Experiences are often discussed in relation to well-known brands whose products or services are used in reward systems for various promotional activities (including prize draws offering highly desirable prizes, and loyalty programs allowing access to a variety of items for oneself, family, home, pets, vacations, and much more), but what these experiences actually consist of is never specified. We therefore take this opportunity to elaborate on the concept of experience in conjunction with branded products.

Let's begin with the etymology of the term, which has its roots in Latin; the noun experientia and the verb experiri mean to try, to explore, to acquire knowledge through the senses. The sensory dimension of experience, however important and encompassing, is never separate from cognitive aspects, the desire to know in order to evaluate and thus form a reasoned judgment that will lead to repeating or avoiding the experience. Experience always leaves a trace in memory, a recollection, a sensation, an impression that guides us, strengthening interest and even affection towards a brand or, if negative, distancing us from it.

Psychological studies have classified seven types of experience that promotional schemes and rewards signed by famous brands can make memorable.

Let's begin by considering the sensory experience, which plays a primary role and stays with us throughout our lives. This involves the sensations we acquire through the five senses: pleasant or unpleasant, they leave a deep memory that, depending on the case, alerts us to avoid something bothersome again, or encourages us to seek out what made us feel good. Sensory experience is closely linked to emotional experience, which refers to moods and positive reactions such as joy and a sense of fulfillment, or negative ones such as anger. Emotional experience is what binds us to brands, leading us to prefer a brand that never betrays our feelings and expectations. No less important are cognitive experiences, which hinge on reasoning, require attention, and lead to weighing and comparing, seeking information to make evaluations. How many times have we been stuck facing a price, torn between reasoning, evaluating benefits, and the desire to own a product of a certain brand? And it was precisely the brand, with its reassuring role as a guarantor, that allowed us to overcome doubt; it is precisely the brand, with its world of meanings and values, that transmitted trust to us. The brand mobilizes feelings and sensations, but also invites us to think, because every brand has a precise identity, a style, symbolically representing a universe of statements to which we can adhere or reject. Every brand requires us to take a position because when we have a pragmatic experience with its products, that is, practical use, we will have to face a dual judgment since the lifestyle experience also comes into play. This involves showing oneself with the product, using it publicly in one's social relationships. If the pragmatic experience leads us towards a more technical judgment regarding the product's performance, the lifestyle experience also summons the judgment of others because it involves exhibiting the brand, becoming a public declaration of adherence to that brand's world. This demonstrates one's taste, personality, and chosen style. Social reverberation and the judgment of others are sometimes sought to reach two other levels of experience: the social experience shared with close relationships and the social experience shared with online relationships on various platforms. These are real and virtual interactions where the brand plays a primary role, meaning it is not limited to guaranteeing the quality of a product but also invests those who use it with positive attributes.

For rewards, companies increasingly leverage products marked by prestigious brands precisely because of the range of fulfilling experiences they offer consumers, experiences that also act as a motivating force to join medium-to-long-term loyalty programs.