LET’S GET PHYSICAL: Physical events have made an impressive comeback for fashion, lifestyle and beauty marketers — and can be extremely impactful for those who can master the guest list.
So says a new report from Launchmetrics, which tallied a 54 percent increase in events versus 2019, a riposte to years of digital-first investment and pandemic-era homebodies. In addition, attendance has surged by 65 percent, according to data gathered from its events platform.
For Alison Bringé, chief marketing officer at Launchmetrics, it’s a “clear signal that physical experiences have become a strategic response to digital saturation, and that the most direct path to brand performance still runs through physical connections.”
The report does not cite any fashion, beauty or lifestyle brands, but makes the case for carefully calibrated guest lists for store openings, product launches, VIP dinners, press days, exhibitions and the like.
For example, during a recent fashion week, one brand outperformed its nearest competitor by more than 130 percent in terms of media impact value, a proprietary measure of placements and mentions across different voices: celebrities, influencers, media, owned media and partners.
According to Launchmetrics, the event stood out thanks to a deliberate shift in the guest list, “perhaps the clearest proof that in today’s event landscape, a data-backed event strategy is everything.”
Beyond the guest list, successful physical events require a “defined creative vision”; an intentional journey for guests; polished execution, from check-in to the seating plan, and careful measuring of the amplification across digital and other channels.
Launchmetrics argues that in-person experiences “now generate the highest levels of consumer focus, standing apart from digital environments where multitasking dominates,” and attention is fragmented.
It estimates that a 10 percent increase in focus translates into a 17 percent increase in spending.
“What’s interesting about this moment is how quickly events have moved from being seen as visibility plays to being treated as measurable engines of brand value,” Bringé said.
