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"Sometimes a phrase brings two words together, and the combined definition is more meaningful than the sum of the parts. Thus is so with \"custom activation,\" a recent favorite of both marketers and PR folks.\nOn its own, custom refers to something that is unique, bespoke or created for an individual case. Activation, from the verb \"activate\", means to spark something, to set it in motion or stimulate activity.\nBut in marketing, the meaning of activation varies.\nBrand activation is the seamless integration of all available communication means in a creative platform in order to activate consumers. Activation means stimulating: 1. interest, 2. trial, 3. loyalty.\nDigital activation refers to an integrated strategy involving all forms of online marketing channels, whether they be search, online ads, video marketing, mobile marketing or word of mouth marketing. The key word is integrated \u2014 the message across all channels should complement each other.\nEssentially, an activation is something that activates your customers. So, how does something become a custom activation?\nPutting The Words Together\nThe waters are a bit muddy here, as the term hasn't been in play for very long. A Google Ngram is unable to find the term at all in books up to 2008, which is as far as it is able to search right now. There is no listing for it in Urban Dictionary (yet). That said, the term is listed in a few LinkedIn profiles and on company website \"about us\" pages.\nThe phrase is frequently used along with experiential marketing, referring to events, in-store sampling and grassroots promotions.\nTo improve our understanding of a custom activation, consider what's the polar opposite: mass market advertising. One size fits all. In a digital age when it's easy to create many copies of the same thing, it becomes more impactful to do things in person, to offer consumers a one-time only experience.\nWhat It Looks Like\nWhile an email or text message you receive from a brand was most likely sent to many people, not just you, when you attend an event or visit the Bluth banana stand in real life (set up by Netflix to promote Arrested Development), it's memorable and the brand makes an impression on you as a consumer. But can a custom activation be achieved through digital means?\nIf a custom activation specifically allows a person to use the product or experience the service, it could be anything from being handed a free energy drink at the beach to being given a coupon code for a free product on an ecommerce website. If an activation requires an integrated campaign, perhaps the brand could reach consumers via Twitter, Facebook, email newsletters and Snapchat.\nAll in all, if you're a marketer and you're looking to do a custom activation (because it sounds snazzy or someone told you it was a good idea) it probably means you're looking to do something unique that will expose your brand to consumers and initiate them to action \u2014 whether that's telling their friends about it or buying the product.\nImages courtesy of Flickr, techcocktail"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/05/15/custom-activation/>