white paper experiential ideations brand activations build brand loyalty with experiential marketing Involve a Consumer for Experiential “If you don’t engage the consumer, you’ll never have a consumer change their behavior. Success Engagement is a way to start influencing a Gain Brand Recognition, Recall consumer.” and Loyalty – Nuno Teles, CMO, Heineken USA Experiential marketing is fast becoming the catalyst for unprecedented brand-to- consumer interactions that often translate words. And consumers learn quicker if you This form of experience-based advertising into improved brand recognition, recall and involve them. Cliché or not, these principles (which actually takes on various forms, loyalty. And yes, higher sales. are the foundation of experiential indeed) draws the customer into personal marketing. Advertisers have to connect with interaction with a product and establishes a Brands are no longer merely products on a audiences emotionally, and an experience – real-world connection. If done correctly, shelf. Twenty-first century consumers are that evokes emotion – is going to be much experiential marketing offers unparalleled embracing them in their everyday lifestyles more memorable than an edgy print ad or a opportunity to establish, nurture, and grow thanks to the growing need to experience a funny TV spot. customer relationships that provide brand or product in one of many various increased brand preference and a lifetime of forms. There is a new synergy, thanks to Experiential marketing is a marketing loyalty. An experiential campaign is most social media and emerging technologies, strategy that encourages consumers to effective when closely linked to a brand that creates a holistic experience for sales participate, engage or interact with a brand. strategy and goals that are continually teams and customers. The result is a society From product sampling and demonstrations refreshed based on measurement metrics. connected in real-time with the brands that to live events and retailtainment, this form Meaningful success can only be achieved serve it well. of advertising creates a memorable when the experiential marketing program interaction for the consumer. One that has a footprint within the context of an A brand must not just craft a personality; it drives sales and solidifies a relationship that overall brand strategy. must live it. Action speaks louder than increases the lifetime value of each person touched. 1 build brand loyalty with experiential marketing, continued Sometimes called engagement or customer- image, presentation and message. It experience marketing, experiential immerses your audience in the brand aura marketing makes your brand come alive and lets them see for themselves the within the framework of the consumer’s benefits of your product or service. It makes world. It draws customers into a visceral your brand promises real and credible. brand experience at a time and place where they are most comfortable. It encourages And also, oh-so-memorable. interactions to create personal experiences that greatly influence purchase decisions. The History & By engaging a consumer’s physical senses (touch, smell and sound), a brand can forge Evolution of a stronger connection with the consumer. Experiential It’s about these relations – emotional and rational connections – that will shape Marketing consumer behavior and prompt action. The art of marketing to consumers on a Pine II and James Gilmore who have written Wikipedia defines experiential marketing as one-to-one basis is as old as man himself. a book of the same name. the presentation of “an experience that There are references to direct selling as far people choose to attend and participate in back as the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi This evolution to an experience-driven after identifying the relevance of a brand or in 2000 B.C. Fast forward to 1893 when society reflects a shift in consumer behavior product to their needs.” As this definition Printers’ Ink magazine published a reference and demands. Modern customers want implies, experiential marketing should be to the direct mail trade. By 1971, Alvin brands that speak to their specific needs. implemented in tandem with other Toffler was predicting an “experiential Since every experience is a singularly communications efforts such as advertising, industry” in his best-seller Future Shock. personal reaction to an outside stimulus, public relations, and social media. It allows Now, building on the agrarian, industrial and promotional efforts should be delivered on consumers to test a product, and offers a service cultures of previous generations, the individual bases in order for the customer to tangible connection that is intensely 21st century will make its mark as “The embrace a brand as his own. personal and compelling based on brand Experience Economy” according to Joseph 2 build brand loyalty with experiential marketing, continued While mass communication is essential to strategy,” admits Regis Maher, president convey brand benefits and products to large and co-founder of dio, an experiential Consumer numbers of people in an efficient manner, it marketing firm. “But in today’s ever- also is necessary to incorporate one-to-one connected, socially-driven world, reach is Interaction Provides interactions into your marketing mix. The the benefit to this type of ad program. One an Invaluable Brand best experiential marketing programs are person’s digital network now becomes a fully integrated solutions that may infuse brand’s marketing channel in the most Barometer special events, sampling, mobile tours, organic way. Brands deliver amazing sponsorships or social media contests into experiences, and consumers share their “No longer is it enough to pitch the features broader branding communication strategies. personal but branded content to their and benefits of a product,” according to an Staging a PR stunt or operating a pop-up friends in a truly non-intrusive, enjoyable Amazon.com summary of Experiential retail store are great examples of this type and authentic conversation.” Marketing: How To Get Customers To Sense, of advertising, but the key is to manage the Feel, Think, Act, Relate by Bernd Schmitt. experience so it stays consistent with the You’re not just marketing to people brand platform and helps achieve broader anymore; you’re engaging them, so they “Consumers... want products, marketing goals. become your brand advocates and help communications, and marketing campaigns market your brand by influencing their that arouse the senses, touch their hearts With qualitative research, an advertiser can networks. and stimulate their minds.” It continues, determine the best location and times of “Experiential marketers do not sell mere day to reach their target demographic in a products. Instead, they seek, through location that the consumer has self- packaging and advertising, to create a selected, making this type of marketing holistic experience to which consumers can outreach more personal and less invasive. relate.” By being in their world, you’re already cutting through clutter of mass media In this way, Schmitt explains, marketers can messaging. transform a product or service from a one- time purchase to a daily part of the “Until now, reach has always been an consumer’s life. Experiential marketing obstacle for advertisers considering this provides a unique engagement with 3 build brand loyalty with experiential marketing, continued select the product or service that is just mobile “rain room” to convince consumers right for them – not for a large group of they need to buy rain gear made from its people but for their singular need. Show me materials. Over 750,000 consumers what “I” want, when “I” want it and where attended these road events. “I” want to receive it. Any brand that cannot relate quickly and effortlessly to that “I” More than 50,000 Chicago customers need and become part of “my” personal conveniently “walked the lot” when Chevy world will lose the sale to a competitor that dealers brought a pop-up showroom to can. their neighborhoods. Verizon Wireless captured over 71,000 qualified leads when measurable impact on target audiences. It With so many marketplace options, upfront its fleet of Hummer H2s brought technology presents brands not merely as products but consumer connections with a brand are fast bars with download stations to the people. as facilitators of a desired lifestyle – an becoming the new norm to influence And the Hershey Kissmobile garnered over integral part of the customer experience. It preference and selection. The most 220 million consumer impressions during a addresses buyer skepticism head on with successful brands travel and meet 45-week marketing tour. the intent to create believers from personal consumers on the path of their personal exploration and response. marketplace journey rather than try to drag Celebrated advertising columnist Stuart them into another sphere. Elliott wrote in the June 11, 2012, edition of Increasingly high-tech consumers crave the the New York Times, “Trucks, buses, RVs personal interaction that experiential OOH Advertising and even fire engines are being sent around marketing brings. In a world where content the country to bring brands to consumers as is king, staying on message – and delivering Mobile out-of-home (OOH) marketing is part of a popular trend known as on that message – takes on new ideally suited to do this. It hits the road and experiential marketing.” He quoted George importance. It is no longer enough just to finds customers on their home turf where Schweitzer, president of the CBS Marketing state brand benefits. Consumers now want they are most at ease and willing to interact Group, about the television network’s CBS to be fully engaged in a brand before with new products and services. Look Buzz Tour: “In these days of digital, high- making decisions from a myriad of choices. around and you’ll see stories of successful tech social media, we can’t forget how mobile OOH marketing campaigns important the one-to-one is.” Today it is easy for customers to journey everywhere.