The future is analog…
It may seem counterintuitive that the very technology we use to make our lives easier is the same technology driving people to buy cassettes, Walkmans and first-generation iPods. But here we are, pining for the 90s and all the clunky little devices that came with it.
As marketers know, it’s a clear signal that nostalgia and analog experiences are having a moment. And it’s a great opportunity to consider how this widespread yearning for more visceral, tactile experiences might help elevate your brand, too.
AI fatigue is also playing a part, and driving many consumers to be more discerning about what they believe and which brands they can trust. This quest for what’s real combined with the desire for a less digital existence has spawned a sort of analog counterculture movement that creates a real opportunity for experiential marketers. And for a growing legion of them, the answer is coming in the form of the ultimate counterculture artform—graffiti.
“When we flood the environment with AI, people naturally want something more human,” says Alex Beim, Founder and Creative Director of Graffiti+, a global studio specializing in interactive graffiti experiences for U.S. and worldwide events. “It creates an appetite for an analog experience.”
Graffiti+ has spent the last 18 years developing cutting-edge, bespoke digital graffiti experiences that turn large-scale LED screens into living digital canvases. Eventgoers get hands-on with what feels exactly (and we mean exactly) like a real paint can, unleashing their creativity across the wall. The popularity of the Digital Graffiti Experience offers deeper insight into what’s making attendees tick right now—and why the best digital experiences still feel analog more than ever.
Here, Beim and Graffiti+ Account Director Tim Matindas break down eight strategies event marketers can utilize to enliven their events and transform them into more participatory experiences that scratch that analog itch—all while generating big brand love in the process.
Unleash the Inner Artist
Something special happens when you put a spray can in someone’s hand and give them the freedom to express themselves. Their sense of wonder reignites. They reengage with their bodies and their senses. They step out of the day-to-day and into a more creative physical and mental space where the amateur gets to become the artist. It’s a rare sensory experience that has the power to spark deep connections between the attendee and the brand. And it takes less than five seconds to learn how it works.
“It’s a luxury moment created by the brand where you are allowed to be yourself, to be creative, to have fun with others, and then to show it to the world,” says Beim.
Elicit the Thrill of Play
Adults don’t often get permission to act like a kid. Or to do something that’s, ahem, illegal. Art and graffiti experiences do both. A first and only-of-its-kind proprietary tech stack powers all of the Graffiti+ immersives to make sure the analog experience feels analog, from the precise way the cans shake and make that distinctive shaking noise, to the paint drips on the screen, to the LED “brick” wall that you would swear was a real brick wall. Like the wizard behind the screen, the tech is imperceptible and beautifully defies expectations to elicit the most fun, playful environment possible.
“At the end of the day, we always come back to a more visceral type of experience,” says Beim. “Moving in our bodies, connecting with other people, laughing, painting, creating art. These installations promise and deliver in analog, but are based on 18 years of cutting-edge technology.”
Leveraging the Group Dynamic
Events are powerful because they’re shared, but event marketers can sometimes forget to leverage the power of the group dynamic to boost engagement, recall and positive sentiment. Good group dynamics create both a spectacle and an engagement. They draw crowds who are happy watching the art in action, but also draw in participants who want to make the art themselves. It’s an engagement that is experienced together—and together is a powerful catalyst for brand building.
“Whether it’s retail, trade shows, theme parks, conferences, festivals, brand activations or internal corporate parties—we’re generating crowds,” says Matindas. “And when they get to create art together, it’s a thrilling and memorable moment.”
Co-Create the Brand
Guarding your brand is old news.
“One of the most impactful ways to build trust with today’s customers is to let them get their hands on your products and make them their own—literally,” says Beim.
At ComplexCon, Graffiti+ worked with Espolon tequila to enable guests to paint digital art onto 3D sneakers, and then take them with them as AR. At a Nike Jordan event at Footlocker, attendees could create their own designs on 3D basketballs and sneakers. Other events have featured paintable 3D models of Samsung Phones, Formula 1 Helmets and even Hyundai Excavators. And for those not into spray cans, there are stencils, stickers and other custom effects. All ways for consumers to learn about products by making them their own.
Support the Culture Creators
In the age of AI, authenticity is currency. Beim started Graffiti+ eighteen years ago as a graffiti writer himself, and supporting writers became something he built into the work along the way. Today that shows up in live graffiti sessions where real, local writers paint in front of the crowd, then hand the cans over so attendees can paint alongside them.
“Audiences increasingly evaluate brands on integrity, and they appreciate brands that support local culture and show real, tangible respect for the writers who create it,” says Beim. “Giving local writers a platform elevates the writer and the brand.”
Create a Full Circle Experience
A memorable engagement lives on after the event to remind the participant of the special experience they had. Graffiti+ can save the graffiti wall artwork created to a digital download or on-the-spot photo or sticker prints to take home and share. The designs have also been printed in real time on t-shirts, turning the standard event tee into a piece of swag people actually want to wear. Participants can also fuel the lead gen funnel by scanning a QR code to download the art or the AR 3D products or characters they created.
“The hero experience is being able to paint on a large digital screen,” says Matindas. “But the experience can act as a catalyst for many other marketing objectives.”
Make them a Part of Your Story
The power of live events is in the “collective effervescence”—that magical, unifying energy that only happens when experiences are shared in the real world with others. Analog art-making experiences flip the script on old school, one-way event demos and presentations and instead bring attendees into an almost sacred space where they are invited to express themselves and make art in public.
“They want to participate in what a brand means versus being told what it means,” says Beim. “At the end of the day we want people to feel like they’re part of something.”
Remember: Business People are People, Too
Just because graffiti is commonly associated with street culture doesn’t mean it’s an experience only suited for younger audiences and lifestyle events. In fact, some of the larger projects Graffiti+ has recently produced have been with unexpected business audiences like banks, insurance companies, pharmaceutical brands and more recently, AI.
“The wonder and curiosity of how paint magically appears on large digital screens is universal,” says Matindas. “The Graffiti Wall is guaranteed to stop people in their tracks, regardless of what industry they’re in, and pull foot traffic in.”