Advertising is the arm of marketing that directly and exclusively handles communications with customers. The traditional advertising campaigns of yesteryear generally used one-way communication media, but marketers of the 21st century fully realize the importance of connecting with customers on a level that gets them engaged with brands. Interactive marketing communication allows customers to provide feedback or support for companies in the marketplace, and it can make personal connections in ways that traditional advertising techniques cannot, developing loyal customers who feel like they are an important part of their favorite brands.
Events
Having a marketing presence at events where large numbers of people gather can allow you to spread advertising messages while personally interacting with customers. Examples of interactive event marketing include setting up booths at conventions, showcases and trade events. Sponsoring events can also provide opportunity to interact with customers while advertising. Event sponsors can negotiate the right to pass out marketing materials in person at the event while speaking directly with potential customers.
Online Marketing
The Internet provides a wide array of advertising techniques that allow for customer interaction. Advertising in forums and message boards is an older Internet-marketing technique, but it can provide in-depth interactivity with highly targeted groups of people. Social media have opened up a new frontier for marketers in the early 21st century, and companies continue to refine the way that they communicate and interact with customers on social media outlets. Email marketing can also provide opportunities for customers to engage in two-way communication with marketers.
Contests
Contests not only get customers personally involved with marketing campaigns, they can make a small number of customers extremely excited about your brands, stimulating word-of-mouth advertising. In-person contests, possibly paired with an event sponsorship, can create lasting positive memories of your company in customers' minds. Hosting contests on television, radio, newspapers or magazines can bring time-honored, one-way communication media into the realm of interactive marketing.
Giveaways
Savvy marketers have learned to give away branded items to solve customers' needs. For example, a popular office-supplies chain sets up a table at Cleveland Cavaliers games where fans can receive a free blank poster and draw their own creative messages on the poster to display during the game. The ingenious part of this giveaway is that the company's name and logo is printed boldly at the top of both sides of the posters. Not only are thousands of fans in the stadium exposed to the brand, but tens or hundreds of thousands more people are exposed to the brand by viewing the signs on television broadcasts, and fans have lasting memories of being caught on camera at the game with their unique signs, thanks to the office-supplies company.
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