience Agency of the Decade, they take a holistic approach. Narrative design and storytelling are at the core of everything that they do. To use their own words, they “blur the lines between physical experiences and online digital experiences”. They combine the charm of in real life (IRL) with the best features of the digital world to break away from typical formats.
11. iMP Experiential & Product Sampling
Notable clients: Fiat, Jeep, New Balance
Location and global presence: Leeds, England
Year founded: 2008
Pricing: Undisclosed
If you have a product to sample in the UK, you can check out iMP Experiential. They’re an award-winning experiential agency that can help with product sampling, experiential roadshows, and brand activations.
Not only will they help with the design and creation process, but as a full-service brand experience agency, they also have promotional staff, drivers, and promo vehicles at hand. Their staff is individually chosen for each campaign and their vehicles can be fully branded and adapted for mobile product sampling.
They know that it’s key to think about strategy and the wider opportunities. This way, they successfully target the right people at the right place at the right time.
For example, when Ritter Sport wanted to introduce one of their new chocolate bars to a potential market segment (the brand managers and influential stakeholders at Sainsbury’s head office), their agency dressed up brand ambassadors as a whole hazelnut bar and sloth. They might have looked nutty, but 24,000 of samples were distributed and even more consumer engagements initiated.
12. Backlash
Notable clients: Notion, Nespresso, Sephora
Location and global presence: London, England
Year founded: 2017
Pricing: Undisclosed
Backlash is another experiential agency that’s based in the UK. The three founders’ passion for this niche has grown and ultimately resulted in the birth of Backlash, not just as a way to explore their passion further but also to challenge how other agencies go about marketing. According to their website, their experience in marketing allows them to create their own “Big Agency” approach to all briefs irrespective of the budget.
Whether you need a product launch, roadshow, or pop-up shop, they can create multichannel campaigns. For example, for Lego’s AR-powered product, Hidden Side, they created a spooky-themed product launch that included multiple product displays, an AR photo booth, and, of course, goody bags.
And, you don’t have to worry about any backlash. On Facebook, they’ve received only positive reviews so far.
13. All Terrain
Notable clients: Kellogg’s, Nike, Airbnb
Location and global presence: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Year founded: 1998
Pricing: Undisclosed
Just like MKG, All Terrain is a women-owned, full-service marketing agency. In fact, they’re the first women-founded and owned experiential agency in the US and they’ve been offering experiential services long before experiential marketing was a recognized marketing strategy. During the 20+ years, they’ve also successfully established themselves as the go-to agency for brands that want something else than traditional advertising.
They describe their experiential marketing campaigns as “people-centered, digitally integrated, and socially amplified”. From mobile tours to virtual events, they help brands to create real, meaningful connections that last.
And, if you suddenly need to change your plan from a live tour to a virtual launch, rest assured that they’ve done it before successfully. In 2020 (aka the year of virtual events), they helped Ferrari to create its first virtual launch. The result – 500,000+ impressions and even more in dollars for Save The Children.
14. Evolve
Notable clients: Amazon, Google Pay, Fox
Location and global presence: Los Angeles, California, USA
Year founded: 2013
Pricing: Undisclosed
For event marketing services specifically, be sure to check out Evolve. On their website, they describe themselves as an event marketing activation agency that’s led by a team of experts in experiential marketing.
Whether you need help with logistics, developing your marketing program, or event production, their team offers a variety of marketing services. As a full-service agency, they can help with all steps of the process. If you need help with a promo vehicle or brand ambassador staff, they can assist with that as well.
One thing that deserves special mention is their focus on sustainability. Whether it’s through sampling materials, route planning, or vehicle efficiency, they’ll help you to make your marketing greener, ultimately helping you to create that emotional connection with your target audience.
15. Traina
Notable clients: Space Center Houston, Microsoft, John Deere
Location: San Diego, California, USA
Year founded: 2006
Pricing: $150 – $199 per hour
Traina is one of the top creative agencies and has worked with a number of top international brands. Included in their list of services is experiential brand activations. They design bespoke activations that deliver unforgettable experiential moments.
Whether you’re interested in a global campaign or strategically placed pop-up, they know how to identify new ways to let brands connect with their community in a meaningful way. They view all touchpoints as opportunities.
They’ve been praised for their professional communication skills and their ability really to listen to their clients and translate that into innovative, impactful experiences. For example, when corporate leaders indicated that they were eager to explore the idea of a hybrid event, Traina made sure that in-person as well as virtual attendees of Degreed’s event were entertained. In fact, the event attracted nearly double the number of attendees that the conference attracted before the pandemic.
16. Lytehouse
Notable clients: Uber, Hyundai, Ralph Lauren
Location: Albany, New York, USA
Year founded: 2012
Pricing: Undisclosed
Lytehouse is a full-service influencer marketing agency that has been in the industry for over a decade. Their team of casting directors, talent strategists, brand partnership managers, and creative producers has been praised for their professionalism, communication, and smart approach.
Included in their list of services is experiential marketing. From strategizing to reaching out to invitees (and even managing the guest list), they can design, develop, and manage one-of-a-kind experiences. Whether you just want to spark authentic consumer interaction or focus on building a community, they know just what to do.
Lytehouse
Lytehouse is a creative, full-service influencer marketing agency with 10+ years of experience that works with brands at every stage of the influencer marketing campaign process, from guiding strategy and leading ideation to casting talent and overse...
10 - 50
New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville
Best for:
Enterprises and Large brands
Lytehouse
Lytehouse is a creative, full-service influencer marketing agency with 10+ years of experience that works with brands at every stage of the influencer marketing campaign process, from guiding strategy and leading ideation to casting talent and overse...
Are you an Influencer looking for an agency? Discover your options with influencer talent agencies.
Services Offered by Top Experiential Marketing Agencies
Some of the agencies mentioned above are full-service digital marketing agencies that include experiential/event marketing as part of their services. In this case, they typically offer a wide range of services that range from social media marketing to SEO. You know the drill.
However, if the agency focuses solely on experiential marketing, they will typically include the following services:
- Live events
- Mobile pop-up stores
- Product demos and sampling
- Marketing tours
- Interactive installations
- Immersive experiences
- Workshops
- Brand activations
- Promo vehicles
Recent Experiential Marketing Case Studies
There are many interconnected steps involved in pulling off a successful experiential marketing campaign. When one thing goes wrong, the knock-on effect can easily cause the event to blow up (and not for the right reasons). That said, if all goes well, you can generate massive positive exposure like the following brands have done:
Adidas and Next/Now: “Faster Than” In-store Activation
Three Adidas flagships partnered with Next/Now to engage consumers at their retail locations. Consumers were given the opportunity to try out the new SL20 and Ultraboost 20 shoes during an immersive treadmill experience. Real-time metrics were displayed so that aspiring athletes could track their speed and distance while being taken through a branded virtual environment. The trial might have been only 45 seconds, but it was enough for Adidas to gather useful, user data.
There’s more to running than you think. And you’re more of a runner than you think.
Let’s move away from what you think ‘fast’ is. Let’s start over. Today. Tomorrow. Every day after.
Lace up. Put your keys where ever they need to go. And ask:
What’s your #FasterThan? pic.twitter.com/xdhJw21Faz
— adidas Running (@adidasrunning) February 20, 2020
Target and MKG: “Dance for Treats”
Experiential marketing doesn’t have to be used on its own. For Target’s campaign, MKG combined experiential marketing with influencer partnerships.
They used a pop-up vending machine and asked consumers to strut their dance moves. Instead of rewarding them with a carrot, the machine dispensed a product from Target’s new snack range - Favorite Day - as a reward.
Then, to help create awareness about the campaign, they also partnered with creators on social media who showed off their own dance prowess.
Target’s newest owned brand, Favorite Day, is all about finding little moments of joy in sweet and savory indulgences, all at an only-at-Target value. Get the delicious details: https://t.co/MrZpq9PzSq pic.twitter.com/PEBHRpTWpr
— Target News (@TargetNews) March 9, 2021
Marc Jacobs and Backlash: Mirror Box Pop-up
Marc Jacobs approached Backlash to launch their Resort Collection. The concept was to use a pop-up, nothing that extraordinary.
What was extraordinary was the design and material used. To make their pop-up pop, Backlash decided to use a box created entirely from mirrors. Not only did it link with the hi-shine trends of the season, but it also created the effect at certain times of the day that the pop-up was hovering above the ground. This is a great example that sometimes you need to think outside of the box when designing one.
Wrapping Things Up
Who doesn’t like a free sample? It’s one of the best ways to introduce your product to your target audience and get your name out there.
Thanks to advancements in tech, though, you can also look beyond simply handing out goody bags. Digital experiences can delight other senses.
By working with one of these experiential marketing agencies that know how to hit crazy curveballs out of the park, you can create some of the most enjoyable experiences, whether digital or in person. This way you can create that human connection with your potential customers helping you to humanize your brand and leave lasting impressions.
Experiential marketing is a type of marketing that involves live events and real-life experiences. The big benefit to hiring an experiential marketing agency is that the marketing engages customers through branded experiences and live events. Immersive marketing experiences can make a big impact. These three companies are using experiential marketing in outstanding ways: Examples of experiential marketing include business events, festivals, award ceremonies, and activities at trade shows. Unique experiences that fit the brand are key to experience marketing. The goal of experiential marketing is to ensure lasting impressions on consumers that will lead to brand loyalty down the line. These experiences should create a big impression that the people want to share with others. It’s not about advertising - it’s about letting consumers understand what their eyes would be like with the product.Frequently Asked Questions
What is an experiential marketing agency?
What companies use experiential marketing?
What is an example of experiential marketing?
Why do companies use experiential marketing?
