Activations, just like data and measurement, is a topic that comes up in sponsorship discussions a lot. Physical activations, the ones designed to engage with audiences, can absolutely drive massive ROI and ROO; when executed well. Those well-executed activations are the ones that bring us closer to a brand or compel us to share on social media even if we haven’t seen the activation in person. The best ones cross over into entertainment and that’s powerful for engagement and resonating. On the other hand, however, we’ve all seen activations that appear to have just been thrown into a contract, probably because there was some unused space in a precinct, and audiences are greeted with bored looking staff, wearing corporate polos, standing outside a drab looking white tent, handing out flyers, and stress balls. Most likely, that's because the rights holder rang the sponsor a fortnight before and asked: “So, what have you planned for the activation?”. Someone who has a lot of great experience, and executed some amazing activations, is Rik Conti, Co-founder and Managing Director, at MAAKE. MAAKE is an experiential agency who have been creating engaging experiences with iconic Australian and global brands for over a decade including Heineken, Jack Daniel’s, XXXX Gold, James Squire, and Lavazza and Rik joins us in this episode to take you inside what makes great physical activations. Also joining us on the show, to discuss his latest blog, is Daniel Ferguson-Hill, KORE Software’s Commercial Manager for Australasia, who has been talking to lots of brands lately and there are four things that keep coming up that brands wish rights holders knew about activations. Enjoy.

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