Experiential Marketing in 2025: Doing More With Less (and Still Wowing Audiences)

This year kicked off with serious momentum. CES set the tone in Las Vegas, followed by heavy-hitter events like SXSW, POSSIBLE, and Coachella. The experiential world was buzzing with energy—and opportunity.

Then, something happened, as economic uncertainties crept in. Inflation, tariffs, and the R-word (recession) started making brands and marketers pause. While I’m no economist, I am someone who lives and breathes experiential—and I’m here to talk about what that means for us on the ground, in the booths, and behind the screens.

Brands are now more intentional than ever. Budgets are tighter, expectations higher, and the pressure to create unforgettable brand experiences hasn’t gone away—it’s just become a bit trickier. So how do we keep showing up, innovating, and delivering the wow factor?

Here’s how marketers can stay smart, creative, and impactful—even on leaner budgets:

Start with strategy.

Before jumping into creative or production, align on what success looks like. Whether you’re building a buzz-worthy Coachella brand moment or hosting VIPs at CES, your goals will drive the right ideas and vendors to get you there.

Think bold and budget-savvy.

We see less and less of those large budgets where you can spend any amount of money to create something memorable. Engage with vendors and professionals that can help you elevate your brand in different ways. Technology is a great way to do this as your production costs will go mostly to generating the content and not so much on securing the hardware. Leaving you with content that can be repurposed for other activations in the future. 

Trust your partners (agencies).

By allowing your partners and vendors to help you “think outside the box”, you are leveraging talent outside of your organization and they bring in the “know-how” to integrate different technologies, with different experiences and content. Think touchscreens with tablets meet an LED wall to showcase the content that a user is creating while others pass by the experience. 

Repurpose everything.

Creating an experience doesn’t need to be for only one activation. This can be used and repurposed for different experiences, a pop-up, an event lounge, a corporate event, or a permanent install at your customer briefing center. When you invest in content and technology, all these can be edited as needed and repurposed with different content for different audiences. Good content and smart design travel well.

Use tech to spark emotion.

Immersive tech has never been more accessible. With innovations in LED, AR, AI, and RFID, you can create highly interactive and personalized experiences—without breaking the bank. The production value is high, and the engagement is even higher.

At the end of the day, no one knows your brand better than you. But when you bring in the right team, you give your ideas the power to scale. Share your story with your agency, set clear goals, and watch strategy turn into reality.

At Popshap, we help brands do exactly that. Through our Agency Services, we support every stage of the activation journey—from strategy and creative, to tech integration and content creation. We’re here to help you deliver experiences that not only wow your audience but drive real brand growth.

Let’s build something unforgettable.

Let’s talk → popshap.com/agency