12 ways to measure experiential marketing ROI

Carla Vianna
Carla Vianna
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12 ways to measure experiential marketing ROI

Experiential marketing campaigns are a powerful tool for attractions, offering opportunities to engage guests in memorable, impactful ways. But measuring the return on investment (ROI) for these campaigns can be tricky. Without clear metrics, assessing whether the event delivered the desired outcomes can be challenging.

In this article, we’ll explore 12 key ways to measure the ROI of your experiential marketing campaigns, from evaluating brand awareness to tracking social media metrics, sales, and customer feedback. These strategies allow tours and attractions to understand their experiential marketing ROI better and refine future efforts.

1. Evaluating brand awareness

Brand awareness is one of the key goals of any experiential marketing campaign. You’re looking at the number of people who have become aware of your brand. This helps you understand how much visibility your brand gained through the event, as well as how the event resonated with your target audience.

While there is no set metric to measure brand awareness, there are a number of ways you can gauge your event’s reach:

  • Monitor social media mentions. Track the increase in mentions of your attraction’s name or event hashtag on platforms like Instagram or X. Tools like Hootsuite or Brandwatch can help track changes in volume and sentiment before, during, and after the event.
  • Track social media impressions. Use analytics tools to measure the number of impressions your social media posts receive. Again, compare metrics from before, during, and after the event to see how much visibility your brand gained.
  • Use post-event surveys. Ask visitors how they heard about your event in post-visit surveys. You can include questions like, “Did you see our event on social media?” or “Have you heard of our attraction before attending this event?” This helps measure awareness and identify new audience segments.

Let’s say a museum hosts a virtual reality pop-up that lets visitors see its newest exhibit. By comparing the number of social media mentions before and after the event using tracking tools like Brandwatch or Google Alerts, the museum can quantify how much buzz was generated. If the hashtag associated with the exhibit saw a 30% increase in mentions, it indicates positive brand awareness and a pretty solid ROI.

2. Tracking social media metrics

Now, let’s specifically look at social media, one of the most effective ways to measure your campaign’s reach in real time. Experiential marketing campaigns are almost always designed with social sharing in mind, whether through vibrant design, innovative tech, or creative photo ops. By tracking likes, shares, comments, and hashtags, you can evaluate how well your campaign resonated with your online audience.

Hashtag performance and follower growth directly correlate with your campaign’s social media impact. You can track this using tools like Sprout Social, Hootsuite, or Google Analytics. However, to better understand the real impact of your social media efforts, we recommend focusing on actionable outcomes rather than vanity metrics.

In that case, you’ll want to measure your conversion rate or the number of social media interactions that lead to actual bookings, ticket sales, or event sign-ups. You can track this using unique promo codes or links tied to your social channels. You should also track the number of people who attended your event or visited your attraction after seeing it on social media. You can measure this using unique registration forms or asking how visitors heard about your event.

3. Analyzing sales data

Sales data directly correlates the success of an experiential marketing campaign with revenue generation. Understanding how an event influences purchases gives clear insight into whether the campaign successfully drove consumers to act.

For the best results, compare sales before, during, and after the event. Use tools like POS (Point of Sale) systems or CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platforms to track purchases made during this time. Then, compare the sales increase to the campaign cost to calculate the ROI.

Let’s say a tour operator hosts a special VIP tour experience, and within a month of the event, sales of that particular tour package increase by 20%. By comparing this to the event costs, you can calculate the ROI based on the additional sales revenue generated.

4. Assessing lead generation

Lead generation is vital for nurturing future customers. By tracking the number of leads generated by your event, you can gauge the long-term impact on your sales pipeline and the quality of the attendees your campaign attracted.

Track the number of leads collected through event registration, sign-ups, or contest entries. Then, measure ROI by tracking the conversion rate of these leads into paying customers and comparing that to the cost of acquiring them at the event.

For example, your brand hosts a pop-up at a major trade show and collects 500 new leads. You nurture these leads through follow-up emails and convert 100 leads into customers. If the total revenue from these sales exceeds the pop-up cost, then your ROI is positive.

5. Monitoring event attendance

Event attendance directly indicates how appealing your campaign is to your target audience. If no one is attending your event, your campaign may reach the wrong crowd. More attendees generally translate to more brand exposure and potential conversions, meaning your event successfully attracted the right kind of guest.

To track the number of guests visiting your event, look at registration numbers, actual foot traffic, and/or ticket sales. The ROI can then be calculated by dividing the event cost by the number of attendees and comparing that to the engagement level or sales generated.

Let’s see how this might play out in real life. A museum’s special exhibit attracted 1,000 more attendees than the average for a typical month. By calculating the ticket price and multiplying it by the additional number of visitors, the museum can measure whether the increased attendance led to an acceptable ROI based on the exhibit’s expenses.

6. Collecting customer feedback

Your ROI also depends on how well the campaign resonated with your audience. Understanding visitor satisfaction helps assess whether the experience met expectations, and surveys can identify areas for improvement for future activations.

Platforms like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms can create and collect post-event surveys, which attendees can receive via email. Your return should also be favorable if you’re receiving high satisfaction ratings.

7. Analyzing NPS surveys 

Speaking of customer feedback, Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys are a great tool to measure satisfaction. An NPS survey measures customer loyalty by asking guests about their likelihood of recommending your event or brand to others. A high NPS score indicates happy visitors who will spread the word about your brand, meaning a higher return.

You can calculate ROI by comparing the long-term value of these new customers against the cost of the campaign. For example, let’s say your attendees complete an NPS survey, and the result is an NPS score of 75. This indicates high satisfaction and the likelihood that attendees will recommend the experience. If those recommendations lead to additional ticket sales, the ROI can be measured by the increased customer base.

8. Evaluating media coverage 

Many times, experiential campaigns are created with virality in mind. Activations capture your customers’ attention, and if the buzz is big enough, it could attract local or even national media coverage. Of course, appearing on the news can significantly extend the reach of your activation. Yet, it can also serve as a cost-effective form of marketing. Positive press validates your event’s success and introduces your brand to a broader audience.

When evaluating media coverage, you measure your event’s exposure through paid and earned media. Paid media includes ads or sponsorships you might have paid for, while earned media is the free publicity your event receives through press mentions, articles, or influencer posts.

Here’s how you would calculate the ROI:

1. Determine the media value. Media value refers to the equivalent cost of the coverage you received if you were to have paid for it. For example, if a local news outlet mentions your event and estimates that it reached 100,000 people, you would calculate what it would cost to run an ad that reaches the same audience.

2. Compare media value to event cost. Now, compare the media value to the actual cost of your event. If the media value (what you gained from media coverage) is greater than the cost of hosting the event, you’ve achieved a positive ROI!

3. Factor in earned media. Earned media is important because it often represents organic exposure, which can be more valuable than paid ads. If your event generated significant earned media (think press, social shares, etc.), this can significantly increase your overall ROI without incurring additional costs.

9. Measuring web traffic 

Website traffic helps determine if your event drove online interest. Increased visits and time spent on your site indicate that the campaign sparked curiosity about your offerings.

With Google Analytics, you can monitor web traffic metrics like page views, bounce rate, and conversions. A surge in traffic after the event, for instance, can be directly linked to the activation’s success. Keep an eye out for an increase in bookings, too. By comparing the increase in conversions to the campaign’s costs, you can calculate the ROI of that online boost.

10. Analyzing email marketing metrics 

You’ll likely promote your event via email and send relevant updates during the campaign. Tracking open and click-through rates can help you assess how effectively the campaign converted interest into action.

When it comes to ROI, you’ll especially want to track conversions. For example, let’s say you email guests after they attend the event with a unique booking offer. You’ll want to track how many people make the booking. By comparing the revenue generated from those bookings to the cost of the campaign, you can measure the ROI from an email marketing perspective.

11. Evaluating influencer marketing campaign performance 

If your audience has a strong online presence, influencer marketing can be very beneficial. When the influencers your customers love visit your event or activation, your guests will be inspired to do the same. In other words, influencer marketing amplifies your event’s reach and credibility.

Measuring the performance of an influencer campaign helps assess whether the influencers effectively engaged their audience and drove traffic or sales. In this case, you’ll want to keep track of engagement rates, click-through rates, and sales conversions from the posts those influencers share. The best way to do this is to use unique tracking links or personalized discount codes to monitor the direct impact of the influencer’s promotion.

Suppose a hotel collaborates with an influencer to promote a special weekend package, and the influencer’s post drives 50 bookings. In that case, the hotel calculates the ROI by comparing the total revenue from those bookings to the influencer’s fee.

12. Tracking post-event engagement

Post-event engagement refers to the number of people interacting with your brand after your event via social media, website visits, or other interactions. This allows you to measure the sustained impact of your experiential marketing campaign. It’s essential to know if the excitement generated during the event continues to drive interactions after the event is over.

Tracking post-event engagement helps gauge the long-term value of your efforts. Consider monitoring metrics like social shares, comments, or continued website traffic for weeks. Then, compare the increased engagement to the event’s cost to assess the ROI.

***

Measuring the ROI of your experiential marketing campaign is key to determining whether it was worth it. If you put time and effort into creating one, you want to ensure it yields the necessary return. 

By tracking key metrics such as event attendance, social media engagement, sales data, and customer feedback, you’ll understand how well your campaign resonates with your audience. With these strategies, tours and attractions can gauge immediate impact and fine-tune future campaigns for greater results. 

Remember, a successful campaign attracts guests and fosters lasting relationships with its audience.

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Writer Carla Vianna

Carla Vianna

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