At Smash Design, experiential branding is a way of life! We’ve built colossal sculptures, props, signage, and scenery for some of the biggest brands in the world, from Google to the NFL. Because we live it every day, it’s easy for us to forget sometimes that experiential branding and marketing are still an emerging industry, but we still get a lot of questions about what the heck it is we do and why! So, let’s dive into the ways we work to bring brands to life in eye-popping fashion!
What exactly is experiential branding?
Experiential branding is the art of creating immersive, tangible experiences that let customers interact with your brand in the real world. Think of it as the difference between telling someone your coffee is amazing versus letting them smell, taste, and Instagram it in a 20-foot tall coffee cup sculpture. At Smash Design, we specialize in the three-dimensional magic that transforms brand concepts into can’t-miss experiences.
How does experiential branding differ from traditional branding?
Traditional marketing talks at people. Experiential branding invites them to play. Instead of a billboard saying “Our shoes are comfortable,” imagine a giant foam sneaker people can actually climb inside. Instead of a social media ad for a new beverage, picture a larger-than-life bottle that dispenses samples. We’ve learned that when people can touch, explore, and interact with your brand (especially when there’s a giant sculpture involved), they remember it forever.
What makes sculptural elements good for experiential branding?
Here’s a secret: humans are basically large toddlers who want to touch everything. Sculptural elements in experiential branding satisfy that urge while creating shareable moments. When Smash Design created an 8-foot Away suitcase for SoHo streets, people didn’t just notice the brand—they posed with it, posted about it, and made it part of their day. Sculptures transform passive observers into active participants.
What types of businesses benefit most from experiential branding?
Honestly? Any brand brave enough to think bigger (literally). We’ve created experiential branding installations for:
- Tech companies launching new products
- Food brands wanting mouth-watering experiences
- Entertainment properties promoting new shows
- Retail brands breaking through the noise
- B2B businesses making trade show booths memorable
If you have customers with smartphones and social media accounts (so, everyone), you can benefit from experiential branding.
How does Smash Design approach experiential branding projects?
We start by asking the fun questions: What if your logo could be hugged? What if your product was 50 times bigger? What if your brand mascot grew taller than Voltron? Then our sculptors, designers, and engineers figure out how to make it happen. Using advanced techniques like CNC routing and digital modeling, we transform wild ideas into weather-resistant, selfie-ready realities that work as hard as your branding team.
What role does scale play in successful experiential branding?
Size matters in experiential branding, but it’s not just about going big. It’s about going right. A 10-foot foam taco makes sense for a food truck launch. A miniature cityscape might be perfect for a real estate developer. At Smash Design, we’ve mastered the Goldilocks principle of scale: large enough to demand attention, practical enough to actually build and transport. That’s what we call “just right.”
How long does it take to create experiential branding installations?
From “crazy idea” to “crowd magnet,” most experiential branding sculptures take 4-8 weeks. Our CNC machines speed up the carving process, while our finishing teams work their magic with paints, textures, and coatings. We’ve also pulled off miracles in less time because sometimes opportunity doesn’t send save-the-dates.
What makes foam the ideal material for experiential branding?
Foam is the superhero of experiential branding materials. It’s lightweight (your installation team will thank you), durable when properly coated (rain or shine ready), infinitely shapeable (goodbye, creative limitations), and cost-effective (hello, bigger budgets for other fun stuff). Plus, our EPS foam sculptures look exactly like whatever you want them to look like—metal, wood, ice, clouds, or giant chunks of cheese.
How do you measure experiential branding success?
Beyond the usual metrics (foot traffic, social shares, brand recall), successful experiential branding creates stories. When people tell friends about “that time they saw a giant Netflix character on tour” or “the huge sneaker they climbed inside,” that’s marketing gold. Smash Design installations are designed to generate both immediate engagement and long-term brand memory.
What’s the first step in creating an experiential branding campaign?
Start with a wild idea and a rough timeline. Then call Smash Design. We’ll help transform your brand vision into an experiential reality that stops traffic (metaphorically, unless you want literal traffic-stopping… we can do that too). Whether you need a single show-stopping sculpture or an entire experiential world, we’re ready to make your brand unforgettable.
Ready to take your brand from flat to fabulous? Contact Smash Design and let’s create some experiential magic together!