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Turning Customer Opinions into an Experience that Matters

Traditional surveys and feedback interviews are boring and awkward, and truthfully most people won’t take the time to fill them out in the level of care you are looking for. So let's reimagine collective intelligence with polling brand activations.

Author

John Kappel
April 03, 2025

BIG IDEA

Making face-to-face feedback fun for all parties

When feedback giving is a fun, engaging, and shareable experience that brings people emotionally closer to your brands story, people are more likely to give you the authentic feedback that leads to positive impacts in your business.

The Benefits
✅ Higher engagement – More people will give feedback when it feels like part of the experience.
✅ Stronger emotional connection – Customers feel heard and valued in real time.
✅ More authentic insights – In-the-moment reactions are more honest than post-event surveys.
✅ Boosted brand affinity – A fun approach makes customers associate your brand with creativity and engagement.

Actionable Idea: Create an Emoji Voting Wall

Concept: Set up a large board with different feedback options, and let customers vote with custom branded or emoji stickers. Businesses can use an emoji voting wall to collect valuable real-time insights in a more fun and unique way that people will take photos and share on social media.

For product and service preferences, they can ask, "Help us decide! Which new flavor should we launch next? 🍓 Strawberry or 🍫 Chocolate?" or "What’s your go-to menu item? 🍕 Pizza, 🍔 Burger, or 🌮 Tacos?" They can also gather feedback on perks with a question like, "Which subscription benefit do you love most? 🚚 Free shipping or 🎁 Exclusive deals?" or "What’s one feature you’d love to see next? 📱 App rewards or 🛍️ In-store pickup?" This helps businesses understand what customers truly want so they can prioritize product development and marketing strategies.

To better understand consumer lifestyle and interests, a brand might ask, "What’s your favorite way to spend a weekend? 🎮 Gaming, 🎵 Live music, or 🏋️ Hitting the gym?" or "Which travel destination speaks to your soul? 🏝️ Beach, 🏔️ Mountains, or 🏙️ City life?" If they want to understand customer habits, they could ask, "How do you take your coffee? ☕ Black, 🥛 Latte, or 🍵 Matcha?" or "Which social media platform do you check first in the morning? 📸 Instagram, 🎥 TikTok, or 🐦 Twitter/X?" Knowing these details allows brands to create more relatable and engaging campaigns.

For event and activation engagement, businesses can improve experiences in real-time by asking, "What was your favorite part of today’s event? 🎤 Speaker Sessions, 🍕 Free Food, or 🛍️ Swag Bags?" or "What’s one thing we could improve for next time? 🎧 Better sound, 🪑 More seating, or 🚗 Easier parking?" They can also measure the success of different activations with, "Which activation did you enjoy the most? 🎨 Custom merch, 📸 360° Photo Booth, or 🎮 Gaming Lounge?" or even plan future activations with, "Where should we take our next pop-up event? 🌆 New York, 🌴 Miami, or 🌄 Denver?" This allows businesses to collect real-time feedback to enhance live experiences and plan better future events.

Community Spotlight

Tech Buffalo and 43North used a sticker polling board at Women in Tech 2025 to collect information from attendees on their thoughts behind AI’s impact on opportunities for women in the technology sector. Over 50 participants shared their thoughts and photos with the activation wall.

We are inspired by YOU! Want to have your brand, event, or experiential project featured in a future edition of EPIC Monthly? Tag us on social media @epicpromotionals or send an email to [email protected]

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Key Dates & Industry Events May 2025