US – Consumers are ditching traditional advertising for live events and social media content, research has found.

Consumers are ditching traditional advertising for live events and social media content, research has found.

The research by full-service research consultancy Reach3 Insights and The Keller Advisory Group, the advisory group to entrepreneurs, reveals that 69 per cent of consumers say they like brand experiences, compared to just 48 per cent who like traditional advertising.

Brand experiences include social media content, creator content, metaverse happenings and live events.

Furthermore, the research shows 80 per cent of consumers have engaged or are interested in engaging with brand experiences, with 43 per cent saying engaging with brand experiences would make them more apt to want to try a brand, compared to just 21 per cent who said so about traditional advertising.

The findings from the study come as 32 per cent of marketers say they will switch budges away from traditional advertising to other forms of marketing this year, according to research from Advertiser Perceptions.

Further findings from Reach3 Insights are that brand experiences were viewed to be more “unique” than traditional advertising ( 71 per cent versus 10 per cent), more exciting ( 63 per cent vs 15 per cent), more apt to make them want to try or use the brand( 43 per cent vs 21 per cent) and feel positively about the brand ( 47 per cent vs. 15 per cent).

Brand experiences also trumped traditional advertising in terms of generating feelings of emotional connection, with 56 per cent of consumers saying they feel an emotional connection to a brand through experiences, as compared to just 16 per cent who say the same about traditional advertising.

While consumers found brand experiences to be more “fun and entertaining”, “innovative” and “exciting” by wide margins over traditional advertising, they did not find them to be any more useful or educational and only marginally more inspiring.

The study used mobile chat-based technology with a sample of 1,022 US consumers aged 16 and above

Brand experiences were defined as “experiences or events hosted or sponsored by a brand” whether online or in-person, including the use of social media, creator and influencer content, virtual and metaverse engagements and in-person events.

“Brand experiences are more likely to be beneficial to the brand, motivating trial, boosting positive feelings and emotional connectedness and can ultimately drive better consumer connection,” said Matt Kleinschmit, founder and CEO, Reach3 Insights. 

“Our new research makes clear in a way we haven’t seen before just how overwhelmingly consumers prefer experiences over advertising.  

“Given the power of experiences, it’s no surprise that brands are increasingly designing and incorporating these experiences into their marketing strategies in a way that resonates with their target audience.

“For years my research has demonstrated that word of mouth is far more trusted than traditional advertising,” said Ed Keller, CEO, The Keller Advisory Group.

“But a question remained, how should I drive word of mouth?  Our new research demonstrates convincingly that brand experiences should be a key part of the marketing mix.

“A point to consider and part of a future research agenda is to understand which types of experiences will resonate the most with consumers for the highest impact in the market and how exactly to do so.”