Unboxing Branded Marketing Innovation
Marketers and advertising agencies alike, are always at the forefront of brand messaging experimentation; with audiences constantly inundated with thousands of attention grabbers, it becomes more challenging to capture mind space and keep customers engaged. Unboxing your creative brand narrative, means breaking with conventional thinking and using new tools for a unique approach to messaging that is in the realm of experiential and multi-sensory marketing.
Shipping containers are very durable for the transportation of goods across the high-seas, they are also a brilliant sustainable way for building permanent and temporary experiences for brand engagement. Creating a pop-up hotel that can withstand hurricane force winds, is not unthinkable, with the correct architects and builders at the helm, you can take your experiences to the next level and with great imagination. Imagine creating a temporary hotel or AirBnB luxury concept at the next Burning Man, Glastonbury, Coachella, where your brand plays host to your most loyal fans and customers with an exclusive experience tailored just for them. You can partner with celebrity chefs and create a popup restaurant with a unique vibe - something so non-standard and temporary, that is harder to replicate (and definitely not moveable) within the confines of a traditional brick-and-mortar building.
Whatever your brand creates, most likely it serves a people-purpose. People love to gather, we are social by default. How can you harness the need for your customers to have face time during a time where virtualized relationships through social media is now deeply societal? The answer is in your ability to adapt and seize opportunities for engagement with a tool that is sturdy, easily configured, and reusable; shipping containers coupled with creativity can be a surprising great way for brands to show they are thinking innovatively and is aligned with a generation bent on a purpose driven lifestyle and climate protection through a lens of sustainability.
Beyond metal, rectangles, and corrugation, shipping containers can be used to achieve avant-garde style architectural designs and modern aesthetics, while providing a modular and stackable way of building out your activations; think of them like Legos you can customize. While shipping containers do come in standard sizes as certified by ISO, your designers and builders can slice and connect them to fit your needs. Interior design, technological integrations, and materials for finishing trims are completely up to your brand’s persona or the experience you intend to create. It really boils down to how do you want your message to resonate.
Unboxing and departing from established methods for creating user experiences in real life, takes an innovative thinker and strategic approach. Shipping containers are not just a trend or fad, it represents a smart way to reducing our carbon footprint on the planet. Also, this is another way for brands to align themselves with sustainable practices and increase brand love among their customer base - to whom the planet is important. There is a story to tell with every build, the creative process and the final experience are both stories worth sharing, where your brand can be showcased as both a responsible environmental thought leader and creative experiential innovator.
What are some of the most innovative ways you have seen shipping containers used for branded activations? Tell us!