Citi’s Success with Experiential Marketing

You may know Citi to be another financial company offering banking products and services. However, Citi has started doing something different. The Private Pass has become Citi’s way to differentiate from its competitors, attract consumers and, most importantly, boost credit card revenue. The company’s managing director of media, advertising, and global entertainment, Jennifer Breithaupt, is focusing on creating an experience for Citi cardholders that is unique and unmatchable.
What is this Private Pass all about? Basically, the Private Pass enables cardholders special access to music, sports, dining, and family entertainment events and experiences. Only Citi Credit Card and Citibank Debit Card holders receive these exclusive updates and alerts for offers. This new marketing strategy is helping to connect with customers in a way that offers them greater value.

Experiential marketing is a marketing strategy that directly engages and encourages consumers to participate in the evolution of the brand. Citi is shifting its brand image, serving a greater purpose than just taking care of personal finances. In this way, Citi is inviting its customers and potential customers to interact directly with and rely on the company in a positive way that expands its previously static banking brand image to encompass something more fun, unique and participatory.This experiential marketing is Citi’s way to become a top-of-wallet card for consumers. 

With the plethora of digital messaging and marketing, it is becoming increasingly difficult for brands to connect with and impact consumers.

“This information overload has led consumers to become more selective about the content they engage with, and they keep raising the bar for brands competing for their digital attention.”

Brands are investing more in experiential marketing as a way to stand out, and there have been many successful examples, like Red Bull’s Stratos. Traditional and physical marketing challenges the overabundance of digital marketing by enabling consumers to develop real, tangible memories and bonds with the brand that create a more lasting impression. In addition, brands that leverage this strategy are also creating impactful ways to stand out in the crowded digital landscape as consumers share these marketing tactics online creating an integrated and connected experience of the brand with others that may not have even physically been present or participated.

Brand recall may still be considered higher in traditional marketing but I wonder if these experiential marketing strategies would be as successful or impactful without the digital engagement of consumers sharing content online surrounding their experiences or interactions with the brand’s marketing?

Sources:

http://www.dmnews.com/news/citi-hits-the-right-note-with-fans-through-experiential-marketing/article/488771/

https://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2410735/why-brands-need-to-invest-in-experiential-marketing