Experiential marketing isn’t a priority for corporate comms – and that’s exactly why businesses should be using it more. Mark Anand, chief creative officer at experiential and events agency Blueprint Partners, explains.

Experiential marketing is everywhere. Consumer and B2B businesses recognise the importance and value of building a relationship with their customer that stretches beyond screens and into the real world. Why? With Forbes describing experiential marketing as the “must-have addition to any marketing toolkit”, stating that those emotionally connected to a brand offer 52% more lifetime value, it’s easy to understand the effort and investment companies go to. So why is corporate comms not using this same lever? Don’t brands want their best asset – their people – to be 52% more engaged?

Sure, we see an interactive poll or a selfie frame at the company conference; the occasional summer party and away day. But genuinely memorable moments created just to surprise and delight our employees are fleeting and far between in all but a handful of companies.

I spent a long time working with The Walt Disney Company who, certainly in the 2000s, understood the value of using experiences only they could create to engage with their internal employees (or cast members as they are known). From Mickey Mouse popping into the office, props and sets from their hit movies on display in their reception in Hammersmith, to a full-on marching band welcoming delegates to their retail managers' conferences, the ‘magic’ was everywhere.

This isn’t just nostalgia—it’s a reminder that internal experiential marketing can be as powerful as external. When you deliver experiences that aren’t just another email or presentation, you give your employees a reason to remember and engage. A big part of this is crafting memorable milestones, making corporate moments stand out from the volume of similarly executed campaigns. And why shouldn’t we offer our teams the same level of engagement we expect from our customers?

Internal corporate communications have fallen into the trap of using standard content-driven methods—emails, presentations and video. It’s not that these campaigns are bad; it’s that the sheer volume can lead to messaging fatigue. The job of a head of internal comms, marketing or partner communications is to create moments that stand out; experiences that employees can’t ignore.

The trick is to find the equivalent of the Disney ‘magic’ story for your organisation and then tell it in an authentic manner, using the right technique for your people. With so many options when it comes to how to create your experience, it can be a bit daunting. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience. What’s intriguing enough for you to interrupt your day to find out more? What’s novel enough that it would pique your interest to interact with the brand you already work for? What’s memorable or shareable enough that you’ll tell your colleagues about it? If this is taking you down too many different roads, then call an expert to help, because this is important—I can recommend a few!

Experiential marketing creates shared, lasting memories, and the internal impact of these memories can be profound. We know that people remember more when they experience something firsthand, and this same principle applies to internal comms. By transforming passive communication into active participation, you foster stronger employee buy-in and align teams with your company’s mission more effectively.

Today’s hybrid and remote working environments can cause fractures in team cohesion, making it more important than ever to create moments that bring your team together. Where and when should you engage them, driving that desire for connection and engagement? Just like in consumer marketing, we should ask ourselves: what will make our employees shout about the experience? How can we prompt them to share content without even asking? It’s not just about hitting KPIs—it’s about creating experiences that trigger long-lasting behaviour change.

Experiential marketing isn’t scary and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Done right, it’s a sure-fire way to increase engagement in organisations’ teams, creating memorable, lasting, shared experiences.

In much the same way as designing a consumer campaign, experiential techniques should be core to internal comms strategies as well. The corporate communications world is crying out for it—and it's time we listened.