Immersive Content - Why Franchises Should Pay Attention

Named a “Trend to Watch” in 2016, halfway through 2017 we are still seeing immersive content rise to the top of the crop when it comes to digital marketing strategies.

Simply defined, immersive content is the pinnacle of engaging. It is a full-on assault of the senses, it is completely absorbing and the holy grail of a brand’s customer interaction. For a franchise, immersive content is challenging. Much like with SEO, it is a very delicate negotiation, articulating on both a national and local level. It’s a ‘who does what, and when’ scenario.

As a franchisor, it is your role to support the success of your franchisees, and with support that may mean providing resources to stay on top of current tactics, in this case, immersive content. On a national level, this can be easier, with big budgets, slick resources and a deep well of marketing strategists constantly pumping out new concepts. On a franchisee level, immersive experiences seem overwhelming. It’s up to the franchisor head office to steer the content ship when it comes to immersive experiences.

Franchisors should have the success of a franchisee at the forefront, and with immersive content it can be as simple as curating content that is easily adaptable by market and location.

Create national content that supports your brand, and consider how you will make those brand assets convertible to match local market needs for your franchisees.

Still not convinced? Take a quick trip to the following sites, and see if the experience can speak for itself: Inside Abbey Road and The New York Times story “Snowfall”.

In the last two years, Coke, Nike and London-based retailer Topshop have gotten on the immersive train- take a look back at their campaigns; #cokeyourname, #instaposter and Pinterest Palettes.

Even more ways to integrate immersive content into your existing franchise marketing:

  1. Non traditional ad layouts
  2. Oversized photos and backgrounds - parallax scrolling on website
  3. Animation
  4. Interactive video
  5. Scrolling trigger capabilities (like the Snowfall story)
  6. 360 or 3D Walkthrough content
  7. Location-based marketing triggers

 

 

The best thing a franchisor can do to expand the reach and promote the use of its immersive content is to make things easy for the franchisee. Utilize available technology (like online portals) where the content can be hosted, and available for download by franchisees. Send an explainer email (or video!) teaching franchisees how to use the campaign assets.

Ultimately, the challenge for the franchisor is to create an immersive brand experience, which can also be translated and utilized on a local level.

#turnupyourFX by recruiting Manalto’s management systems, that can host curated content and seamlessly streamline content to go from franchisor to franchisee.