How Can Brands Unlock The Power Of Experiential Ecommerce?

27 Jan, 2023

Varun Ravichandran, the AVP - Marketing at Citi, believes that all brands should blend technology and innovation with marketing to ensure that consumers become part of a brand’s story, in the latest episode of MAD//Fest's partner podcast, Shiny New Object.

Varun Ravichandran is a computer engineer by education. Through a series of twists and turns, he’s arrived in finance and is now AVP - Marketing at Citi and an accomplished marketing expert, too. In the latest podcast episode, he tells us why experiential ecommerce is the future of marketing. 

Varun merges science, technology and finance with the “art of marketing.” This is why his Shiny New Object combines all these elements, too. He thinks that brands who embrace experiential marketing and boost it by using technology will be the most successful in the decade to come.

According to Varun, “experiential ecommerce is a recipe featuring a healthy serving of product mixed with just the right amount of emotion and garnished with innovation and technology through and through.” This offers brands the opportunity to engage with the end consumer, as opposed to simply putting out messages to a passive receiver.

By becoming part of the company’s marketing, the audience forges a relationship with the brand. However, to do this right, brands have to steer clear of a couple of obvious pitfalls. The first is being too salesy with this experience. Varun gives the example of Lenskart who allow consumers to try on their sunglasses and spectacles by posting their picture online and trying any design. This experiential ecommerce feature doesn’t “push” the product to the consumer, which helps avoid the overly pushy sales pitch.

Secondly, to win the experiential ecommerce game, brands need to move beyond the “gimmick” phase. Creating a unique experience is great, but it needs to go beyond making a PR splash. Brands need to think about how the experience connects with their consumer journey.

In the end, brands that embrace Varun’s Shiny New Object will become stronger storytellers and set up their environment for a bigger echo from their marketing campaigns. 

Find out which brands are succeeding at the experiential ecommerce game in Varun’s opinion, as well as his own top marketing tips and why he thinks you can beat your email inbox like a horror movie villain, on the latest episode of the podcast

The host of the Shiny New Object podcast is Tom Ollerton, founder of Automated Creative.