Exclusive | Experiential marketing: The key to the golden quarter
For brands, Q1 is the most strategically valuable quarter of the year. For most businesses, Q1 is when budgets are fresh, targets are locked in, and internal focus is at its sharpest. What happens in these first three months often determines whether the year ahead becomes reactive or strategic.
17 Feb 2026
Bonita Christie, business unit director, Publicis Commerce Experiential, says for brands, Q1 is the most strategically valuable quarter of the year (Image source: © 123rf 123rf)
By February, South Africans are no longer easing into the year. The first salary has landed, routines are taking shape, schools are in full swing and consumers are making decisions that will quietly define their spending patterns for months to come.
Our market is defined by price sensitivity, economic pressure and fierce competition for attention, and the first quarter presents a narrow but powerful window to build momentum and collect insights that will influence performance well into the year.
Increasingly, experiential marketing is emerging as one of the most effective tools for brands to make that early impact count.
Experiential marketing
Experiential activity during this period plays a critical role in gaining traction. Unlike traditional media bursts, live brand experiences create immediate presence in high-traffic environments, whether shopping centres, transport hubs, campuses or sports venues.
In a country where physical retail and face-to-face engagement remain central to commerce, these touchpoints matter.
Early exposure also compounds. Brands that secure share in Q1 benefit from familiarity later in the year, when competition intensifies and budgets are under pressure.
Momentum, once established, is far easier to maintain than to rebuild.
A month of action
While January carries the energy of new beginnings, February is where intent converts into behaviour.
Consumers have adjusted to post-holiday finances, are recovering from festive overspend and have begun prioritising essentials alongside discretionary purchases.
This period consistently sees demand across education, technology, personal care and FMCG, all categories deeply embedded in our daily routines.
Experiential marketing works particularly well here because it intersects with necessity.
Sampling, demonstrations and interactive brand engagements allow consumers to test and compare products they will use repeatedly throughout the year.
Importantly, this is when consumers are back to life - back to commuting, back to work, back to budgeting.
Brands that understand this shift are able to position themselves as practical partners in everyday living.
Setting the tone
Experiential marketing is often viewed as a tactical lever, secondary to long-term brand building.
In reality, Q1 experiences are uniquely positioned to do both.
The experiences consumers have with brands early in the year shape perception far more than those encountered during year-end noise. This is when new narratives can be introduced and repositioning efforts tested in real time.
For brands navigating issues of affordability or relevance, experiential platforms offer dialogue.
They allow brands to listen as much as they speak, responding to real concerns in real environments. When done well, this creates emotional equity that pricing alone cannot erode.
Standing out
The irony of Q1 is that while many brands recognise its importance, few fully exploit it.
The start of the year is saturated with messaging, yet much of it looks and sounds the same. Experiential activations cut through precisely because they are felt, not just seen.
Consumers are particularly responsive to experiences that reflect local context, including language, humour, community and shared challenges.
Brands that invest in culturally fluent activations gain an advantage beyond recall to genuine affinity - memorability is a strategic asset.
Early insight
Perhaps the most compelling reason Q1 matters is data. Experiential campaigns generate rich insights at a time when brands can still meaningfully adjust course.
Behavioural patterns, product preferences, feedback and engagement metrics collected in February and March inform smarter decision-making for the rest of the year.
These insights enable sharper targeting, more efficient spend and better personalisation.
Waiting until mid-year to test assumptions is a missed opportunity. Q1 allows brands to learn early and act while it still matters.
The long game
Experiential campaigns in Q1 must be deliberately designed to fuel digital discovery.
The real multiplier effect happens when engagement seamlessly extends into search, social, content ecosystems and CRM journeys.
When consumers encounter a brand experience in February, they will almost always validate it online through Google searches, social media exploration, reviews or peer sharing.
If that discovery pathway has not been strategically planned, the opportunity weakens. Q1 investment must account for both the live moment and its digital afterlife.
It becomes less about chasing short-term spikes and more about building an informed, connected ecosystem that compounds value throughout the year.
Acting in Q1 recognises that the foundations laid now determine the ease or difficulty of the months ahead.
It is a strategic investment, and those who use this period to connect meaningfully with consumers will spend far less time later in the year trying to win back attention they never secured in the first place.
About Bonita Christie
Business Unit Director at Publicis Commerce.
View my profile and articles...
View my profile and articles...