Now that experiential marketing is a mainstream practice, everyone is talking about ways to take brand activations to the next level. Digital graffiti walls, virtual reality, geo-tracking: the world of experiential is limited only by one’s imagination. Experiential is proven to nurture long-lasting brand relationships with consumers of all kinds.

If you’re still on the fence about applying experiential techniques to your brand, here are five reasons why experiential marketing is a must:

1. Genuine Interaction

It doesn’t take a marketing genius to know that putting product in a consumer’s hands or creating a genuine interaction is worth its weight in gold. Think quality over quantity and understand that the traditional media buy method of reaching 100,000 people for $5.00 using web or print advertisements is about as impersonal as it gets. Engage face-to-face with 5,000 people and you’re much more likely to convert your audience to customers and brand advocates.

2. Pave a Two-Way Street

Traditional advertising is a one-way conversation where a brand dominates the narrative. Build dialogue with a two-way conversation that directly connects brands and engages with their consumers. Brand activations are designed with consumer engagement in mind. It creates a two-way conversation that allows the brand to build an emotional connection with the consumer and gain valuable insight to the consumer’s wants and needs.

3. Build a Buzz

A memorable experience creates collateral reach. By giving people something to see and feel, the likelihood they will share it with their friends and followers is higher than with traditional campaigns. According to Experiential Marketing: A practical guide to interactive brand experiences, S. Smilansky, 2009,people who undergo a live brand experience are likely to tell around 17 other people about that positive experience.  And those 17 people will relay the information to another 1.5 people. Traditional marketing methods simply can’t keep up with your buzzworthy splash!

4. Hit the Web Running

When paired with social media in-field activations can spread through the internet like wildfire, reaching an unlimited number of consumers. Experiential marketing is all about making consumers feel, and when consumers feel they want to share their experiences with their followers. Providing consumers with opportunities to share their experience like photo staging, contests, influencer meet & greet’s and #specialhashtags will only serve to amplify the effects of your experiential marketing campaign.

5. Make More Sales

Success often requires risks. If you’re like the rest of us then you’re constantly looking for ways to reach more consumers and generate better results.  Well, you need to think big – outside of the traditional marketing tool box.

Experiential marketing campaigns offer an enormous payoff compared to traditional marketing. Studies show great return on investment as well as excellent return on engagement for event marketing campaigns done right.

According to EventTrack’s 2015 survey, 49 percent of brands realize an ROI of between 3:1 and 5:1. Twenty-nine percent say their ROI is 10:1 and 12 percent say their ROI is 20:1. Sixty-five percent of brands see a direct link between sales and experiential marketing campaigns. That’s probably why 79 percent of brands expect to do more with experiential marketing this year, and the average increase in live event marketing budgets is six percent.