Uncover the core objectives that define your brand. Our team at Strata will work closely with you to craft a purpose-driven narrative that aligns seamlessly with your event goals. Clear brand objectives lay the foundation for memorable experiences.
Gain valuable insights into your target demographic. We conduct in-depth research to tailor our strategies for both in-person and virtual attendees. By connecting with your audience on a deeper level, we forge an authentic connection.
Craft captivating narratives that bring your brand’s message to life. Our storytellers and content creators design thought-provoking keynotes, interactive workshops, and immersive activities. Engage both in-person and virtual audiences in meaningful conversations.
Push the boundaries of innovation to design immersive experiences. Leverage technologies like AR, VR, and cutting-edge audiovisual setups. Create multisensory environments that captivate attendees and evoke powerful emotions.
Ensure both in-person and virtual attendees have equal access to the event. Leverage robust hybrid event platforms for real-time engagement. Bridge the gap between physical and virtual spaces, creating a unified and inclusive event experience.
Empower virtual attendees to actively participate. Incorporate interactive features such as live chat, virtual networking, and dedicated hosts. Curate exclusive virtual experiences that embody the event’s spirit and forge genuine connections.
Maintain a consistent brand identity across all touchpoints. Strata ensures cohesive branding through event materials, signage, and virtual platforms. Reinforce brand recognition and recall to create a memorable experience.
Amplify your brand moments using social media and digital marketing strategies. Create event-specific hashtags and encourage attendees to share their experiences. Leverage influencers and partnerships to expand your event’s reach.
Establish KPIs to measure the success of your brand moments. Monitor attendee feedback, social media engagement, and relevant metrics. Use insights to refine your approach for future hybrid events.
Extend the brand experience beyond the event. Share event highlights, exclusive content, and personalised messages. Maintain a connection and reinforce the brand moments experienced during the event.
In conclusion, delivering brand moments through hybrid events requires a holistic approach. Define your brand objectives, understand your audience, create compelling content, design immersive experiences, seamlessly integrate in-person and virtual experiences, engage the virtual audience, maintain consistent branding, leverage social media, measure and analyse, and follow up post-event. Embrace the power of hybrid events to leave a lasting impression on attendees, regardless of their physical location.
In today’s marketing landscape, the demand for tech, data science, and behavioural science skills is paramount. Marketers must adapt event strategies to cultivate a culture of belonging, while recognising that we are all engaged in the powerful business of distinction, setting ourselves apart in the market.
What do King Charles III and Ozzy Osborne have in common? You would think not a lot, but they do share several traits. They are both aged 74, and they are both married with children. Their estimated personal wealth is more than £100 million, and you could say that they both have an interest in dogs, wine, and cars. But if you were marketing your brand to them, would you promote your product to Ozzy Osborne in the same way that you’d market it to King Charles? And would you expect Ozzy and King Charles to react to your brand’s messaging in the same way too?
These exact same questions were put to an invited audience at The Hoxton, Holborn, earlier this month, when event and marcomms specialists gathered for an exclusive insights event hosted by Strata.
Titled “Reimagining Global Event Programmes”, the event – comprised of a keynote and panel discussion – examined how brands can creatively reinvent event experiences that not only resonate with diverse audiences but also transcend global markets and create moments that matter.
We invited Behave, the human insights agency, to deliver a presentation called “When global EX meets CX: Revamping the value of connection through meaningful moments”. The presentation was given by Dr. Alexandra Dobra-Kiel, Behave’s innovation and strategy director, and Lea Karam, consulting director. The presentation analysed micro and macro behavioural changes in marketing and communications.
Karam said: “We feel that some brand marketers are currently falling short in creating meaningful moments.
“It’s all about deploying the understanding and capabilities that shed light on the real drivers of consumer-brand connection.”
According to Behave, the marketing landscape now requires a blend of capabilities to truly understand people’s behaviour and how it can be influenced to achieve superior business performance. Technology, data science, and behavioural science are just some of the tools at the disposal of event professionals and savvy marketers.
“Consistency is key and so is creative messaging,” added Karam. “Words flow through employees and customers. It’s important to create better moments and better engagement but to do that teams need better data. The good thing is that there are billions of data points out there but it’s about using them in the right way to really understand the customer experience.”
Simon Hambley, CEO of Strata, said: “The pandemic has meant consumers, and employees, experience an overwhelming amount of information, which can lead to a reduced attention span. Therefore, brand marketers need to adapt their strategies to foster a culture of belonging and meet a range of cultural and individual needs.”
Hambley added: “The global event space has been transformed over the past few years. The disruption of the pandemic has shifted how audiences are interacting with brands and organisations and there are growing expectations to shift seamlessly across formats. Combine these changing expectations with a global recession, and brands need to reimagine what a high-performing event programme looks like.
“Brands can’t achieve true engagement without experiences that connect and captivate. Within these experiences, every brand moment is an opportunity for positive reinforcement, a chance for your brand message to have clarity and relevance.”
Giles Cattle, director of creative, strategy and business development added: “We’re all in the business of distinction. Distinction is what differentiates us. Being seen to be different is powerful because distinction requires you to continuously challenge and elevate your service and by elevating, you become better for your customers.”
Clare Merton, executive director, global head of enterprise events at S&P Global, Ali Phillips, group head of internal communications at BAT, and Liz Meade, head of EMEA at Global Event Marketing, also took part in the event and joined a Strata panel discussion that debated global event frameworks, brand loyalty, and growth opportunities.
Hambley concluded: “Our first Reimagining Global Event Programmes session allowed our audience to hear the most inspirational views from some of the most brilliant minds in our industry. I am certain that they appreciated this exclusive opportunity to listen, network, and debate the ideas that were raised by Lea, Alexandra, Clare, Ali, and Liz, and I am certain that future sessions will provide our guests with even more opportunities to discover new ideas and the latest insight.”
For more information or to discuss your event requirements, contact [email protected]
Strata has ambitious goals to be the most respected brand experience agency in Europe. To achieve significant growth and our ambitions, we need amazing people. So we’re delighted to welcome Julie Phillips to our growing team. Julie joins us at an exciting time. As Finance Director, Julie will be responsible for ensuring our multi-layered approach to creative digital and face-to-face solutions deliver value as well as results.
Strata CEO, Simon Hambley said: “I feel incredibly lucky to have someone like Julie joining Strata. She has a huge amount of experience and knowledge in our sector and will be a great addition to our team to help us achieve our ambition in the years ahead.”
Julie commented on her appointment: “I’m delighted to be joining the exceptional team at Strata. It is very exciting to be in a role where I can use my years of industry experience and knowledge to best advantage and contribute to Strata’s future growth.”
We’d like to congratulate Julie on her new position. We’re certain that her input will play a key role in making Every Moment Matter here at Strata.
Back in November, members of Strata attended the Field Marketing and Brand Experience (FMBE) awards at Ascot racecourse and collected not one, but THREE awards. To help sell Polestar 2, Strata created a long-term brand experience test drive base in Milton Keynes called ‘The Hub’. We were awarded Gold for the Most Immersive Event (controlled audience), Silver for Campaign of the Year, and Bronze for the Most Immersive Event (mass consumer).
Strata were instructed by Polestar to find a space and location that would showcase the Polesar brand and allow the customer to be in complete control of their experience. With sustainability at the forefront of the brief, Strata put together a concept that took these elements and made the experience one that was tailored to the individual, allowing them the room and space to try the product completely unaccompanied.
The Hub at Milton Keynes has had more than 4000 customers experience the test-drive, with the conversion rates proving that the experience and no-pressure concept has carved its own space in the future of automotive retailing.
Strata Account Director for Polestar, Paul Banham said:
“This is extremely well-deserved recognition for the fantastic work produced by the team in delivering this now, award winning project. It’s continued success over an extraordinary period of time, is testament to the strength of the original concept and commitment to deliver a truly exceptional customer experience. I am incredibly proud of the team and the recognition awarded”.
https://fieldmarketing.com/24608-2/
At the end of 2022, leading London brand experiential agency, Strata, conducted a survey working with an external relationship audit agency to gain honest feedback from several key clients to understand how well Strata were delivering for them.
The questionnaire is scored on a scale of 1 to 7 with 7 the most positive choice. The KPIs being rated were Relationship, Attitude, Delivery, Added Value and Recommendation.
Strata were thrilled to receive an impressively positive set of results with an overall score of 6.2 out of 7, which is well above the full-service events industry agency average score of 5.1.
Strata also scored above average for all but three of the KPIs by at least 10% and most participants fell into the most positive category for commitment reaching an impressive 93%.
The most popular piece of advice given from clients surveyed was for Strata to ‘continue to carry on exactly as you are’; however, Strata are certainly not resting on their laurels. Striving to go above and beyond for their clients, 2023 will see continued focus on improvements around added value and continued driving of innovation for clients.
Their clients commented that they loved Strata’s professionalism and ability to deliver, proving they are a reliable, efficient, and a knowledgeable partner to work with.
One client commented saying
“It is the experience of the team that gives the comfort that everything will be done right is of the most value. Many companies can organise events but with Strata I have complete confidence it will go off without a hitch”
Of course, there is always rooms for improvement and that is clearly the focus for Strata over the next 12 months.
“We have been delighted with the outcome of our relationship audit; the detailed feedback has clearly shown that our clients are very happy working with Strata and that the investment to grow our client and deliver teams has been well worth it. The insights we gained, will allow us to laser focus on specific requirements and services for our ever-growing client base.”
Strata is one of London’s leading experiential event agencies, delivering brand moments for clients across the globe.
For more information or to discuss your event requirements, contact [email protected]
September has resulted in not just one, but two awards for our Club Excel virtual incentives.
Earlier this month we were delighted to receive the Best Incentive award at the inaugural V Awards by micebook. This was swiftly followed by another win for Incentive Event of the Year at the C&IT Awards on Friday 17th at the Londoner Hotel.
Virtual events have proven to be a viable solution for many throughout the last year or so, and our WOW factor online incentives with famous faces and unique zoom sessions have proven to be a successful solution to motivate and reward sales teams at home.
The V Awards brought together industry suppliers, agencies, and corporates to celebrate the incredible virtual and digital work achieved over the last 18 months when live events have not been possible.
Hosted by the micebook team at the recently opened Nobu London Portman Square, the event itself was the debut night of the venues Ballroom and main function space.
The C&IT Awards champion, showcase and elevate events that are innovative, reactive and original, in an ever-changing landscape and environment.
The evening was hosted by C&IT Magazine at the recently opened Londoner Hotel – The world’s first super boutique hotel. Set in the heart of the West End, Sixteen storeys bring to life a considerately engineered collection of spaces, tastes and textures: a first-of-its-kind super boutique luxury hotel in London.
Strata, a leading integrated brand engagement agency, has enhanced their team across all areas of the business by increasing their headcount by ten since the start of the year.
This recruitment drive comes as the agency has seen a rapid influx of enquiries following the lifting of restrictions on live events earlier in the summer, as well as a continued need for virtual experiences.
Steve Sellick has joined the agency as Creative Director. His extensive background in the world of branding and design adds further depth to the Strata creative offering and supports the broader creative ambition of the agency.
Paul Querfurth, the recently appointed Director of Public and Consumer Engagement, has welcomed two new team members to the Warehouse and Operations department, Richard Liddle as the new Operations Manager; responsible for storage and asset management solutions, and Martin Ford as Event Operator.
Lenka Gibbons, formerly with BCD M&E, joins the client services team as a Pharmaceutical Account Manager and Octavia Kerr, formerly with Circle Agency, joins the Live team as Project Manager.
Other additions to the Live team include three new Project Co-ordinators, as well as Becca Campbell and Sarah Dalziel in fixed term positions for an automotive client project.
The agency continues to advertise for roles, and expects to recruit at least another ten people over the next six months, both in the UK and their growing European operation.
Simon Hambley, CEO of Strata said: “The industry is in a very different position right now compared to one year ago. We are seeing growth across our whole client base as the demand for live experiences returns, and many of my industry colleagues have confirmed this is a common pattern. We also have the added benefit of the 13 new clients we gained during the pandemic which has increased workload.
So not only are live events in high demand, but virtual experiences also continue, particularly for clients that still have limitations around international travel. The development of our digital, data and insights offering is also driving higher demand from clients. This combination has meant we’ve been able to bring forward our recruitment plans and welcome new team members now, instead of 2022 as originally planned.
As we enter what will be our busiest Q4 ever, I’m delighted to welcome Steve, Richard, Martin, Lenka, Octavia, Becca, Sarah and our three new Project Co-ordinators – Sophie, Jessica, and Charlotte to the Strata family. We have an exciting future ahead.”
Strata are thrilled to announce becoming a member of isla. The new action-focused organisation dedicated to helping our industry create more sustainable corporate events.
Although we are already delivering sustainable events for our clients – particularly in the automotive sector – it’s important that our industry works together to combat the climate crisis, to ensure our whole supply chain is more sustainable. The tailored training and guidance that isla offers is specific to our industry, and particularly corporate events. So we are excited to discover the new opportunities the membership will provide for our team, but also how we can share our existing insights with others.
Our business is focused on providing innovative solutions for our clients, and sustainability is a large part of that. The tools that isla have developed, particularly proseed.events will enable our team to adapt our traditional event plans without it becoming onerous to ourselves or indeed our clients.
isla is a non-profit organisation founded as the event industry’s response to the climate crisis. Founded by 12 agencies, isla is an action driven network. It brings together expertise from across the entire events sector, provides resources and training and has developed tools to support and deliver industry wide standardisation and best practice on sustainable practices.
If you are a brand interested in reducing the carbon footprint of your events and making them more sustainable, then get it touch to find out how we can support you.
Alternatively, if you work within the event supply chain please visit the isla website for more information and to find out how you can join fellow industry professionals in the transition to sustainable events.
We are thrilled that our Club Excel incentives at home programme has made it to the shortlist of the 2021 C&IT Awards in the “Incentive event of the year” category.
These events are a new way to deliver reward programmes and engage hard working sales staff at home. Creating unique virtual experiences that don’t compromise on ROI. To learn more about the programme read the full case study.
Having industry peers recognise the innovation our team are bringing to our clients is a fantastic form of reward. Well done to Lucy, Louise and Steve who lead the programme. We have our fingers crossed for the final awards ceremony in September.
This is the second nomination our virtual incentives have been shortlisted in. The club excel programme is also a finalist in the V Awards by Micebook.
Every brand touchpoint is a moment that matters. A chance to strengthen your message with clarity and relevance. To make your audience feel like they're part of something extraordinary, get in touch.
